Funerals can truly be augmented by a poem that is apt and fitting for the person you have just lost. The following list of funeral poems about teachers are perfect for those marvellous teachers who provide the base of knowledge for everyone in the world.
A Teacher For All Seasons
by Joanna Fuchs
A teacher is like Spring,
Who nurtures new green sprouts,
Encourages and leads them,
Whenever they have doubts.
A teacher is like Summer,
Whose sunny temperament
Makes studying a pleasure,
Preventing discontent.
A teacher is like Fall,
With methods crisp and clear,
Lessons of bright colors
And a happy atmosphere.
A teacher is like Winter,
While it’s snowing hard outside,
Keeping students comfortable,
As a warm and helpful guide.
Teacher, you do all these things,
With a pleasant attitude;
You’re a teacher for all seasons,
And you have my gratitude!
My Last Assembly
by Michael Ashby
If this life has taught me anything
It’s that I’ve been a student all my days
Learning from each interaction
Along the scholastic way
Now a place in the open universe awaits, and
The answer to the last question of the exam hall
Are my views on Religious Education
Still worth anything at all
O farewell to you and my verbosity
I now end with one of Charles Eliot’s jots
‘A good teacher is like eternity
He/She never knows where his/her influence stops’
On The Death Of A Teacher
by Nicholas Gordon
Now that you have entered the long silence,
Lying in state so long as I have life,
I lay my gratitude across your memory
Like flowers strewn across an open bier.
Not often does one soul ignite another
With such intensity as yours did mine.
I’m burning still with all your inner fire,
Humankind to your Promethean joy.
There is no gift so glowing I can give you,
Nor any way my love can reach your heart.
All I can do is pass your torch to someone
Else to whom the distant mountains call.
Thank You, Teachers
by Meghana Vincent
Teachers are keys
That unlock the student’s mind.
You are guides who mold our mind.
You are one of a kind.
You are like a shepherd
Who guides the sheep
To the right path.
You, teachers, turn the pages
Of the great books.
You train us well
To reach great heights.
Thank you, teachers,
For all you have done.
In the group of many
You are one.
What Teachers Make
by Taylor Mali
He says the problem with teachers is
What’s a kid going to learn
from someone who decided his best option in life
was to become a teacher?
He reminds the other dinner guests that it’s true
what they say about teachers:
Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.
I decide to bite my tongue instead of his
and resist the temptation to remind the dinner guests
that it’s also true what they say about lawyers.
Because we’re eating, after all, and this is polite conversation.
I mean, you’re a teacher, Taylor.
Be honest. What do you make?
And I wish he hadn’t done that— asked me to be honest–
because, you see, I have this policy about honesty and ass-‐kicking:
if you ask for it, then I have to let you have it.
You want to know what I make?
I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional Medal of Honor
and an A-‐ feel like a slap in the face.
How dare you waste my time
with anything less than your very best.
I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall
in absolute silence. No, you may not work in groups.
No, you may not ask a question.
Why won’t I let you go to the bathroom?
Because you’re bored.
And you don’t really have to go to the bathroom, do you?
I make parents tremble in fear when I call home:
Hi. This is Mr. Mali. I hope I haven’t called at a bad time,
I just wanted to talk to you about something your son said today.
To the biggest bully in the grade, he said,
“Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don’t you?
It’s no big deal.”
And that was noblest act of courage I have ever seen.
I make parents see their children for who they are
and what they can be.
You want to know what I make? I make kids wonder,
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write.
I make them read, read, read.
I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful
over and over and over again until they will never misspell
either one of those words again.
I make them show all their work in math
and hide it on their final drafts in English.
I make them understand that if you’ve got this,
then you follow this,
and if someone ever tries to judge you
by what you make, you give them this.
Here, let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true:
Teachers make a goddamn difference! Now what about you?
To access our full list of funeral poems, click here.
All poems featured on this website are free to use during any ceremony, although it is good practice to make sure the author is mentioned, if known. Should you require a celebrant for your ceremony, be it a funeral, a wedding, a naming ceremony or something else, feel free to get in touch. I am a double award-nominated Family and Funeral Celebrant covering the entire UK, and would be happy to help you commemorate in a meaningful and personal way.
