Yesterday many area schools had opening day sessions for teachers. It is the first time in 33 years that I wasn’t at one of them. I hope their day was a celebration and that school leadership reminded them how important they are. Teachers are important to society, to communities, and to individuals. Teachers have impact.

As I think back to the many educators who shaped my life, I see a variety of colorful characters. My kindergarten teacher was warm and kind. My first grade teacher was irritable and easily angered. My second grade teacher was attentive and introduced us to the world. My third grade teacher was young and detached. All different, but somehow we learned.

My sixth grade teacher was a dynamo. She challenged us to think differently. She encouraged projects and cooperative learning. If a lesson was too basic, she would create something special for me. She called it my challenge. There were puzzles and games to be solved. Learning was an adventure. Of course students made our own adventures. One day every sixth grader was lined up and paddled for a mishap on the playground. I escaped punishment, because I had been in the library doing some research for an upcoming project. Sometimes it pays to be a book worm.

Middle school saw an introduction to theatre with the opportunity to be a student director. The history teacher was also the theatre elective teacher. He was funny and witty. He somehow cast me as Dracula. My science teacher was known as the guy who showed endless slides and assigned unending worksheets, but we were spared the agony. We had a handsome student teacher who would rather we do lab assignments and dissections. I still love science. I played volleyball and basketball and ran endless laps around the gym. The coach was somehow patient with a group of 13 year olds who would rather talk about their day than practice.

High school was a blur of courses. The theatre director and yearbook sponsor was kind. He spent endless hours after school with teenagers hoping to make their mark. We sang and danced and overacted with his good natured corrections ringing in our ears. My math teacher was an assertive women who ran several businesses in addition to teaching upper level mathematics. She would grade our papers as she flew down the highway to her business meetings. She was hard and sharp and my hero. My history teachers were largely disappointing characters. For a person who loved history, I found that I could learn more by reading on my own. In band, I encountered an eccentric individual who believed in excellence. He pushed us and gave us music that was at the outer limits of our capabilities and wouldn’t quit until we had mastered them.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of training a group of teachers that I had never met. They (like the teachers I had as a student, worked with as a colleague, and supervised over the years) were an eclectic group. They were funny and polite. They were both eager to learn and cynical. Student success was the first thing on their mind. They were smart and thoughtful. They could have done anything and they chose to teach. They were sitting with me and planning how to provide the very best experience for students who will walk through their doors next week. As I listened to them , I was reminded of teachers in other places and contexts. I could feel the energy as they anticipate the arrival of students.

Teachers are not perfect. They are people. Teachers are not saints. They are individuals who have decided to spend their life pouring into others. Teachers are not all knowing. They are students who have to keep learning themselves in order to keep their lessons relevant and fresh. Most importantly, teachers are not enemy combatants. They are champions of democracy. Democracy only works if there is an educated populace.

For the first time, I will not be among the thousands of teachers returning to classrooms this week. But I am with them in a spirit of thankfulness. I am forever grateful for their sacrifices on my behalf. FYI to my elementary teachers, I no longer “talk too much”…..you could take that off my report card and change it to “reads too much”. You did your job well.

PS. I would love to hear your stories of your favorite teacher in honor of back to school week.