I just read this awesome post called "What Students Remember Most About Teachers, " and it has me thinking of some truly spectacular teachers in my past. I've been blessed with some amazing ones, and some amazing staff members who weren't teachers, but held other positions that meant a lot to me. I dream sometimes of visiting them where they are now and telling them, "Hey, I turned out alright, and so much of it was thanks to you..." but I can't find many of them. Others, I'm just not sure they'd remember me. But in the spirit of this article, I'm going to remember them publicly here...
Mrs. S - You were the first to notice something was wrong, and you stuck by my side through it all. You encouraged me (and the entire class) to write even when we didn't have something strictly on topic, and we ended up writing a book about the adventures of our new friend Pencil. I was scared through most of that year, but you encouraged my love of reading and even today I can't part with "Charlie's Marvelous Medicine" thanks to the note you left inside it. Your awareness also introduced me to...
Mrs. E! Leader of the Banana Splits. You were probably doing some high-falutin' psychologizing on us, but really, you gave us a home, a space that was safe and open. Even after I moved away, you wrote me letters just to see how things were going. I think you sensed that there was more going on, and I wish I could tell you today that even though there was, I made it. I'd like to think that someday I'll make the same difference. It's always meant so much to me that you were so present in my life. It really was a great thing... I think you're still doing it, and every time I come home to visit, I think of coming to see you... but alas, I think you won't remember me...
Ms. D - You heard so much, and there were so many tears shed in your room. Like both people above, you were present and accepting and created space. You were funny, and *you* and wonderful. I was terrified most of that year, and somehow you helped relieve some of that. Nothing you said or did could change the situation, but just having that space made all the difference. It still makes all the difference.
Mr. G - There are so many things I could say about you... There's really know way to express everything you and Mrs. Z did for me. I'm not sure, even now, that I can really put it into words. Opening your office to me, seeing through the obligatory "I'm good, you?", pushing me to be better than I was, and laughing alongside us all as we had a blast in class... My true safe-haven that I wish wouldn't have shattered so soon. Time was of the essence, and you and Mrs. Z were always there. I can never thank either of you enough.
There have been numerous others who have taught, inspired, pushed, and accepted me throughout the years, and I wish I could really explain why these teachers stand out in my mind. Part of it is too painful for me personally, part of it is that I wish there was a way to say it to their face, and there is actually a part of me that is sad they had to play the roles they did in my life. Regardless of that, I am thankful for them, and that they were who they were at those very moments because it made all the difference in my life.
Teachers are invaluable - and I don't understand why our society tries to devalue them so much.
Tonight, I remember these teachers and they mean so much that I have tears in my eyes: and if you know me, you know I don't cry easily. They made a difference that continues to impact me today.
Do you have a teacher you wish you could thank? What would you thank them for?
Mrs. S - You were the first to notice something was wrong, and you stuck by my side through it all. You encouraged me (and the entire class) to write even when we didn't have something strictly on topic, and we ended up writing a book about the adventures of our new friend Pencil. I was scared through most of that year, but you encouraged my love of reading and even today I can't part with "Charlie's Marvelous Medicine" thanks to the note you left inside it. Your awareness also introduced me to...
Mrs. E! Leader of the Banana Splits. You were probably doing some high-falutin' psychologizing on us, but really, you gave us a home, a space that was safe and open. Even after I moved away, you wrote me letters just to see how things were going. I think you sensed that there was more going on, and I wish I could tell you today that even though there was, I made it. I'd like to think that someday I'll make the same difference. It's always meant so much to me that you were so present in my life. It really was a great thing... I think you're still doing it, and every time I come home to visit, I think of coming to see you... but alas, I think you won't remember me...
Ms. D - You heard so much, and there were so many tears shed in your room. Like both people above, you were present and accepting and created space. You were funny, and *you* and wonderful. I was terrified most of that year, and somehow you helped relieve some of that. Nothing you said or did could change the situation, but just having that space made all the difference. It still makes all the difference.
Mr. G - There are so many things I could say about you... There's really know way to express everything you and Mrs. Z did for me. I'm not sure, even now, that I can really put it into words. Opening your office to me, seeing through the obligatory "I'm good, you?", pushing me to be better than I was, and laughing alongside us all as we had a blast in class... My true safe-haven that I wish wouldn't have shattered so soon. Time was of the essence, and you and Mrs. Z were always there. I can never thank either of you enough.
There have been numerous others who have taught, inspired, pushed, and accepted me throughout the years, and I wish I could really explain why these teachers stand out in my mind. Part of it is too painful for me personally, part of it is that I wish there was a way to say it to their face, and there is actually a part of me that is sad they had to play the roles they did in my life. Regardless of that, I am thankful for them, and that they were who they were at those very moments because it made all the difference in my life.
Teachers are invaluable - and I don't understand why our society tries to devalue them so much.
Tonight, I remember these teachers and they mean so much that I have tears in my eyes: and if you know me, you know I don't cry easily. They made a difference that continues to impact me today.
Do you have a teacher you wish you could thank? What would you thank them for?
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