I have known such amazing teachers in my life. Not all of them in classrooms, but I have been supremely lucky with most that were up at the head of rows of desks. School work came too easily to me in my youth, so I learned very quickly how to be lazy and do the bare minimum to get by. In the absolute personification of that phrase “Youth is wasted on the young” I now wish I had actually read all those books and learned some things a bit more fully than just enough to pass the tests and move on. A few teachers caught me up short and somehow lassoed my interest back to the subject at hand, instead of my usual Ferdinand the Bull routine of staring out the window and daydreaming. Jan Cusey, Chris Walker, Ron Underwood (who I tortured mercilessly in high school), Andy Doe, Audrey Stanley, Michael Edwards…by turns stern, humorous, sarcastic, or cajoling, they were interested and interesting, and for some reason, despite my discouragement…they were committed…to me. I truly owe them.
Thanks for Teaching!
The website ThanksForTeaching.us gives each of us a chance to call out the great teachers we have known. It’s a pretty thankless job, at least in this country…and these folks dare to inspire. Click over and acknowledge someone who made the difference for you.
Change by Doing 