To all students reading this, please take the time to share this and tag any teachers who you feel impacted your education in any of these ways or others. To teachers reading this, I invite you to consider which of these, if any, your students would consider you to be, and think about how you can grow as a teacher to shape your students’ educations in larger ways.
To the teacher who taught me easy isn’t always good:
Most of the year, we didn’t like you. We thought, no matter how much time we spent on our homework, we could never get the grade we wanted. We said you were mean and too difficult, never pleased with our work. But from you I learned so much more than the subject of that class. I learned how important hard work is. When things are easy, we work a little. But your class taught us hard work, determination, and how much more rewarding a hard-earned A is than one that was just handed to everyone. Thank you for making me a better student, a better learner, and a more successful human being.
To the teacher who taught me the importance of passion:
The majority of high school students don’t like math, but many at my high school wanted to take AP Calculus. You might think that’s odd, but it was because of the teacher. Our calculus teacher loved math. You could hear the enthusiasm in his voice when he talked about limits and derivatives. Thank you for inspiring us to find something we love that much. Thank you for teaching us in a world of money driven careers that you can also enjoy your work. Thank you for making us dread that class a little bit less because of the energy you brought each and every day. Thank you for teaching us to set goals and never settle.
To the teacher who taught me it’s OK to make mistakes:
I was never a strong writer. I had to work twice as hard in English class as I did in my science and math classes. So when many of us didn’t get the grades we wanted, you didn’t shrug your shoulders and say better luck next time, you gave us the opportunity to revise any paper as many times as we wanted. Not so that we could all get A’s, but so that we could learn from the mistakes in our writing and correct them, in turn making our next assignment stronger. You taught us that we can’t reach perfection, but there is always room for improvement and growth. Thank you for helping us become better through our own errors.
To the teacher who changed their mind about me:
There I sat, a sassy blonde little freshman in high school. You would slow down class for me and embarrass me, assuming that I didn’t understand or wasn’t intelligent. But then senior year when I took your more advanced course, I was at the top of my class and excelled in yours. I was the first to raise my hand and you showed a new respect for me, not holding on to your previous perceptions of me. Not only did I learn from your class how much I love biology, but I learned that first impressions aren’t everything from the second chance you gave me.
To the teachers who, for lack of better words, sucked:
While I probably didn’t learn anything about the subject you were supposed to teach me, I did take away a few other things. I learned that I don’t want to end up in a profession I don’t love that will make me do a lousy job. Thank you for making me appreciate the teachers who did go above and beyond to teach me how to be not just a better student, but a better person.
