Kevin It’s World Teachers’ Day, or Teacher Appreciation Day 2021, and as someone who’s had exposure to the education industry beyond just as a student, I felt like we should dedicate today’s post to our teachers.
World Teachers’ Day got its’ start in 1994 according to the Wikipedia article, and some countries hold their national teachers’ day on the same date. Here in the U.S., it’s part of Teacher Appreciation Week 2021, which has come and gone. It was back in May, so we’re more than a day late and a dollar short on that one.
According to the Wikipedia article, Estonia and some countries in the Russian Federation have this really fun tradition where the graduating class cohorts (roughly the equivalent of our high school seniors, or the U.K. educational system’s A-levels) get to teach the younger students.
In the spirit of World Teachers’ Day or Teacher Appreciation Day, let’s talk about a teacher that made an impact on our lives, for better or worse. Or we can talk about more than one. The more the merrier, eh?
I won’t be using anyone’s real name, whether good, bad, or both. I will be using they/them pronouns, and Mx. as the honorific. Idk if they’re active on the internet, but whether they are or not, I’m not gonna blast ’em on here out of respect for them, even if it’s more than they showed me while they were in my life. To keep with the spirit of Teacher Appreciation Day, I’ll be focusing on the good ones I’ve had during my years in school.
In no particular order, the first on my list is one I’ll be calling Mx. Johnson. Mx. Johnson was one of my high school teachers for two out of the four years of it. One of the things Mx. Johnson talked about was how they lost a lot of weight. Like in the triple-digits, same as yours truly did long after I graduated high school. They even had a picture on their desk from before they lost the weight, and I was like, dang, I wish I could do that! Their class was one of my favorites, and I always stuck around after class ended to help clean up. Eventually I’d show Mx. Johnson some of my writings, something I seldom ever did.
One of my favorite things about Mx. Johnson was how they took the guesswork out of organization. They provided us three-ring binders, dividers, and an opener packet to go in the front, and it lived in the classroom for the rest of the year. I actually still have mine.
The second on my list would have to be Mx. Andrews, a teacher I had for a very brief amount of time in middle school. It was shop class, to be exact, and pretty much the only thing I liked about middle school. Really, the less said about that time in my life, the better, haha. Mx. Andrews had the radio playing during class, and they had the dial turned to the Top 40 country station.
Talk about being right up my alley! I was always so sad when my time in Mx. Andrews’ class ended.
After that, I’d definitely have to give a shout-out to Mx. Wilson. They were one of my teachers in college, and while I couldn’t find anything about an appreciation day for those in higher education, at least as of the date I posted this, I feel like they count as part of Teacher Appreciation Day all the same. Mx. Wilson taught several classes I took as electives toward my major, and one was about Germany during the Third Reich, and I still have all my stuff from that class, as well as the other one I took from them.
During my years in college, I volunteered at a local elementary school, and there were teachers I dealt with that I’d have been stoked to have had as a student. I still remember them, and it’s been like 10 years since my volunteer role with them ended.
I wonder how they’re all holding up these days.
Anyways, enough about the teachers that made an impact on me. Over to you, readers. Do you have any teachers that made an impact on you? Who were they? When were they in your life? Is there anything special you remember about them? Drop ’em like they’re hot below, and let’s talk.
