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Who was your favorite teacher? How did they inspire and impact you? Take a moment.
This week is deemed the “official moment” to appreciate our teachers. Like me, most parents and students appreciate our teachers all year round. As a former elementary school teacher and United Teachers of Dade Representative, I have seen the challenges and awesomeness of being a teacher from every angle.
Recently, at a Palmetto Senior High event, I was approached by the wife of one of our MDCPS District leaders. She told me that she remembered me and my husband, Jim, from Royal Green Elementary and that her life had been changed because of Jim and many of her elementary teachers. The fact that she remembered and acknowledged teachers that were in her life almost thirty years ago was a powerful message. Our teachers change lives.
We have the top-rated school district in the state of Florida and several of the best public schools in America right here in Miami-Dade. Miami Palmetto Senior High School, my alma mater, has produced some of the best and brightest leaders in our country. It is no accident that families move to the South Dade area because of the outstanding schools that are nestled in our neighborhoods and our community spoke loud and clear in showing their appreciation last November in the form of The Teacher Pay Raise Referendum. Yet we still often hear our teachers being used as political scapegoats for all that is perceived to be wrong with our educational system. You can help change that!
Most of us remember a teacher who inspired us with their passion, impacted us with their knowledge, and showed us their compassion. Perhaps there was even a teacher who changed the course of your life. Maybe it was a math teacher who helped you realize you could do algebra after all, or an English teacher who unlocked the joy of reading by sharing novels with relatable stories and characters. Or maybe it was the science or music teacher who helped you to discover your passion and launched you on a path to become the world’s most successful entrepreneur, a Supreme Court Justice, or a teacher yourself.
So back to that question I asked at the start.
Who was your favorite teacher?
Take a moment and think about what that person meant to you. If you can reach out to them and thank them, do it because it will have a profound impact. Tell their story and how they made a difference in your life. Most importantly, tell them this week and every week that you appreciate them.
