"Prayers were held in Assembly Hall. We all perched in rows on wooden benches while teachers sat up on the platform in armchairs, facing us"
- Roald Dahl
About this Quote
This quote from Roald Dahl paints a brilliant image of a spiritual gathering in Assembly Hall. The trainees are seated in rows on wooden benches, while the instructors rise on the platform in armchairs, looking down on them. This recommends that the instructors remain in a setting of authority, and that the pupils are anticipated to be considerate and also conscientious. Using the word 'perched' indicates that the pupils are uneasy and also worried, as if they are set down on the side of their seats. The ambience is most likely to be austere and also reverent, as the trainees are gathered together to hope. The quote conveys a sense of reverence as well as respect, as well as a feeling of anticipation and assumption. It is an effective tip of the relevance of petition and also the power of cumulative worship.
"I went to school at this log school house. A white woman was my teacher, I do not remember her name. My father had to pay her one dollar a month for me. Us kids that went to school did not have desks, we used slates and set on the hued down logs for seats"
"I always wanted to go to the Chavez school but I could never afford it when I was growing up so a lot of my learning came from magic books and watching other magicians. I was also very lucky that I had a couple of really good magic teachers"
"We need to redefine the role of the teacher from that of the transmitter of knowledge to that of a researcher, co-learner, and partner in the process of constructing knowledge"
"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. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit"
