20 Quotes About Learning That Inspired Me in 2011 From My Personal Learning Network

A well formed quote, like a picture, is a great method for painting detailed concepts. 

Each year I do my best to capture quotes that were impactful to me that year. 

• In 2010 I shared my Top Ten Quotes for Teaching Generation Text.  
• In 2009 I shared My Top 20 Education Quotes from 2009. 
• In 2008 I shared these Ten 21st Century Education Quotes I Carry With Me. 

This year I am sharing another compilation of quotes and concepts I have collected over the past year from my personal learning network.  These are people that I have had direct contact with either face-to-face or through the use of social media.  I feel fortunate and am grateful to be inspired by so many people that are in my world, so this year, I share with you, quotes from these remarkable individuals.

1. Teaching is listening, learning is talking. -@DebMeier Deborah Meier
2. The little learning machines who learn to walk by walking and talk by talking also learn to read by reading and write by writing.
   -Linda Dobson
3. If it wasn't for the last minute, nothing would get done.
   -@Rmart73 Robert Martinez
4. It is nature's intent that children of all ages live and learn in freedom and joy, through play and by following their own interests and passions. -@LaurieACouture Laurie A. Couture 
5. Being "Schooled" and being "Educated" are not the same thing.
   -@mbteach Mary Beth Hertz
6. We can do so much better than 'no child left behind' - we can get to EVERY child shines!
   -Mariaemma Pelullo-Willis
7. The simple fact that a learning achievement is measurable doesn't make it relevant.
   -@lexhupe Lex Hupe
8. Don't look for errors in your learning, look for learning in your errors.
   -inspired by @mrmacraild Ryan MacRaild
9. What I want from my kids’ school is to help me identify what they love, what their strengths are, and then help them create their own paths to mastery of their passions. Stop spending so much time focusing on subjects or courses that 'they need for college' but don’t interest them in the least. Help them become learners who will be able to find and make good use of the knowledge that they need when they need it, whether that means finding an answer online or taking a college course to deepen their understanding. And finally, prepare them to create their own credentials that will powerfully display their capabilities, passions and potentials.
   -@WillRich Will Richardson
10. It continues to amaze me that many folks are still blindly handing over their children, with absolute trust and without pause, to a system that doesn't even pretend to provide a beneficial educational experience anymore.-@TheUnpluggedMom Laurette Lynn
11. Textbooks invariably include a little bit of everything and a thoughtful treatment of nothing. It can safely be said that any course consisting mostly of reading a textbook, chapter by chapter, is a course worth avoiding.
    -@alfiekohn Alfie Kohn
12. Home-based education is not an experiment. It's how people learned to function in the world for centuries. And there is no reason to think people today can't do the same thing. School is the experiment, not the lack of it, and the experiment is in trouble.
    -Wendy Priesnitz
13. Whats been really interesting to me... is seeing how much animosity I have gotten from students. Essentially I am telling students that they bought a new car and it's crap. And they don't want to hear that. It's like everyone is fine with being in prison, as long as everybody else is in prison too. But as soon as someone stages the jailbreak, everyone freaks out. And that's precisely what is happening right now.
    -@DaleJStephens Dale Stephens
14. Let’s admit the real reason that we ban cell phones is that, given the opportunity to use them, students would vote with their attention, just as adults would ‘vote with their feet’ by leaving the room when a presentation is not compelling. -@MarcPrensky Marc Prensky
15. There's only one kind of kid. The kind that is different from all other kids. Let's design our schools around that. -Lisa Cooley 
16. We should not keep students prisoners of their teacher's past by blocking and banning them from using the tools and sites they need to succeed in the real world.
    -@InnovativeEdu Lisa Nielsen
17. School is torture because I am required to spend all my time doing menial tasks, worksheets, and rote memorization. This takes too much time away from being able to discover my hobbies, interests, or passions. I’m in 10th grade and I don’t foresee having the ability to do that before I graduate high school.
    -Adam Ritter
18. Your life, time, and brain should belong to you, not to an institution.
    -Grace Llewellyn
19. It's time to change the conversation from "how can the student meet the school's needs" TO "how can the school meet the student needs." -@clarkaldrich Clark Aldrich
20. We need everyone in the effort to transform education. If you are for the well-being of kids and have visions of a more just and sustainable future, you are an ally. We need to start reaching out to all groups! Parents, students, teachers, policy makers, home educators, public, private, interdependent schools, community or alternative educators, and any one that cares.This effort will take everyone reaching out to each other and pushing forward based on the 40% we agree on. We have spent enough time fighting among ourselves, now is the time for action!
    -Listen to this as a song here.
    -David Loitz 

These are some of the words of wisdom from my personal learning network that have motivated, inspired, and made me think. I invite you to share what you been saying to inspire those in your personal learning network.