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Teacher Appreciation & Thank You Quotes

"Schooldays are the best days of your life."
Traditional saying
Everyone remembers a good teacher, but how often do we thank those who teach for what they do? Here are gratitude quotes to help you express how thankful you are to that special teacher who believed in you, and who cared.
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These quotations are great for Teacher Appreciation Day, the end of term, graduation and any and every time you want to simply say 'thank you' or write a thank you note to your teacher, professor, mentor, or instructor.

Use these inspiring quotes on cards and notes for Teachers' Day or during teacher appreciation week. Quotes will also make teacher thank you gifts extra special – for inspiration have a look at my 100 great ideas for teacher gifts, be sure to read my 7 tips for choosing a teacher gift, and find out about personalizing thank you gifts with quotes.

Who are you thankful to for the gift of learning?




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Thank You Quotes for Teachers


A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.
Henry Brooks Adams (1838-1918), American author & academic


If you can read this, thank a teacher.
American proverb


Thanks, sir; all the rest is mute.
Helena speaking in All's Well That Ends Well, Act II, Scene 3, by William Shakespeare (~1564-1616)


The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.
Attributed to John E. Southard


If you treat an individual as he is, he will remain how he is. But if you treat him as if he were what he ought to be and could be, he will become what he ought to be and could be.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), German writer, philosopher & scientist


I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.
Alexander the Great (356-323 BC), Greek king & warrior


One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.
Carl Jung (1875-1961), Swiss psychiatrist


Gratitude is one of the least articulate of the emotions, especially when it is deep.
Felix Frankfurter (1882-1965), American Supreme Court Justice


The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.
Dr. William Arthur Ward (1921-1994), American author, educator & motivational speaker


Education doesn't come by bumping your head against the school house.
American proverb


Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten.
B.F. Skinner (1904-1990), American psychologist, philosopher & writer


The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called 'truth'.
Dan Rather (b. 1931), American TV journalist


The good teacher makes the poor student good and the good student superior.
Marva Collins (b. 1936), American educator


I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks...
William Shakespeare (~1564-1616), English playwright & poet. From: Twelfth Night, Act III, Scene 3


A teacher plants the seeds of knowledge, sprinkles them with love, and patiently nurtures their growth to produce tomorrow's dreams.
Author unknown


Teachers plant seeds of knowledge that grow forever.
Author unknown


Delightful task! To rear the tender thought / To teach the young idea how to shoot.
James Thomson (1700-1748), Scottish poet & playwright


A teacher who can arouse a feeling for one single good action, for one single good poem, accomplishes more than he who fills our memory with rows on rows of natural objects, classified with name and form.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), German writer, philosopher & scientist


Gie me ae spark o' Nature's fire,
That's a' the learning I desire.

Robert Burns (1759-1796), Scottish poet


A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations.
Patricia Neal (1926-2010), American actress


If you can read this, thank a teacher. American Proverb


More Thank You Teacher Quotes


The best teachers teach from the heart, not from the book.
Author unknown


The greatest gift is a portion of thyself.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), American philosophical writer & poet


I've seen and met angels wearing the disguise / Of ordinary people leading ordinary lives.
Tracy Chapman, lyrics from Heaven's Here On Earth


Teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions.
Traditional saying


It's easy to make a buck. It's a lot tougher to make a difference.
Tom Brokaw (b. 1940), American TV journalist & author


One generation plants the trees, another gets the shade.
Chinese proverb


Tell me and I'll forget, show me and I'll remember, teach me and I'll understand.
Traditional saying


Give me a fish and I eat for a day. Teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime.
Chinese proverb


Give me a fish and I eat for a day. Teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime. Chinese proverb


More Sayings to thank your Teacher


I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
Maya Angelou (b. 1928), American author & poet


What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.
Karl Menninger (1893-1990), American psychiatrist


I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.
Albert Einstein (1879-1955), German theoretical physicist


A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind and touches a heart.
Author unknown


2 teach is 2 touch lives 4 ever


I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. It might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.
John Steinbeck (1902-1968), American writer


We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.
Cynthia Ozick (b. 1928), American writer


A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others.
Mustafa Kemal Atatόrk (1881-1938), Writer and first President of Turkey


Teaching creates all other professions.
Author unknown


2 teach is
2 touch lives
4 ever

Author unknown