Some of the most important things I learned during high school were not taught through homework and lessons. I liked most of my teachers, but there were a select few that were my absolute favorite. Those who were my favorite did not just teach their students lessons about the class they were in; they taught their students lessons about life. My teachers, while amazing and passionate about their job, truly cared about and took a special interest in their students' lives.
My teachers taught me that it was OK to cry. I remember many days in high school that were rough. When I found out that my grandfather had practically given up on his battle with cancer, I was at school, and I was a wreck. Besides my friends, my teachers were some of the ones who were there for me during that time. They gave me a break in class because they knew my day was rough. They didn't push me to talk about the things I was going through unless I wanted to, but they let it be known that they were there if I needed somebody to talk to.
They also helped me learn that it was alright to make mistakes. There's one time that I remember sitting in my teacher's office crying (I'm emotional, I know), because I had made a mistake in my personal life. I made the mistake, and I was dealing with the backlash of that mistake -- months after I had made it. That teacher talked me through my problems and helped me realize that it was alright to make mistakes; just apologize, keep your head up and move on. She probably should've been paid double by the school for the time she spent as a therapist, honestly.
My teachers also taught me that they're real people -- outside of their jobs -- too. I remember one of my favorite teachers would tell us stories about her life, present or past. Many of these stories came with lessons that you could choose to take away, but that's not why she told us those stories -- and her mini-lessons aren't the only thing I took away from her stories. She once told us about how much of a rebel she was as a child because she had gotten her cartilage pierced without her mom's permission. I don't remember what brought the story up, but I remember the story. Little things like those remind students that we don't have to be perfect, and that our teachers had to grow up and wander through life's adventures as well.
My teachers, while some of my favorite, also taught me that you can't just slide through life with no consequences. If you don't turn in your homework, you're going to get a bad grade in the class. If you don't put in any effort, you're going to get a grade that reflects your performance. These teachers love what they do and put their students first, but that doesn't mean they don't care about their job, their class and their students putting in the time to complete the assignments. If you slack off, it shows -- and your favorite classes are no exception.
Another thing that my teachers taught me how to do is learn. I know, it's a real shocker that my teachers taught me how to learn, but I'm serious. My favorite teachers weren't the ones who only gave us homework and that was pretty much the entire class. My favorite teachers were the ones who immersed the class in learning; the classes that I still look back fondly on and say, "This is something I learned my junior year of high school!" I'm not even just talking about class lessons -- but things that pertained to the topic we were learning about but weren't in our curriculum. I would have never learned those things had my teachers not taken the time to throw those random facts in, but to also inspire us to learn more than what we're taught.
Maybe they didn't do this for all of their students and maybe it was just because I felt connected to these teachers that I learned so much about life from them. But, honestly, I truly believe they were special. Thank you for teaching me about life.
