We love using inspirational quotes to motivate and encourage students. The power of words just cannot be overestimated. Sometimes sharing the right words at the right moment can make all the difference. Here are some of our all-time favorite classroom quotes, as spotted on Instagram.
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Favorite Classroom Quotes From Real Teachers
We asked teachers to share the quotes they love using in the classroom. These are their top picks!
Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them.
“My favorite is by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. I teach pre-K, and it’s amazing how littles see the world with such a unique lens. And I love how much I can learn from them each day. They make me smile, laugh, and reframe my thinking in whimsical and imaginative ways!” —Katie H.
We have grit and we won’t quit!
“Our elementary P.E. teacher taught the kids to say this. I have them chant it often as a reminder to persevere through struggles. It’s catchy, it rhymes, and it imparts an excellent life lesson with wide application. For example, before beginning our hands-on STEM unit, we talk about how scientists don’t expect things to work perfectly on the first try, but they are problem-solvers who try again. It may take many tries but you shouldn’t give up!” —Amy B.
I’m not crazy. I’m just creative!
“My favorite quote actually came from one of my 4th graders last year! I loved it so much when I heard her say it that she wrote it down for me and I hung it on my wall. I use it to encourage outside-of-the-box thinking and being your own authentic self, always!” —Eliana B.
Classroom Quotes for Elementary School
Be the leader in a school of fish.
Be a pineapple. Stand tall, wear a crown, and be sweet on the inside.
From small beginnings come great things.
You are loved.
Broken crayons still color.
Make today so awesome yesterday is jealous.
Say what you mean but don’t say it mean.
Be awesome, be amazing, be you.
In our class we don’t do easy. We make easy happen through hard work and learning.
Classroom Quotes for Middle Schoolers
You’re going to rattle the stars, you are.
Don’t look at your feet to see if you are doing it right. Just dance.
Live out of your imagination, not your history.
Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.
If you smile when no one else is around, you really mean it.
Never bend your head. Hold it high. Look the world in the eye.
Misfits we may be, but we will rewrite history.
Everything you’ve ever wanted is sitting on the other side of fear.
It’s easier to floss with barbed wire than admit you like someone in middle school.
To have good friends, you need to be one.
Classroom Quotes About Kindness
Kind is the new cool.
If the words you spoke appeared on your skin, would you still be beautiful?
Look with kindness and you will find wonder.
In a world where you can be anything, be kind.
Throw kindness around like confetti.
Be the reason someone smiles today.
You will never regret being kind.
Let’s root for each other and watch each other grow.
Growth Mindset Classroom Quotes
I may not be there yet, but I am closer than I was yesterday.
Try again. Fail again. Fail better.
If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.
Mistakes help me learn better.
Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.
Don’t worry about failure … you only have to be right once.
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.
There’s a way to do it better. Find it.
A year from now, you will wish you had started today.
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.
If there is no struggle, there is no progress.
Success is not final. Failure is not fatal. It is the courage to continue that counts.
The road to success and the road to failure are almost exactly the same.
Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.
When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.
He who questions much shall learn much and retain much.
Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.
Everything you don’t know is something you can learn.
It doesn’t matter what others are doing, it matters what you are doing.
When you change your thoughts, remember to also change your world.
Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, the lesson afterward.
Either you run the day or the day runs you.
Classroom Quotes About Learning
Reading is like breathing in, writing is like breathing out.
Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.
The earth without art is just eh.
Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.
Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.
The classroom should be an entrance into the world, not an escape from it.
If we value all readers, we must value all reading.
The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.
Excellence is an art won by training and habituation.
Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.
Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.
No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.
The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.
The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.
The purpose of education is to replace an empty mind with an open one.
The future of the world is in my classroom today.
I am not a teacher but an awakener.
Learn as if you will live forever, live like you will die tomorrow.
Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.
Quotes for Inclusive Classrooms
Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody.
Even if hate has a bullhorn, love is louder.
None of us is as smart as all of us.
You’re here. You take up space. You matter.
Your voice matters.
We may all be different fish, but at this school we swim together.
You belong here.
Classroom Quotes for Daily Motivation
Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game.
Hustle beats talent when talent doesn’t hustle.
If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.
Sometimes the bravest and most important thing you can do is just show up.
It’s a good day for a good day.
You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.
Look closely at the present you are constructing. It should look like the future you are dreaming.
Wake up and be awesome.
Just one small positive thought in the morning can change your whole day.
If you’re not positive energy, you’re negative energy.
Set your goals high, and don’t stop till you get there.
Worry is a misuse of imagination.
You carry the passport to your own happiness.
It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.
No one is perfect—that’s why pencils have erasers.
The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
Only surround yourself with people who will lift you higher.
Everything comes to he who hustles while he waits.
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.
Keep your eyes on the stars and your feet on the ground.
Ideas are great arrows, but there has to be a bow.
History: a collection of epitaphs.
I never dreamt of success. I worked for it.
Passion is the genesis of genius.
5 Ways To Use Quotes in the Classroom
Try these ideas for using inspirational quotes of all kinds with your students.
Daily Quotes
Share a quote during your morning meeting and discuss it with your students. It can set the tone for the entire day!
Writing Prompts
Post a quote and ask students to reflect on what it means to them in their personal journals. You can also encourage kids to write stories or essays with these quotes as the central theme.
Quote-Inspired Skits
Break students into groups and assign each one a quote (or let them choose). Then, have them write and act out a short skit that shows that quote in action.
Quote Debates
Choose a quote and invite students to think about whether they agree or disagree with the sentiment. Then, hold a (friendly) classroom debate to practice effective arguments.
Classroom Decor
Print and hang our free posters, use a quote to center a bulletin board, or ask students to choose a quote to illustrate. Easy, inspirational classroom decorations in a snap!
Get your classroom quote posters!
We’ve selected five of our very favorite quotes for you to print and hang around your classroom. Hit the button, then fill out the form on this page for your free set!
