Pails on Fire

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." - William Butler Yeats

What happens when you fill a pail? It sits there. It sits there and waits to be poured out. As a teacher I do not desire to just fill a pail full of water knowledge to just sit in waiting to be poured out. I believe education is more than that it is or rather should be that of lighting a fire, a burning desire for the knowledge not a passive inferior cistern. I believe that just filling the pail, the mind of our children with information we are failing to supply them with a real education. They will not come out of it thirsting for more but dry and weak, or at least this is how I "see" it. All I know is that they attempted to fill my mind for 9 years and I didn't come out thirsting for anything other than water.

It's easy to think that is all we are doing here, filling pails. We are filling pails but the way I think of it is we are also setting these pails up over a fury flame My children, I hope to fill their minds with exciting knowledge but also in the process I hope to set their little minds on fire for not only more knowledge but also and most importantly to extend their minds and the knowledge imparted to them for the glory of the Lord, the center of all knowledge and life. We have the amazing experience and privilege of setting their minds on fire.

So now the questions is "Just how do we light the fire and not just fill the pails?".

This was an extremely encouraging quote for me to think upon tonight and I am anxious to read other's thoughts on it, visit The Heart of the Matter to read them as well.