Ways Teachers Instantly Gained Respect From The Entire Class According To Students
All of us were positively impacted by a teacher in one way or another.
Even those of us who hated school still have one teacher who continues to influence our life decades after graduation.
In some cases, this influence is a very personal one, as this particular teacher may have given us some extra attention, and went to great lengths to make sure we were reaching our full potential.
Then there are the teachers whose name brings a smile to the face of all who ever knew them.
The sort of teacher who made people excited to get to class, and who so seamlessly gained the respect of their students, that they wanted them not just to be their teacher, but to be their friend.
Not by doing anything remarkable, but simply by being themselves.
"What did a teacher do that made you automatically gain respect for them?"
Words Of Affirmation
"I went to a small charter school for middle school."
"Our English/literature teacher was brand new to teaching."
"If I remember correctly she was only 22 which seemed old at the time."
"She always did her best to be so cheerful and make learning fun."
"But the thing that truly solidified her spot as my favorite teacher was that for every student’s birthday she would give you a personalized mini notebook."
"It was just a simple small composition notebook but she had filled the first couple pages telling me how much she loved having me as a student, how far she knew I would go, and other affirmations."
"It seems small but as a 13 year old who had a crappy home life it made all the difference in how I acted the rest of the year."- Voiceisaweapon
Studying University Of Colorado GIF by CU OnlineGiphyTeaching Is A Calling
"I had a teacher in elementary school who was prone to outbursts."
"He had a short fuse, at least compared to every other adult I knew at the time."
"For instance, when several of us in class weren't listening he'd throw a piece of chalk against the wall to get our attention."
"Honestly, we just thought he was crazy."
"A year or maybe two years later, the school had a talent show."
"Like a big one, in the gym, in front of everyone."
"One my classmates was really into music and wanted to play a drum solo."
"Our teacher had mentioned off-hand that he used to be in a band and played drums, so my classmate asked him, sort of dared, like kids often do with adults, to play a solo in front of the school."
"And he did."
"He f*cking rocked it."
"But that's not what made me respect him."
"Turns out the band he played for was a very successful, and at the time quite popular rock band."
"He left just before they became popular, because he wanted to be a teacher."
"He chose teaching kids over the chance at fame and fortune, and didn't regret it."
"Decided to look him up and he's still a teacher, and doing very well."
"Made me smile."- dasoberirishman
Drumming Music Video GIF by Simple PlanGiphyA Little Compassion Goes A Long Way
"When I was in the 1st grade my mother gave me one of MANY really awful haircuts."
"The first day back at school afterward the kids picked on me horribly."
"So much that I ran out and hid."
"The principal found me and we went back to the classroom and he asked me to wait outside for a minute while he talked to the class."
"He then walked me to his office and bought me a Coke."
"The next day, first thing in the morning, we had an assembly with the entire school and he walked up on stage with his head shaved completely bald and talked about bullying and the like."
"Some twenty years down the road he had retired and I ran into him at the local college."
"Shook his hand and said, 'you probably don't remember me, but-'"
"'Yes I do', he interrupted and said my name and the event."
"The man was and is a hero in my eyes."- hopgeek
Their Door Is Always Open
"I want to shout out this teacher of mine."
"She was our AP English Language teacher for our senior year of high school."
"On one of the first days in her class, she explained how she went from being a kindergarten teacher to a high school senior teacher."
"She always saw off her cute and happy kindergarten kids, but as they grew up and they came back to visit her, a lot of them came to her troubled and dissatisfied with their lives."
"It made her real emotional about how people had treated these kids she loved so much, how she couldn't afford to see kids so disconnected with life, and how she didn't want them to suffer as they headed out towards college and their adult lives."
"So she changed curriculums and started teaching seniors."
"If I remember right, it always came down to sending her kids off with a smile, prepping them for the real world."
"I respect the hell out of her and she'll always be one of my favorites."
"Truly like a mother to all her students."- NuluProton
Teachers Day Hug GIF by Teach StemGiphyHelping Their Students In Each And Every Way
"My 4th grade teacher would have a 'classroom yard sale' every year after she did her annual Spring cleaning."
"Her daughter was about 13, so the things she'd recently outgrown would be age-appropriate for us."
"I'm aware this wouldn't work out every year, and I'm not sure how long she taught at our school but she told us it was a regular thing."
"We didn't have to pay for them."
"If we needed or wanted something, we could have it."
"There was some sort of lesson incorporated into the yard sale."
"How to trade or value money or something like that, so we didn't feel embarrassed if we needed a few more things than the other kids did."
"I wish I could remember exactly how it worked, but this happened in 1994."
"She was an all-around great teacher."
"Thanks, Miss Ferrell, whose name I've probably misspelled."
"Your class was fun."- NeedsMoreTuba
A truly great teacher doesn't just teach you facts from a textbook.
A truly great teacher is one who likes to listen more than they like to talk.
By doing so, they learn more about their students.
As they continue to learn, their strengths as a teacher grow even stronger, and they, in turn, help students learn more about themselves.
Who was a teacher who impacted your life? Let us know in the comments.
When you stick a bunch of puberty stricken kids together, sparks are bound to fly.
Teachers spend a lot of their time watching over generations of students, and can expertly spot the signs of when students like on one another. Crushes are so frequent, they can list off the usual patterns of a blossoming romance. Some teachers even step in to try to help their students out.
Redditor u/RadioWolfSG wanted to hear stories about childhood romances, and asked the teachers of Reddit... "How obvious is it when one student has a crush on a classmate?"
10. Jealousy and disappointment
"Depends on the age, but the signs are obvious.
Lots of staring, and not-so-obvious but very obvious attempts at being near them. Visible disappointment when they aren't put in the same group for group work. Jealousy in all forms.
I've seen a kid hate a classmate for WEEKS because that classmate sat next to the kid's crush for morning meeting."
9. "StooOooooop-uh"
Giphy"Super obvious. When a girl says 'stooOooooop-uh' while laughing at a guy who is teasing her, or a guy goes out of his way to make fun of her/'steal' something from her so she'll have to pursue him to get it back, it makes me 100% certain."
8. This economics teacher that paid attention
"Shout-out to my high-school econ teacher for:
Noticing that me and a girl were into each other
Constantly putting us in the same group
STRAIGHT UP ASKING THE GIRL IF SHE HAD A BOYFRIEND WHILE I WAS IN THE ROOM
Mrs. Anderson is the best wingman of all time"
7. Lowering their voices
"There's a boy in my class whose voice hasn't changed yet. But everytime he is talking to another girl (from a different class) he is noticeably lowering his voice to sound deeper.
Obvious signs are obvious ;)"
6. When feelings aren't mutual
"What's even more obvious is when one has a crush and the other isn't interested
I've noticed when a girl is crushing and the guy isn't, he is more likely (but not always) to be more forward about telling her so, to the point (in one or two cases) of sometimes being openly cruel to her.
The girls in the reverse situation act annoyed and will sometimes make their disinterest clear, but more often than not they grin and bear it and try to pretend the crush doesn't exist."
5. They ended up getting married
"Not a teacher, but I had an amazing teacher.
She knew I had a crush on this girl, and she might have know she had a crush on me.
All high school assigned seating we were put next to each other.
All projects we did together.
She put us together for everything.
I'm marrying that girl in 4.5 weeks.
Thanks Mrs. Perez."
4. "Get it, girl!"
Giphy"Former middle school teacher here. I actually told kids one year that if they wanted me to change their seating chart they could email me. This was to avoid potential conflicts or bullying. Instead, a girl asked me to put her next to the boy she liked. I did. I wanted to reward her for asking for what she wanted. I think my exact words were, 'Get it, girl.' Unfortunately for her, he wasn't interested."
3. Lots of PDA
"They started hanging around each other a lot, always hugging, making lots of context for physical contact, then they started holding hands, became very very close to the point that you'd never see one without the other until they finally started dating.
They were two of the most troublesome children, and to this day everyone is afraid of this relationship."
2. Teachers spread the word
"Not a teacher, but my Spanish teacher, somehow noticed my crush. I didn't have Spanish Class with my crush. Also, my history teacher always placed me by my crush (not creepy) and I started to guess that one teacher noticed, the spread it to other teachers."
1. The teacher that taught politeness
"Used to teach 6th and 8th grade science at an inner city school. I told all of my students their best chance at dating their crush was to be respectful. The 8th graders ignored me and proceeded to make fun of their crushes. The 6th graders though... they bought it! 11 year olds were holding the door open and pulling chairs out for their crushes, being supportive and kind to one another, cutest stuff ever."
Teachers, educators, and coaches are people too.
In fact, they are some of the wittiest people around, you'd have to be to deal with some of the fools, neh, students they see on a daily basis.
More educators should probably go into stand-up comedy but past students and institutions who employed them wouldn't be able to handle it.
Teachers... write down your best thoughts, make t-shirts, you could use the extra income.
Redditor areaditor wanted everyone who has been vanquished by a teacher to speak out by asking...
What is the most savage thing a teacher has ever said to you?
Better You.....
Giphy"After getting hit in the eye with a softball during PE, and almost being knocked the heck out, He said to me 'Son, it could have been worse, could have been my eye!'"
H3nrikL4rsson
Simmer Down....
"Not me, but a classmate of mine who put on his sunglasses in class:"
"'Take off those sunglasses, your future ain't that bright."'
Rooshmie
"Teacher here: my go to line for a comment like that is 'Still getting paid, you're not!"'
skinnerwatson
Oh Jared....
"Not me but my best friend. In Social Studies the teacher was giving a lecture and my friend, let's call him Jared, was talking crap to some friends at the back of the room. He said something about his penis, as high school kids do. Well, from the front of the class comes a real snappy line from the teacher, 'This is social studies Jared, not microbiology!"'
In_Shambles
Hey Sister....
"We were sitting around at the end of shop class just talking sh!t until the bell rang. One student asked the teacher if he knew how to get 4 gay guys to sit on a stool. The teacher didn't know so the student turned over his stool so all 4 legs were pointing up."
"We all laughed and then the teacher said they had the same joke back in his day except it was about how to get 4 sorority girls to sit on a stool. The student thought that version was way better and started laughing even harder. Then the teacher says, 'Isn't your sister a sorority girl?"'
"The look on the students face was priceless."
BaconConnoisseur
Physics....
Giphy"After building trebuchets to launch golf balls in physics, we were doing our tests and someone's went off center on a swing and threw a ball in my direction, hitting me in the head surprisingly hard (actually got a minor concussion from it and it split the skin open)."
"Seeing me grabbing my head and bleeding, my teacher laughs and says 'maybe itll fix the part of your brain that makes you like you are.'"
grootbutmadeofbamboo
Simple Destination.
"In high school, the yearbook committee did a thing where we went to different teachers and asked where they saw random seniors in ten years time, and put the quotes in the yearbook When I gave the name of one of my friends to our English teacher, she simply said:"
"'Jail.'"
ShoddyBiscotti1
You're no T!
"Not to me but my P.E. teacher once told a boy in the changing rooms, before we went out for football, to take all his jewelry off. He had about 2 chains on his neck, an earring and maybe some more stuff, I can't remember. But it was hilarious to have the teacher say 'Who you trying to be, Mr. T or something?"'in front of all the boys in his class."
comrade_batman
"Football Play"
"One of my football buddies got his essay back, and the teacher put the mark, and F or D- or whatever in the top corner, then drew on the top a 'Football Play'... except instead of the end zone he labeled it the 'failure zone' and showed my friend ending up there."
billbapapa
Having Nada.
"Once my P.E teacher said that they have mirrors in the gym to check you posture. I said no, it's to take photos and flex. Then he said, you've got nothing to show off."
edwardio0
365 and Waiting....
Giphy"After finishing my lap of the field for rugby training and giving out times for the team my coach/teacher said; 'i would have timed you but I didn't bring my calendar.'"
EmergencyBerry
"this is boring"
"Upon hearing groans following an instruction to get into groups or whatever: 'Christ, you want some cheese to go with that whine? Just move!' Upon receiving an essay/report with almost zero punctuation: 'This <writing> is so bad it should be on toilet paper. It's textual diarrhoea. It gave me pinkeye just to look at it.'"
"When students complain that 'this is boring': 'Boredom is a thing that happens in your head. So there are no boring activities, only boring people. Lift your game, Tyler.'" 'Oh you lost your pen? I teach. What's my job? (You're a teacher) Right. And you lose things. What does that make you?'"
slatboyfim
absolute disgrace...
"For our Christmas concert I was playing 1st Cornet (small trumpet) and I neglected to wear completely black shoes (they had a white stripe around the rim of the sole). When my brass instructor found out (10 minutes before we were about to go on stage) he fixed me with one of the most intense, burning glares and stated 'you are an absolute disgrace' in a cold tone that was dripping with disappointment and barely repressed rage. He was my favorite teacher who was a super chill guy. I looked up to and respected a lot, but damn, music teachers on concert nights... a completely different beast."
Usidore_
Name It
"It wasn’t said to me directly but rather done to me. I’m a female with a male middle name. We had at least 4 other girls in the class with the same first name as me so I volunteered to be called by my middle name. By the time I got home the male teacher had called my mom to tell her I wanted to be referred to by my male name, as if to say there was something wrong with that."
JazzyDip333
That Sting
Jimmy Fallon Omg GIF by The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy FallonGiphy"My 8th grade math teacher blasted me to the rest of the class after a test. 'I won't say the name of the student with the lowest score but his initials are *my name*.' That stung a bit."
CrystalLakeKiller
In a chem class...
"This happened to a friend of mine. In a chem class the teacher was explaining the process by which atoms become ions. He said that metals lose electrons while nonmetals gain electrons. He summarized the point and said: 'nonmetals are gainers and metals are losers' after a quick scan of the room he turns to my friend and says: 'I guess you are a metal then.'"
areaditor
Just like Bruce Banner...
"Neither were towards me, but my history teacher was a freaking madman with his savagery:"
"I was chewing gum and a girl put her hand up and snitched on me for it. He looked at her and said 'This is why people f**king bully you.'"
"Later that year he got into an argument with some moron in my class who was trying to be bada**. The kid straight up paraphrased Bruce Banner and said (and I quote) 'Don't piss me off, you dead a** would hate me pissed off.' The legend that was Mr Summers replied, 'I hate you anyway. Get out.'"
Sad_Dong
Love/Hate
"'I really like you as a person, but I hate you as a student.'"
"My French teacher told me this when I was in high school, during this period where I was really depressed and self-destructive and on the verge of flunking out. Having her be so honest with me and pointing out that I was wasting my potential, but at the same time saying I was a good person, made me want to do better and eventually I did."
-eDgAR-
That's ME!
Sacha Baron Cohen Thumbs Up GIF by Amazon Prime VideoGiphy"Guidance counselor while simultaneously looking over my transcripts and aptitude test scores:"
"'Well it looks like you're a classic under-achiever.'"
mcagood1
Oh Dear
"My friend told me that her teacher told her at age 12 that she would be the most successful of all girls because of her big boobs. (Mind you same friend who speaks five languages, brilliant and was a junior Olympian level swimmer)..."
rfd2115
Kids are absolutely savage. But teachers can dish it right back!
Do you have similar stories? Share them in the comment section below!
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Every day in a classroom is a roll of the dice. Educators and students alike have no idea what will happen when you put 20-30 teenagers in a room. Odds are it won't turn into a "Lord of the Flies" kind of situation. but on rare occasions you'll get an incredibly WTF moment that can be shared on the internet for all to see.
Reddit user, u/Not-Fluffy, wanted students to share the tea when they asked:
Students of reddit, what's your "well that happened" moment in the classroom?
Being a teacher really can't be easy.
You're always dealing with a bunch more than a single human being really should be dealing with. And you're technically responsible for like, the future of America, so you know, no pressure.
Sometimes it's just the worst day ever and it's a miracle you make it out intact. But you know, it all would have been okay without that annoying as HECK thing you had to deal with today...
u/Chrisrocks202 asked:
Teachers of reddit, what was the most annoying thing you ever had to deal with in class?
Here were some of those answers.