I feel as though I speak for everyone when I vocalize the importance of having good teachers. School within itself can be tiresome and extremely draining at times, but having at least one teacher that makes you feel ‘at home’ and works towards maintaining your mental state, rather than tearing it down, is extremely important. Throughout my educational career, I have come into contact with so many teachers that have completely changed my perspective on schooling, yet only a handful of them have been positive influences. These teachers were the ones that made me want to show up to school and work harder in their classes because they recognized that we, too, were our own individuals with our own desires. Rather than teaching all students the same way, they would place a priority on tending to the needs of each individual student, in hopes of forming personal, trustworthy bonds. They have made consistent efforts in treating each student as their own child, with the intention of showing each student why they matter.  Teachers taking the time and effort to get to know their students beyond a letter grade will forever be recognized as someone that is significantly more than an educator, but more so, a role model. To be able to teach a classroom full of students is a difficult task, but being able to form lifelong memories and relationships with each student is something significantly more challenging.

These are the teachers that I eventually aspire to become. From a young age, I always knew that I wanted to become an educator, but I now realize that it wasn’t only the good teachers that made me want to chase these dreams- it was the not-so-good teachers as well; the teachers that cared significantly more about assignments being turned in on time over their students’ mental states or even the teachers that would get a power trip over telling their students that they couldn’t use the restroom during their class. Those are the teachers that inspired me to want to make a change. I understand that being a teacher is a difficult, frustrating career at times, however, showing students that negative mindset will deflect the poor attitude onto them. It has always been so easy to decipher whether or not a teacher truly had a passion for teaching or if this career path was their last choice. Teachers that actually have that drive and desire to educate future generations will show that they care through treating their students like people, whereas those who are not passionate about teaching will go above and beyond in order to push “busy work” and a poor mindset onto their students. Although there are many amazing teachers worldwide, many teachers must grow to recognize that they need to do better in order to ensure the security and comfort of their students. Students are people too and should be treated as such, rather than pawns in teachers’ personal games of chess that should only do this or that when told to do so.