“Never Stop Learning because Life Never stops Teaching” ANON
Having come up with this title, I am not sure if I want to witter on about learning and teaching or the power of quotations. As a result, I will split this over two missives and I am going to start with quotations.
A quotation is words spoken or written by someone else and then repeated back by a third party and they can be incredibly useful for both teacher and learner. Quite simply, for a teacher, it can be a quick and powerful way to get a message across. For the learner, it may be something that they can integrate into a mantra which is easily remembered.
I suppose the first-time quotations really came into my life was when I was undertaking study for exams, you know the ones that we torture our sixteen-year-olds with. English Literature was the main subject which required the use of quotations Apparently, the use of quotations from the books we were studying would show our understanding of the texts we had been reading. I think in the first instance, it showed that we had actually read the said book, play or poem. At this level, quotations could then be used to show our understanding of the text.
I really took this on board for A Levels. I wrote out various important quotations from the OH soooo cheerful array of literature they used to inspire us into a lifelong love of books. You know, things such as Wuthering Heights, Hamlet, Macbeth and other cheerful ditties. To this day I remember copying out the “Is this a knife I see before me…” quotation and taping it above where the knives in our kitchen were kept. Oh and I particularly liked the full “To be or not to be” soliloquy which had the prime spot, the back of the toilet door – where could one take the “perchance to dream”. I still like the idea of contemplating life according to Hamlet as you sit alone on your very own throne. Perhaps our tragic Prime Minister would gain insight and even comfort from having this on the back of his water closet today (for anyone reading this way into the future we are all waiting for Boris Johnson’s resignation to land).
Once you pass the point of having to prove your analytic prowess in exams, quotations and the use of them take on a different use in our lives. Anyone who frequents the land of social media will often be bombarded by them as their ‘friends’ send pithy illustrations with a deep and meaningful quote. This is to show you what particular angst they are suffering rather than saying I am having a sh**t day in plain old text. I have to be honest with you, although some of the messages which flash across my screen do make me chuckle, this isn’t my favourite use of the quotation.
Where the quotation really comes into its own is, in my opinion, in two main areas – when delivering a presentation and you want to grab attention or you need a regular reminder for inspiration or motivation. For me, I need these quotations somewhere that I can see them regularly but there are sometimes sayings that I have internalised and can repeat on demand, mainly in my own head.
However, there always has to be a however, if all we use is quotations from other people then others reading or listening to our work start to question whether we have any thoughts of our own. Do we have anything which is creative or original to us? Quotations can prompt a discussion, help us deliver a big point, it can get us to the page every day but don’t rely on them as your only tool or you will lose your own voice. I remember a lecturer issuing the following advice to my undergraduate cohort towards the end of our first year at university:
“You must use quotations from published studies as no one is interested in your views as an undergraduate.”
Over thirty years later, being told that no one is interested in my take on a subject still sits there in my subconscious and occasionally rises to the surface usually in the form of the hot pain of indigestion. It could have set me against quotations but despite the lecturer having just effectively told me my views were worthless, I didn’t blame the humble quotation and I have kept them in my life. Let’s face it, I wouldn’t have passed my degree if I had rejected his advice.
Where does that leave me today:
- Quotations should be the springboard to your own imagination
- Acknowledge that quotations can be an effective comfort blanket but they shouldn’t be out there all day everyday
- The right quotations pack a punch so use them sparingly and when they are going to have maximum impact
- Don’t retweet endless quotations from ANON and others – your thoughts are just as worthy as anyone else’s. Yes you are worth listening to!