Dear Teachers,

You might not remember every face, or every name, but I hope you know we remember yours. We may not remember the academic lessons you taught (I’m talking to you, algebra), but we remember the lessons you taught us through your actions. A teacher has so much power and influence and they all affect us in many ways.

We remember how you treated us: with respect, like children, like students, or something else. We remember what you said to or about us and we remember if it was kind or uncivil. I don’t remember my grades, but I remember if I was encouraged and listened to, or if I was ignored and told I was wrong. Whether you are a good teacher, bad one, or somewhere in the middle, I hope you know what you say and do resonates with your students forever.

The teachers I remember are the ones that probably shouldn't teach students at impressionable ages. They lacked grace, respect, and honor. The teachers I remember the most are the ones who didn’t encourage, show kindness or respect, but required us to give them it instead. I remember the teacher that said I was stupid in front of the entire class, and the teacher that sent me to the principle for accidentally kicking a kid during nap time. That’s a pretty long story so let’s not discuss that either. I remember the teachers that didn’t care if we became president of the United States, or president of the streets we might sleep on. Those teachers who proposed negativity towards those they were supposed to mold and shape into the future of the world, are the ones that gave us our doubts that we would become more than the things they thought of us.

However, without those teachers, who would we have to prove wrong? The greatest lesson that teacher could’ve given us is the motivation they were wrong. And if those teachers didn’t exist, then we wouldn’t know what a great teacher looked like.

I also remember the teachers that challenged me most. The ones that inspired and treated us like the adults we were growing to be. These teachers helped us explore our interest and educated us in the best way possible. I remember the teachers that helped me find my passions and helped me decide on my future.

Teachers are the most hardworking and the most important people in society. They are in charge of educating young minds and have the power to transform young people into decent, educated, and respectable human beings. They could be educating a Nobel Prize winner, or the next world leader, etc. It is very important for a teacher to love what they do and to do it with grace and respect.

A teacher’s actions towards a student is what molds them into who they will become. If the only thing a teacher teaches is negativity, then, in my opinion, creates more negative adults, and a more negative future. If a teacher teaches positivity, and tries their best to teach young adults with the respect that they deserve, then I feel that it makes the new generations better people. Not all of your students will be highly successful millionaires, but at least, if the job is done right, they will go out into the world as good people, and treat others the way that you treated them.

I thank all of the teachers I’ve had in my academic career, both good, bad, and somewhere in between, because without any teachers, I wouldn’t be where I am right now.