100+ Best Back to School Quotes to Inspire Students

Every fall in the United States, the air feels different. The days grow cooler, backpacks fill with fresh notebooks, and families rush through back-to-school shopping aisles filled with pencils, sneakers, and lunch boxes. For students, it’s a season of new beginnings. New friends, new teachers, and new challenges.

In moments like these, a few words of encouragement can make a big difference. That’s why back to school quotes are so powerful. Whether you’re a student facing the first day of school jitters, a teacher preparing to inspire, or a parent sending your child off with love, the right words can spark motivation, laughter, and hope.

Inspirational Back to School Quotes for Students

• “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela

• “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

• “Learning never exhausts the mind.” — Leonardo da Vinci

• “The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet.” — Aristotle

• “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” — Benjamin Franklin

• “Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” — Anthony J. D’Angelo

• “Intelligence plus character—that is the goal of true education.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

• “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” — William Butler Yeats

• “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” — Nelson Mandela

• “What we learn with pleasure we never forget.” — Alfred Mercier

• “Don’t let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.” — John Wooden

• “You are always a student, never a master. You have to keep moving forward.” — Conrad Hall

• “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” — B.B. King

• “The expert in anything was once a beginner.” — Helen Hayes

• “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” — Malcolm X

• “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” — Robert Collier

• “Teachers open the door, but you must enter by yourself.” — Chinese Proverb

• “The capacity to learn is a gift; the ability to learn is a skill; the willingness to learn is a choice.” — Brian Herbert

• “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” — Chinese Proverb

• “The only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change.” — Carl Rogers

Funny Back to School Quotes

• “Work hard, nap harder.” — Unknown

• “You can drag my body to school, but my spirit refuses to go.” — Bill Watterson (Calvin & Hobbes)

• “Education is important, but big biceps are importanter.” — Unknown

• “School is a building which has four walls with tomorrow inside.” — Lon Watters

• “My school days were the happiest days of my life; which should give you some indication of the misery I’ve endured since.” — Paul Merton

• “You learn something every day if you pay attention. If you’re not paying attention, you might still learn math by accident.” — Unknown

• “I was the kind of kid who never wanted to go to school, but loved learning.” — Unknown

• “High school is like a spork: it’s a crappy spoon and a crappy fork, so in the end it’s just plain useless.” — John Mayer

• “Education: the path from cocky ignorance to miserable uncertainty.” — Mark Twain

• “School is cool… until the homework arrives.” — Unknown

• “The first day of school is always a fashion show. The rest of the year? A pajama party.” — Unknown

• “Homework is nature’s way of making sure you still learn after the bell rings.” — Unknown

• “School supplies are basically bribes for kids to go back willingly.” — Unknown

• “There is no school equal to a decent home and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent.” — Gandhi (often quoted humorously during back-to-school season)

• “I go to school, but I never learn what I want to know.” — Bill Watterson

• “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school.” — Albert Einstein

• “Some students drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.” — Robert Anthony

• “School is a lot like toilet paper: you only miss it when it’s gone.” — Unknown

• “In school, you’re taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you’re given a test that teaches you a lesson.” — Tom Bodett

• “If there’s a will to skip class, there’s a way.” — Unknown

Motivational Back to School Quotes

• “A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning.” — Brad Henry

• “Teaching is the one profession that creates all other professions.” — Unknown

• “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.” — Albert Einstein

• “Teachers affect eternity; no one can tell where their influence stops.” — Henry Brooks Adams

• “Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher.” — Japanese Proverb

• “The influence of a good teacher can never be erased.” — Unknown

• “A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary.” — Thomas Carruthers

• “The best teachers are those who show you where to look but don’t tell you what to see.” — Alexandra K. Trenfor

• “Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.” — Bob Talbert

• “A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, and touches a heart.” — Unknown

• “Good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers.” — Josef Albers

• “Teachers are the heartbeat of education.” — Unknown

• “What a teacher writes on the blackboard of life can never be erased.” — Unknown

• “The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you.” — Dan Rather

• “Those who educate children well are more to be honored than parents, for these only gave life, those the art of living well.” — Aristotle

• “Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition.” — Jacques Barzun

• “Every child deserves a champion—an adult who will never give up on them.” — Rita Pierson

• “The greatest sign of a teacher is not authority but inspiration.” — Unknown

• “Teachers can change lives with just the right mix of chalk and challenges.” — Joyce Meyer

• “A teacher nourishes the soul of a child for a lifetime.” — Unknown

First Day of School Quotes

• “The first day of school is always a fashion show. The rest of the year? A pajama party.” — Unknown

• “The beginning is the most important part of the work.” — Plato

• “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” — Lao Tzu

• “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” — Mark Twain

• “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.” — Seneca

• “It’s not about being the best. It’s about being better than you were yesterday.” — Unknown

• “The expert in anything was once a beginner.” — Helen Hayes

• “Don’t count the days. Make the days count.” — Muhammad Ali

• “The first day of school is the first page of a 180-page book. Write a good one.” — Unknown

• “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” — Arthur Ashe

• “New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.” — Lao Tzu

• “The first day is always the hardest, but it sets the tone for the journey ahead.” — Unknown

• “Be willing to be a beginner every single morning.” — Meister Eckhart

• “With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

• “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great.” — Zig Ziglar

• “First day jitters are proof that you care.” — Unknown

• “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” — Abraham Lincoln

• “Every first day is a fresh chapter waiting to be written.” — Unknown

• “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new school year.” — Inspired by Nina Simone

• “Today is the first step toward your best self.” — Unknown

Back to School Messages for Parents

• “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.” — Margaret Mead

• “Your children need your presence more than your presents.” — Jesse Jackson

• “While we try to teach our children all about life, our children teach us what life is all about.” — Angela Schwindt

• “The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence.” — Denis Waitley

• “Behind every child who believes in himself is a parent who believed first.” — Matthew Jacobson

• “The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice.” — Peggy O’Mara

• “Don’t worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you.” — Robert Fulghum

• “Parents are not perfect, but they are the perfect cheerleaders for their kids.” — Unknown

• “At the end of the day, the most overwhelming key to a child’s success is the positive involvement of parents.” — Jane D. Hull

• “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” — Pablo Picasso

• “The greatest legacy we can leave our children is happy memories.” — Og Mandino

• “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.” — James Baldwin

• “Your belief in your child is the first step in their journey to success.” — Unknown

• “Children are not things to be molded, but are people to be unfolded.” — Jess Lair

• “Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.” — Charles R. Swindoll

• “Parents are teachers without classrooms, guides without textbooks, and mentors without diplomas.” — Unknown

• “What a child doesn’t receive he can seldom later give.” — P.D. James

• “Children are the living messages we send to a time we will not see.” — John W. Whitehead

• “To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today.” — Barbara Johnson

• “The best kind of parent you can be is to lead by example.” — Drew Barrymore

How to Use Back to School Quotes in Real Life

Quotes aren’t just words, —they’re tools to motivate and inspire in daily life. Here are some practical ways to use back to school quotes:

• Classroom inspiration: Teachers can write a daily quote on the whiteboard to spark student discussions.

• Back-to-school shopping: Add motivational quotes to planners, notebooks, or labels for a personal touch.

• Family rituals: Parents can place quotes on fridge magnets or slip them into lunchboxes as surprise notes.

• Social media engagement: Share short quotes on Instagram, TikTok, or Pinterest with eye-catching visuals (try Canva for designs).

• School events: Use quotes in PTA newsletters, homecoming posters, or even yearbook dedications.

Roxy | WuKong Chinese Teacher

I have been deeply involved in the K12 education field for many years, acquiring rich professional knowledge and experience. My extensive understanding of Chinese culture and education enhances my ability to integrate diverse educational methodologies. I hold a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Melbourne, which bolsters my expertise and pedagogical skills. Passionate about fostering educational environments that inspire and empower, I am committed to creating inclusive learning experiences. My aim is to positively impact students’ lives and equip them with tools for success in a globalized world.