Behind the Blog 22: World Teacher's Day

Behind The Blog is a meme to help bloggers connect their life and interests to the content showcased on their blog. The co-hosts Faye Kathe and Melissa will provide a different topic, idea, or question every week that bloggers can relate to themselves and the books, films, or media they find interesting!

This week's theme is World Teacher's Day

October 5th is the day of the World Teachers’ Day. It is a day to celebrate teachers, to thank your own and to be grateful for all the help you’ve recieved from your teachers. So this week we’re asking you if there are any teachers you want to thank, or your views on why teaching and teachers are, or are not, important.

In relation to media, are there any films or books that you feel have spotlighted teachers particularly well? What about any that show them negatively?

I'm extremely thankful to all of my teachers throughout the years. I've had so many elementary and high school teachers, professors in college, that you might think that it would be silly to say that I've learned important lessons from each and every one of them. Each of them has pushed me to think differently about one subject or another. Many of them have helped foster my dreams and encourage me in things like writing creatively. 

My 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Best, was the first to encourage me to write creatively. She had us do some sort of writing workshop and she must have seen something, because she told me that I had a knack for making up stories. She even kept in touch with me after the school year. She kept in touch with me all the way through the end of 7th grade, and then I lost her address when my family moved.

In high school, I had several favorite teachers. Too many to single any one in particular out.

In college, I loved the fact that teachers and students (in most cases anway) were on a more equal level. Many of my university professors let us call them by their first name except the select few who felt entitled to being only called Dr. so and so because they had a PhD. There were plenty of profs with PhD's who still let us call them by their first name.

One of my favorite professors in college was my Stats professor. I've never been very good at math. I struggled all through high school in algebra, geometry and trig. When my senior year came and I didn't have to take any more math for college requirements, I was ecstatic. When I decided to major in Sociology I was glad to see there wasn't too much math required. I was a little nervous, but my Stats professor put us right at ease. She made the class fun. Plus she just had one of those fun types of personalities anyway, so it wasn't like she was just trying too hard or faking her way through it. She made me want to show up 3 times a week. Which was a good thing considering that the class was MWF at 8 in the morning. (Hers was my only class on Fridays that semester and I didn't ever mind going.) And, I'm happy to say, hers was the first (and only) math course I ever aced.

Teachers are extremely important because the really good ones will make kids want to come to school every day. They make them want to learn. And a lot of times it's a really good teacher who instills passion in their students who will help those students find out what they want to do in life, and give them the drive to go for it. A lot of time teachers can be the confidante for some kids who may not have the best home life, so they reach out to teachers for help or someone to talk to. And it's great that teachers can be there for kids who need them. A lot of times though I think that this exact thing can contribute to teachers being burnt out. They have so much work to do and are at times underpaid and under appreciated. They have little to work with in terms of resources and sometimes the stress becomes too much. Totally understandable.

Books and Media Tie in:

One great movie that highlights the struggles of teachers is Stand and Deliver, which I think is based on a true story. The teacher in this film pushes and inspires his inner city, dropout prone students to learn calculus.

Another inspiring professor is highlighted in Dead Poets Society. There is superb acting in this film and it's intense at times.

I actually can't think of any books that highlight teachers really well, so if anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them!

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