You Have a Story to Tell: Who taught you something meaningful? by Kristinzf

KZiemke — 2025-10-24 01:47:32 UTC

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Dr. Hicks taught me that you can be the light in a classroom.

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Dr. Hicks taught me that it’s okay to mess up and that we always have a support system through her.

Dr. Hicks 💗

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How to have a plan beforehand!

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My mom taught me what it means to be a Christian.

2025-10-24 14:45:36 UTC

My current boss has taught me how to lead with grace and compassion for others. She is a model of how to lead during difficult times.

My late husband

2025-10-24 14:45:40 UTC

He taught me strength and resilience while going through the worst health problems possible. He showed me to see the good in every situation and find something good each day. I try to share this with my students too.

Who impacted/influenced me…

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Dr. John T. Hollar and Pastor Ann Hollar

These two came into my life and taught me that where I come from does not determine my destination.

Who Taught me

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My dad taught me how to work hard and be grateful for that work. I still feel extremely grateful for the work I get to do every day even on challenging day.

Frank taught compassion for those suffering or in need. This foundation taught me how to have compassion for my students that are struggling.

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My mom

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She influenced me to be an educator and taught me compassion.

Literature Circles

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My co-worker Megan, taught me a lot about literature circles and how they work in junior high. It gave me a lot of confidence when I started teaching junior high and created a lot of meaningful moments.

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Dr. Sanders and Dr. Vasinda taught me to give myself grace.

Dr. Sarah Donovan

2025-10-24 14:45:59 UTC

Taught me how to humanize education and utilize student autonomy in the classroom.

Megan Nance

2025-10-24 14:46:04 UTC

Mrs. G - she was my junior level English teacher and she taught me how to really express myself in writing. I would not be an English teacher today without her.

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Dr. Hicks taught me that laughing and having joy in the classroom is essential for students and us as teachers

Dr. Donovan and Dr. Hicks

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Something about going into their classroom elevates my mood, but also enhances my learning. These professors have taught me so much throughout the years. Without them, I would not be the educator I am now.

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My 7th grade Geography teacher. He was my first teacher to include lessons about women’s history. It showed me an adult/teacher who valued similar things as me.

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Mrs. Bauman taught me that you can incorporate fun ideas and freedom in your classroom while balancing an organized classroom.

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Amy taught me to love the kids and everything else will work out!

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My high school journalism teacher taught me how to interview. Those skills still help me get to know people better and have meaningful conversations.

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My professor taught me test-taking strategies that I share with my students today. I loved how she believed everyone can learn.

My dad taught me to find joy in moments both small and big and to take in the world around me.

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My father taught me to always do the right thing even when it is difficult.

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Dr. Logan. She showed how to teach, especially hard topics, in ways that helped students in different ways.

Mr. Holt

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6th grade English teacher. Saw that I liked to draw on all my assignments he said I was really talented and gave me some art books and told me to look him up when I became a famous comic book artist. Maybe one day 🤣

Mrs. Sherrod

2025-10-24 14:46:42 UTC

She taught me to be compassionate because not everyone receives love and support at home. 💕

My Dad

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He read my the encyclopedia instead of traditional bed time stories. He help mold me into an avid reader.

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Mr. Robert Horton taught me that my effort would be reflected in my grade and not to focus on the grade but the effort. He also taught me that I didn’t need to like the subject to value, appreciate, and learn from it or the teacher.

Be kind!

2025-10-24 14:46:54 UTC

My dad was a great example to me on how to be kind to others.

Mother-in-law taught me how to juggle.Taught me perseverance, comfort with failure.

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My high school advanced maths teacher was the best teacher I had. She taught me how to problem solve using the skills we have & how to apply skills to a variety of needs.

Compassion in Education

2025-10-24 14:47:00 UTC

The person who came to mind for me was Dr. Donovan. She is compassionate in her teaching and classroom management, and spoke regularly of how to teach with grace, understanding, and compassion, reminding teacher candidates that we can't always see what students experience every day, and to keep that in mind when interacting with our students.

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Dr. Jackson taught me to always pursue my curiosity and never be content with being left in the unknown!

Sharla

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I thought about my high school choir teacher, Mr. Thorpe, who taught me with kindness and grace. He taught me how to treat students with respect.

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Jud aka my dad taught me it is never too late to follow your dreams and make a difference in the world. He taught me to always give back to my community.

My dad.

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When I was between 2 & 3, he taught me that I should tie/buckle my shoes together. That way, I would never lose 1 of my shoes ever again! I learned that for some things I can plan to prevent and control things that are within my control.

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My mom always read to me as a small child. We read picture books and, later on, chapter books. I learned from her the value and joy that comes from reading. Because of this, I am a life-long learner and teach English and reading.

Story to tell

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This instructor taught me by making me do it. Just jump right in and get started. Way out of my comfort zone but learned because I did and created.

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Colin, a 12 year old who taught me that I get to choose how I respond to situations. How I can control myself in times of anger.

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Becca Stephens taught me that empathy is a superpower and standing up for the marginalized is powerful, even in rural communities.

Mrs Haley

2025-10-24 14:47:20 UTC

My 7th grade English teacher taught me how engaging ELA could be, both for kids who naturally loved it (like me) and those who weren't as into it (like my classmates). She was constantly raising the bar by introducing all sorts of creative projects and opportunities for us to express ourselves. (She had a bulletin board where we could write book recommendations and another one where we could print out pictures of typos that we saw in the real world and put them on the board for extra credit.)

Mr. Andrew DeBella

2025-10-24 14:47:25 UTC

My mentor, turned friend, Andrew taught me a plethora of things. But the first that came to mind was the fact of teaching that not everything goes to plan. When things don’t go to plan, or go as expected, I need to lead not with emotion (such as frustration for lack of understanding), but with empathy that the students aren’t understanding the lesson. I need to take a step back and put myself in their shoes and consider what they need to get out of the lesson, where they are currently at, and how to help them on the path to success.

2025-10-24 14:47:28 UTC

My HS and JH bkb coach taught me how to handle adversity. This has helped me and influenced throughout my life bc life is hard!!! There are going to be peaks and valleys. We need to be able to pick ourselves up during this hard moments and endeavor to persevere!

You are worthy

2025-10-24 14:47:36 UTC

I’m not entirely sure that one particular person taught me that I’m worthy of taking up space and that my voice matters. I think this lesson is a culmination of all of the leaders in my life. Professional and personal leaders have poured into me and helped build up my confidence and autonomy.

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Professor Richard Elmore was integral in my professional growth. He emphasized shared high-leveraged practices, guided communities of practice, reflection and action, professional discourse, & internal accountability. He taught me about the differences between espoused theories & theories in action and the need to reconcile those differences

2025-10-24 14:47:38 UTC

My IC helped me navigate the first few years of teaching, managing my time and responsibilities. She helped me feel like a confident and capable teacher!

The Beauty of Words

2025-10-24 14:47:39 UTC

Grammy with the Fish introduced me to poetry and the magic of playing with words. I can still smell the books in her home library and the adventures that space opened. She instigated my first love of language.

Who taught you something meaningful?

2025-10-24 14:47:45 UTC

As a freshman, I had an English teacher who revealed to me the passion that one can have for helping kids on their learning journey. She struck such a great balance of keeping everyone on task and moving, while also caring about us deeply as individuals. She left our school after that year, and wrote a personal note to each individual student. She is definitely the most responsible for me wanting to become a teacher.

rebeccaemert — 2025-10-24 14:47:47 UTC

Mr. Houck, my accounting teacher, is the reason I am an educator. He told me that I had the ability and talent to be a teacher.

Dr. Sarah Donovan

2025-10-24 14:47:55 UTC

Dr. Sarah Donovan has been a positive influence on my teaching pedagogy. She taught me to utilize a youth lens in humanizing curriculum.

My daughter, Isabel

2025-10-24 14:47:59 UTC

Isabel is 15 and taking 5 AP or pre-AP classes. I'm also taking a class and got a grade that frustrated me. She looked at me and said, "Mom, remember: the grade doesn't matter. Did you learn from it? Will you be able to use what you learned? Get over it."

Kenzie Pratt

2025-10-24 14:47:59 UTC

My dad use to play a “game” with me, when I was little, where I had to maintain eye contact with him and not react in any way (no smiles, no anger) as he made comments about be. “Your nose is squishy.” This stayed with me and taught me that I have a sense of self that exists outside of what others think of me.

My dad taught me that as long as I have done my best, there isn't anything more that can be asked if me.

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As a perfectionist, this helped me to take a step back and understand that I don't have to be perfect. It's okay to make mistakes. Doing my best is enough.

2025-10-24 14:48:11 UTC

Mrs. Hill my mentor teacher taught me the importance of not allowing the teacher who had my new students the year before to tell me or “warn me” about them. It is a new year and that student deserves the opportunity to have grown over the summer. They deserve a fresh clean slate.

My First Teacher

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My mom was my first teacher. She taught me that reading and continuously seeking knowledge is vital to life and learning.

Grandma Dorothy

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I collect rocks

Because of you

I love and respect nature

Because of you

I know the value of hard work

Because of you

I’ve learned so much

Because of you

Art Teacher

2025-10-24 14:49:02 UTC

Mrs. Carmen taught me to trust myself and my voice, my mind, and my creativity. Also, that my creativity and self-Expression is worthy of exploration.