Teachers: 99 Reasons to Love Them

This weekend as Jay and I were moving my office to a larger room in the house I found a box of old school work and photos. As I began going through these treasures, I recalled many of my classmates & all of my teachers from K-College and was filled with so many memories, some sad, but mostly happy.

There was a photo of one of my teachers (also my neighbor) who was killed in a car accident when I was in 6th grade. I was surprised at how much I rememembered about him, and that awful day that I have not thought about for so long. So may details came back in an instant.

There were also letters (HAND-written on lemon 'scratch and sniff' notepaper) that my best friend from 4th grade wrote to me. The words were carefully written and so innocent and genuine.

There were ribbons from field day, diplomas and awards, my high school jacket (my daughter has claimed that as hers now even though it has my name on it) and year books with signatures of classmates & teachers-some no longer with us- and as I looked through it all I was taken by how quickly Life flows and how many people have blessed my life in 47 years, with their friendship, their influence and their knowledge.

Many of these men and women influenced me enough to do my best in every situation and to think creatively to solve problems and leave my own signature on the world around me. Every one of them helped make me the person I am now. They all lit a fire in me that made me want to learn & to teach others to learn too. I can only hope that if they knew me today and saw my work, they would be proud of me.

I found this light-hearted article a while back and saved it. I decided that today would be a good day to post it and share it with all of you.

Many teachers still influence me today. They come to me in many forms: my students, my friends, my colleagues, strangers and even as adversaries. I have learned to appreciate every single one of them.

So to all my teachers, past, present and future: Thank you for being hard on me and not letting me do just enough to get by. Thanks for sparking interest, enthusiasm and a love of learning and for reminding me that we are all responsible for our own attitudes about learning. Thank you for making learning fun, not only through the lessons in class, but through Real  Life experiences. Thank you for helping me make so many fantastic memories.
99 Reasons Teachers Rock

*Do you have a teacher that has influenced you in a positive way? If you could see them today, what would you tell them? Tell us about him or her below (or leave them a personal message!)

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