I saw this video today and at the end, it honestly brought tears to my emotionally disinclined eyes.
Okay, so I do have emotions, but rarely does something get me so farklempt.
See, the thing is, for my entire life, my mom’s told me tried to convince me that I should be an English teacher. Every time she brings it up, I come back with all these different reasons that I don’t want to.
I didn’t like high school kids when I was in high school. English teachers are the most hated group of people amongst the 12-18 year old age group. Considering all the layoffs, it’s close to impossible to get a job teaching. Teacher’s incomes are terrible. And a few others about how I may not be able to refrain from sassing back at parents who think teachers are glorified babysitters.
But after I saw this, I realized the excuses are just excuses. I neglected to consider the impact my 11th grade English teacher had not only on my education, but my life (and my sister’s- she had him the next year). I also failed to recall how much my English 100 teacher empowered my voice as a writer. Basically, we can both thank Mr. Kamei and Vera Austin for the awesomeness you keep coming back for.
So with no further ado:
P.S. Go thank a teacher. And if you’re a parent, thank your kid’s teachers twice.
And if you still think teachers are overpaid, go spend a day with 30 kids who would rather be anywhere else in the world. Then make them do something.
I say we clone him. Or make him write a book that is required reading for all teachers. Unfortunately, from my experience, there are 50 uninspired teachers for every one like him.
During my senior year at Purdue it became clear to me that, of all my teachers, my high school English teacher had the greatest positive impact on my life. Coincidently, my younger sister had that same teacher, Mrs Halfaker. I asked my sister if she would let Mrs. Halfaker know the awesome impact she had on my life. My sister delivered the message and Mrs. Halfaker began to tear up.
I was always the class clown and never really gave much in the area of positive feedback to my teachers. It felt good to pass on a word of gratitude to the one who stood out as extraordinary.