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As today is World Teachers Day, at Edusentials we have been thinking about famous teachers and how they have impacted and changed history. During our research we were surprised to discover that many well-known people, including Hugh Jackman, Brian May and Sting, were teachers before they became famous!!
It was difficult to make a shortlist, but below are some of our favourite famous teachers.
Anne Sullivan (1866 – 1936)
Helen Keller was deaf and blind but defied these disabilities to become an author, lecturer and powerful political activist. Yet it was Anne Sullivan, a teacher of immense patience and talent who was the driving force behind Helen Keller’s life.
Anne was herself partially sighted so she understood the frustrations and fear of life in a black and silent world. Anne set about opening the world up to Helen in a way she could understand. The breakthrough came when Anne led Helen to an outside tap, allowed the water to flow and signed “water” into Helen’s hand. Helen immediately made the connection between the shapes on her hand and the objects around her.
Helen Keller led a full and productive life but it was Anne Sullivan, her teacher and lifelong companion who made it possible.
Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC)
Confucius was a Chinese teacher a
nd philosopher, born around 551 BC.
Confucius believed the main objective of being a teacher was to encourage societal values of integrity, compassion and tradition. He is famous for his philosophical statements, many of which have been replicated over time, but his most famous is known as the Golden Rule “What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.”
It is surely the mark of a great teacher that his teachings are as relevant today as they were to the Chinese people then.
Maria Montessori (1870 – 1952)
Maria Montessori was an Italian physician, educator, and innovator, acclaimed for her educational method that builds on the way children naturally learn.
She opened the first Montessori school, the “Casa dei Bambini” in Rome on January 6, 1907. Her early childhood education philosophies are still applied in Montessori schools all over the globe, where the emphasis is on independence, freedom within limits, and respect for a child’s natural psychological, physical, and social development.
Maria Montessori is possibly the most influential person to affect a change to how education is taught, without ever having qualified as a teacher herself! She lectured all over the world giving innovative speeches and inspiring messages. This is probably her most famous: “the greatest sign of success for a teacher…is to be able to say, the children are now working as if I did not exist”.
Originally written 5 October 2015