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Have you had an inspirational teacher that you still can't forget? Was s/he like, really kind or helpful?

I have one-last year's teacher (Year Eight). Whatever I do, almost everyday she echoes my thoughts. She taught me a lot of things. I really miss her. Sometimes I'd cry to sleep. I've never felt so strongly about a teacher.

She was my homeroom teacher. For Year Sevens and Eights at our school, our homeroom teacher teaches us many things. This includes English, Religious Education, social studies and sometimes mathematics. They also taught us half of science lessons and technology lessons.
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I did not have a good impression of her. My Year Seven class taught me wrong. There was a particular girl who always criticised teachers apart from her own. My biggest mistake that year was to listen to her.

The first weeks of last year were horrible. I really didn't want to admit I liked her. But weeks followed and I settled in. Parts of me remember all those laughs we had. Sometimes our Religious Education lessons miraculously turned into a laughing time!

She would always mention her own inspirational teachers. I remember her saying them so fondly-her history teacher and english teacher. She said they taught her a lot, a lot more than other teachers.

She was never the bragging type the girl in Year Seven described. I couldn't believe how she could ever say those things.

You know what? She taught me a lot more things than anyone else had ever taught me apart from myself. That year I improved in English and spelling. She showed me what (auto)biographies were like. She was so different to my other teachers, maybe it was because of her age.

The last week of school was tragic. She fell sick. She wasn't there. It was really, really upsetting. Our class missed her so much, that we phoned the radio station which our class loved, and dedicated a song to her. It was worse when we all realised that we were her last class at this school, she was retiring. We would probably never see her again, and she'd come on Friday.

The last day of school, her final day at our school, I had a dentist appointment. I wasn't there for the final hours. Then there was prizegiving...I didn't see her until I left. She was simply the best teacher I'd ever had and I told her this.
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Okay, anyway, now I've typed this all out online, I feel heaps better.

May God bless her.

That is very moving Ail ... what a lovely tribute to pay your teacher. I just bet she is so proud of you.

I was forunate to have 2 teachers that I would class as inspirational and oddly enough one taught me English & History & he was a truly brilliant teacher with an absolutely infectious love for his subjects.
The second was surprisingly a nun who taught us Religion but she was in no way dogmatic about Catholicism & had no problem with heated discussions that moved way beyond Catholic teaching. I know we regularly argued points we didn't really subscribe to just to see if we could outrage her (never worked!) as long as you could put together a coherent argument and have a civilized discussion she never objected on grounds of dogma.

Good for you Aileenhu.

As for me, I had great teachers but not really the ones I would adore.
I hope I can meet a teacher like in "Tuesday with Morries"

Well Butterbescotch, I hope that one day you do meet one.

my inspirational teacher was my English teacher in high school I remember him reading Educating Rita to us, and looking at books in a new light.

I got interested in reading and writing because of my English Teacher. Why? Among all the the English classes, I never got a high score until this one. So when I saw the flashing numbers, I got motivated to do more.

I have had a long think about this and i genuinely cant name a single teacher that actually inspired me in either national school, secondary school or college. Sure, there were teachers i liked more than others but my own academic leanings were as a result of my interest in science and analysis, and not from the musings of any particular teacher. Sadly, a lot of my Irish and English and Geography teachers in secondary school were old-school, lecturing from a 40yr old textbook in a patronizing and droll manner with little room for expression of opinion, they just went through the motions with little passion. So no is the short answer!

StephenKingman wrote:I have had a long think about this and i genuinely cant name a single teacher that actually inspired me in either national school, secondary school or college. Sure, there were teachers i liked more than others but my own academic leanings were as a result of my interest in science and analysis, and not from the musings of any particular teacher. Sadly, a lot of my Irish and English and Geography teachers in secondary school were old-school, lecturing from a 40yr old textbook in a patronizing and droll manner with little room for expression of opinion, they just went through the motions with little passion. So no is the short answer!

That's sad Mike ... but me thinks you did OK

My Polish teacher in primary school, she always was giving us interesting topics for esseys, when we were discussing lectures she had some nice ideas sometimes, like make a play or radio audition and if someone read something besides lectures, told her about a book and wrote about it, could gain some extra points (which opportunity I used of course ).

But then I hated my Polish teacher in high school and ended studying finance and banking

OMG Teesie you have me crying now.

'In the little world in which children have there existence
Nothing is so finely perceived or so keenly felt as injustice'
- Charles Dickens

That really sucks, that teacher must have had something wrong in her head. She must have slipped through the screening somehow.

Bighuey wrote:That really sucks, that teacher must have had something wrong in her head. She must have slipped through the screening somehow.

That's what I've always said. Of the whole time between kindergarten and 4th grade that I was in public school I was sent to the principle's office 5 times. Four were in the second grade when she was my teacher.

The other one was because of some idiot running his very natsy mouth on the school bus and I told him to "Shut the heck up, or Jesus is gonna smite you." LOL. I just had studied at sunday school about God smiting the egyptions with the plagues. Then he said he didn't believe in God, and I told him he'd better start or he would wish he had. They sent me to the principles office for using the "H" word and for "religious rasism". lol. I was 9 years old, for goodness sake. Like I knew any better at the time.

Man, you must have gone to some crummy schools. But I can believe it, when my oldest boy was in his last year of high school, he was having trouble applying himself to his studies. My wife and I set up a meeting with the principal and this jerk said we dont work with the students, if they want to learn fine, if they are having problems they can get the hell out. Im pretty mellow in situations like that and just would have walked out and put my son in a different school. But my wife was pretty outspoken, she told him to shove the school, the whole f-----g system up his ass. We put our son in a special school and he got his diploma. He turned out quite well, hes the manager of a trucking co. They say U.S. schools are among the worst in the world and I can believe it.

Bighuey wrote:Man, you must have gone to some crummy schools. But I can believe it, when my oldest boy was in his last year of high school, he was having trouble applying himself to his studies. My wife and I set up a meeting with the principal and this jerk said we dont work with the students, if they want to learn fine, if they are having problems they can get the hell out. Im pretty mellow in situations like that and just would have walked out and put my son in a different school. But my wife was pretty outspoken, she told him to shove the school, the whole f-----g system up his ass. We put our son in a special school and he got his diploma. He turned out quite well, hes the manager of a trucking co. They say U.S. schools are among the worst in the world and I can believe it.

Believe it or not I actually went to one of the better elementary schools in may area. The othet teachers I had there were great, but that one paticular teacher just didn't like me for some reason. She was nice to all the other kids....