Haim Ginott Quotes

9 Sourced Quotes

Children are like wet cement. Whatever falls on them makes an impression.

Haim Ginott
Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task.

Haim Ginott
I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated, a child humanized or de-humanized.

Haim Ginott
Children…are like wet cement. Any word that falls on them makes an impact.

Haim Ginott
Praise, like penicillin, must not be administered haphazardly.

Haim Ginott
Treat a child as though he already is the person he's capable of becoming.

Haim Ginott
Parenthood is an endless series of small events, periodic conflicts, and sudden crises which call for a response. The response is not without consequence: it affects personality for better or for worse.

Haim Ginott
When children feel understood, their loneliness and hurt diminish. When children are understood, their love for their parent is deepened. A parent's sympathy serves as emotional first aid for bruised feelings. When we genuinely acknowledge a child's plight and voice her disappointment, she often gathers the strength to face reality.

Haim Ginott
Responsibility is fostered by allowing children a voice and wherever indicated a choice in matters that affect them.

Haim Ginott