Last night I was talking to a high school freshman girl about her classes at her new school. As an English major, I was really upset to hear that she absolutely hated her English class because her teacher was so awful. Her teacher had a rule that he wouldn’t give anyone an A in his class, and this girl, who had never gotten a B in her life, was in tears over her paper, that I thought was pretty good for a fourteen-year-old, that had received a C. She continued to explain all the rude comments he’d made over the past semester.

After hearing about this teacher, I began to reflect on my own experience in the classroom. When I was a junior in high school I had a teacher drop me down from an A to a B because I didn’t participate enough in class (when I had a broken ankle and I had doctors excuses to miss class for appointments).

This teacher took pride in giving low grades and made me absolutely hate English, which is now my favorite subject.

If I hadn’t fallen in love with writing on my own outside of that class, I never would have found my passion. I’m incredibly thankful to have had an amazing World Lit Professor my freshman year at college who got me excited about literature and inspired me to learn (shoutout to Dr. Johnson).

I spent some time talking with other students about what their best and worst experiences with teachers were and realized just how much of an effect teachers can have on their students' education and confidence. While some students are motivated by adversarial situations, professors shouldn't assume that all students are like that and it can be really detrimental to students who aren't motivated that way. It can severely diminish their self-esteem and push them away from that particular subject.

A good teacher doesn’t give you an A when you don’t deserve it, but they also don’t give you a C just to make a statement. A good teacher inspires you to work your hardest. A student I talked to said that she had a professor who had the motto, "Always try and never give up," which continuously motivated her.

I think that teaching is just one of those careers that you just cannot do only for the paycheck. A good teacher is passionate about making their students passionate about their subject.