Teachers That Have the Most Impact on Students

A few days ago, I was reading through an old high school site and someone was commenting about a teacher who made a difference in his life.  Many people contributed to this thread with memories of great teachers. One thing that someone said was that it was the teachers that “wonder” about their students that make them great. I found this comment fascinating as I had never thought about it that way before.

I got to thinking about my own favourite teacher when I went to school. Her name was Mrs. Hunter and she inspired me to be a teacher way back when I was in grade 2. Mrs. Hunter was gentle and she smiled a warm smile.  Mrs. Hunter played guitar (as I did later) and she sang to us. I don’t remember anything about what we learned academically. This got me thinking that there are great teachers but which ones truly leave an impact?  Those are the ones we still think about and remember years later.
Who were your favourite teachers?

So I asked my Facebook friends both on my fan page and my personal page what their best memory was that they had of a special teacher in their life.  I wanted to know what the qualities were that they possessed that made them love them (and still remember them now!). I know this has been asked and written about before but I wanted to get a current perspective since many of us are returning back to school soon or are there already.

Granny Bee said – I had the same teacher for 4th, 5th, and 6th grade. She was super creative and let us be creative, too. We listened to classical music and drew how we were feeling.

Kristen K said – I had a science teacher in 5th grade who made learning about science so {much} fun. We were never allowed to say “water” in her class, instead we had to say “H2O”.  If we didn’t, she would chase people around the room.  Everything she did was fun and engaging.  You could tell she was a free spirit and she loved teaching us about what she loved. She also always respected us and gave us freedom to pick our own projects and it made us feel very grown up!

Neile G said – Mr. Godwin and Mr. Moser made learning fun.  They cared about their students and went the extra mile.

Andrea W said- Mrs. Derrick, my grade 3/4 teacher…red hair, fiery spirit. She made me believe I was smart and I could do anything I set my mind to.  I did grade 3 and 4 in that year so I guess she was right!

One of my classmates in elementary school had this to say about my favourite teacher as she was her favourite too.  “She genuinely liked kids, never talked down to us and she stayed after school to teach me guitar. – Bobbi-Jo L

Martin G said – In Grade 5, Mrs. Coventry was wonderful. I never felt so loved by a teacher.

A special teacher is often hard to forget. How that teacher made you feel is life lasting.  As we head back to school, remember those special teachers you might have had and let’s make this year special for someone else.  🙂