Teacher Appreciation Day and Week isn’t until the end of the school year, but I think it’s an appropriate a time as any to thank teachers — one of the most thankless jobs there is — as they begin another year of nurturing young minds.
As someone who taught public school music for a very short time right after college, I quickly realized teaching was not for the faint of heart.
I should add that I was only a substitute teacher, the third in a line of at least five teachers they went through that year at the middle school, and that I come from a long line of teachers on my mom’s side.
A product of the public school system in rural Mississippi — historically ranked one of the lowest states for teacher pay — the irony is not lost on me that I was able to receive a competitive enough education that it won me a full scholarship to college. For that, I have more than a few teachers I’d like to thank:
Linda Mays — For allowing me to read books beyond what was required and fostering a love for reading at a very young age.
Haywood Reeves — For explaining math in a way that I not only “got it” but became excited and challenged about the same subject that had me in tears a few years earlier.
Edna Earl Gibson — For instilling a passion for music and becoming a sort of adoptive grandmother who gives the best advice ever.
Pat Mitchell — Senior English teacher who once wrote on a paper: “I can always count on a different approach from you!” I’m not sure if it was meant it as a positive or negative thing, but I was flattered and have always remembered it.
Linda Mason — For seeking and celebrating the creativity in all of her students.
At least a couple of these teachers are, sadly, now deceased. And, there are so many others who left life-long impressions, like Willie Brown who created catchy ditties about science that I can still sing with my childhood best friend, all of my band and choir teachers throughout school, and last but not least, my own mother, who I never had the pleasure of having as a teacher. We were somehow never at the same school at the same time, but now, even after her retirement, she loves to say that she “never grow(s) tired of learning.” And I think that makes the best teachers, don’t you?
What teachers have made an impact on your life, and how? Share and comment. We’d love to hear your stories!
Props to Cool 92.5 FM’s Facebook page for the image share.
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