“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

This quote is often attributed to William Butler Yeats, however, it is believed that the quote originated with the philosopher Plutarch. In his writings, Plutarch emphasized the importance of fostering a love for learning, rather than simply transmitting knowledge. What does it all mean?

Perhaps in earlier times, the traditional model was common, in which the teacher was for the student only as someone who would fill them with information, as if students were pails.
However, education changes as a generation changes too; we are in a New Learning age. Education is for society as a crucial discipline to train people to play important roles in society.

In addition to creating a greater social significance to education, there has also been a greater awareness of the relationship between the teacher and the student. The teacher must light the flame in the student, not fill them with information like a pail. To do this, it is necessary for teachers to be flexible, because different people learn in different ways to reach the same result.

Personalization and creativity are necessary. A didactic pedagogy may work for some, and for others, an authentic pedagogy, and for those, a new pedagogy. Teachers are the leaders of change, not because they create it, but because they are at the forefront of societal change, and with their flexible minds, they must be ready.