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What You Taught Me: A Celebration of Lessons Learned

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A beautiful gift book to show appreciation to the teachers, coaches, mentors or people in your life that taught you a life lesson.

What You Taught Me is a moving collection of quotes from notable figures past and present and organized by theme, making this the perfect gift to show appreciation to those in your life that provided guidance and inspiration. As a bonus, there is room in the book for you to provide your own personal thank you note. Better than a traditional thank you card!

128 pages, Hardcover

Published April 4, 2023

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Driven

4 books

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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
Profile Image for CanadianReader.
1,326 reviews194 followers
July 19, 2023
This is an attractive enough little book of quotations, obviously intended as an end-of-the-school-year gift for teachers. Nicely decorated with a green and teal leafy theme, the book is divided into ten sections: kindness; patience; confidence; courage; gratitude; preparation; commitment; teamwork; perspective; and respect.

Quotations from many of the expected big-name inspirational figures are here—the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King Jr. There are also lots of (often trite) words from highly paid athletes and pop stars. Film and book characters are quoted, and so is the occasional author of literary fiction, visual artist, or scientist. In short, it’s pretty much as one might expect.

I have to say I was somewhat ill-disposed to it from the get-go. Let’s say my cynicism was immediately “triggered” 😊 by one of the opening sentences: “A classroom is a magical world of information and knowledge and so much more.” Only the “so much more” part rang true for me. The last quotation, from Guy Kawasaki, was just annoying: “If you have to put someone on a pedestal, put teachers. They are society’s heroes.” Hmm. Not so sure about that. It seems to me that education might be failing, if that’s the outcome.

I suspect I’m not the typical reader of a little book like this. I found myself thinking over a number of the statements and finding that I disagreed with many. (An intellectual exercise of sorts.) Some, of course, are so vague, bland, and anodyne that there’s nothing of substance to disagree with.

Teachers who haven’t been around the block a few times might appreciate this. The best I can say about it is that it is inoffensive and there’s a place at the front where a student might write what he or she personally learned from the teacher. That’s not a bad thing, but a nice little card serves the same end and would perhaps be better received.

Rating: 2.5
Profile Image for Reading_ Tamishly.
5,325 reviews3,539 followers
February 16, 2023
I always love a good quote. It sparks something in me whenever I need a good push during normal times. And it’s normal for me. So I always need a collection of amazing quotes.

This collection is one of my favourites now. Yes, it is yet to come out this year but it’s already my favourite. I specifically love this collection as the quotes are regarding kindness, patience, confidence, courage, gratitude which I always look for. Also, quotes are there regarding these themes: preparation and commitment, teamwork, perspective, respect.

This collection is a gem. Get it for yourself. Gift it. Pass it around. It will change someone’s world entirely!

Thank you, Zeitgeist, for the advance reading copy.
2,714 reviews9 followers
April 20, 2023
This title would make a good gift for someone whom you value. Each section represents a quality. These include Kindness, Patience, Confidence, Courage, Gratitude, Preparation, Commitment, Teamwork, Perspective, and Respect.

The quotes come from a wide range of sources. Each is short and meaningful and all offer a nice bit of inspiration.

For example, Marie Curie said

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing mus be attained.

And one more…

Nelson Mandela-I’ve learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.

Dip in and out of this book when a boost is needed. It might just help!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Zeitgeist for this title. All opinions are my own.
Profile Image for Dora Okeyo.
Author 26 books203 followers
January 26, 2023
Yes, this is definitely a special appreciation book, the kind of gift that comes packed with words of encouragement from various people known and unknown in this world and it certainly uplifts you. I love the green theme color and the fonts used throughout the book.

Thanks Netgalley for the eARC. We could all use some encouragement and this is the kind of book I'd recommend.
413 reviews
January 26, 2023

This is a wonderful little book! This would be a great gift for teachers, caregivers, therapists, coaches, etc. to show sincere appreciation. It’s amazing how much this means to the recipient - to know you made a positive difference is everything to those who give their all! Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews

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