The most memorable thing from your schooldays before college, taxes and mortgage payments may have been the cafeteria pizza that tasted like wet cardboard or all the laps you had to run in gym class. 

Whether you went to public or private school, whether there were large or small class sizes or you loved school or despised it, there is one thing that I think we all can agree with: There is a teacher who especially impacted us in some way. 

There is always at least one teacher who has made a particularly positive impact on our lives. It could be some sweet soul from elementary school or a cool and collected college professor. Whatever the case, they made an impression, and we looked up to them in some way.

“My fifth grade teacher, Ms. Rudolph,” said Macy Baugh, a sophomore psychology major. “She made learning fun and was compassionate about her students.” 

The impact a teacher can make on students is dependent on how they present themselves. Baugh states that her teacher was very compassionate. I know that all the teachers that I have had who had an impact on me were very kind and compassionate people. It is not just about what the teacher teaches but how they teach it. 

 “However, a substantial body of evidence indicates that student learning is multidimensional, with many factors beyond their core academic knowledge as important contributors to both short- and long-term success,” said David Blazar and Matthew A. Kraft, writers for the National Institute of Medicine. “For example, psychologists find that emotion and personality influence the quality of one’s thinking (Baron, 1982) and how much a child learns in school (Duckworth, Quinn, & Tsukayama, 2012).”

It has been shown repeatedly in studies, and from what I have personally seen, that the attitude of a teacher can influence a student’s own attitude and learning comprehension. I have had multiple teachers throughout my schooling show me what it means to treat people with decency and how we should spread kindness, not hate. 

“I’ve always liked school, but it was good teachers, like her, that helped push me to grow in my understanding of school and the world around me,” Baugh said. 

Good teachers also help push their students to be their very best. They help us get out of our comfort zones and look more closely at the world around us. Teachers like Baugh’s can help students in not just learning from books but also how to navigate life. 

“My favorite teachers were Mr. Martin and Mrs. Smith,” said Madeline Marx, a sophomore management major. “I admired them because of the way they led their students and how they were truly interested in their lives and getting to know them as people.” 

Great teachers, like Martin and Smith, help students, like Marx, to understand themselves and truly invest in their personal growth. This can last all the way into adulthood and inspire students to find their passion. 

“When I was considering being a teacher myself, they inspired me, and when I thought of what kind of teacher I wanted to be, I thought of them,” said Marx. 

I can attest that this is something that is true for a lot of people. Teachers very often inspire their students to be like them. Students look up to them as role models, observe the way they run their classroom and look to them in admiration. 

I have had a lot of really great teachers in my school career. I cannot tell you how lucky I have been to have so many amazing teachers who were so invested in my life and, even to this day, who helped shape me into the student and person I am. Pretty much every teacher I had in high school (shoutout to Loganville Christian Academy) made such an impact on me and left me with so much wisdom and fond memories. I am truly grateful for each and every one of them and for that amazing school.

I have to give so much credit to my high school French teacher, Mrs. Shultz. She helped show me what it means to truly love learning and how to make it fun. Her investment in my life and her endless kindness toward me helped me in ways I cannot even begin to explain. I am so appreciative of what she and so many teachers like her have done for me and in helping me get to where I am today. They helped break my shell and opened me up to the world. They showed me that I was not just in the world but a part of it.