Last Updated: Edits and Multiple choice options added March, 2021
Back when we were kids, our teachers maintained a firm regime of discipline in the classroom. Grim admonitions, stern warnings, insults that made you squirm and hang your head, and punishments that made the biggest class bully cry were all part of our teachers’ arsenal.
And when all else failed, they drove fear into a boisterous class with the fearsome strap or cane.
Teachers also advised and encouraged scholarly attitudes with wise proverbs and memory gems, many of which you’ll agree still ring in your ears today.
So familiar were these statements in the classroom that many became clichés. In fact, some teachers became the butt of running jokes when the class clowns among us made it a practice to lip sync (behind the teacher’s back, of course) an anticipated cliché even before or while the teacher repeated it.
A quick surf around the internet reveals that many of these sayings have traversed cultures and timelines. Today, students from around the globe still fondly recount and poke fun at these peculiar and oft-repeated phrases and expressions that their teachers say. Thank God, some of the more insulting ones have now made it to the “Things Teachers Should Never Say to Students’ censored list.
Surprisingly, in spite of dialectal shifts of a word or intonation here and there the use and meaning of these sayings have remained intact. Here is one example:
- “Be Quiet. Is this a fish market?” (said to a noisy class in India)
“A Coronation market dis?” (said to a noisy class in Jamaica).
Coronation market is Jamaica’s largest and oldest fish and farmers’ market.
Your Challenge: Complete the teacher sayings.
To start off the new school term, let’s remember some of these clichés, idioms and colourful witticisms that primary and secondary school teachers said back in the day and many still say today to their students.
The challenge is to see how many of these six teacher sayings you can complete. Aim for the words or phrases that come closest to what was actually uttered. Drop your answers to each question in the Comments.
Here goes:
#1. If you fail to prepare, _____ .
A. you will never be successful
B. prepare to fail
C. you will fail to pass
D. an ‘F’ will be your friend
# 2. Silver and gold will pass away, ____.
A. but a good education will never decay
B. but a solid education will never fade
C. for all that glitters is deceiving
D. but your education lasts forever
# 3. Heights of great men reached and kept _________.
A. were not ascended any higher
B. were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their teams slept, were climbing upwards through the night.
C. were not deterred by sudden fights, but they, while their companions slept, were climbing through the night.
D. were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were climbing awards through the night.
#4. Stop working! Pass your papers to ___.
A. the person beside you.
B. me
C. the front
D. the left
# 5. Please ___ if you haven’t done my homework.
A. leave
B. stand on one leg in a corner
C. leave my class
D. hold out your hand for a caning
# 6. Don’t Make Another Sound; fingers ___.
A. crossed
B. on your lips
C. up in the air
D. at your side
Let’s Review
Your turn:
Can you remember any teacher sayings of your own? Share them below.
One more thing…..
Liked this Quiz? Please feel free to copy the idea and create your own version of “snackable content” to increase engagement levels on your social media pages. Experts are recommending more social media posts like this for your mobile readers and followers.
Don’t have the time? Brainfit Content Marketing can create similar branded edutaining graphics your followers will love. To talk, drop me an email at gee4214@gmail.com.
Copyright by Karen Taylor and Brainfit Content Marketing
Brainfit Content Marketing 