"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.
I try my best to respectful when in other people's spaces. But how can we do better?
Rocked Off
"Going on the black rocks and being swept out to the Atlantic Ocean, risking the lives of first responders and locals many of whom are already traumatized from Swiss Air."
bassibear
Just be decent...
"Don't freaking carve your name on stuff!!! The amount of people who need to carve their names onto historical buildings and statues are just crazy. Don't be an a**. You are ruining the place. And respect peoples properties. Yeah, it's a cute street with cute houses and charming gardens. But that does NOT give you the right to enter peoples private properties to peep in their windows, walk in their gardens and try to open their doors."
"A colleague is selling his house because he's tired of people peeping in their windows and trying to open their door to have a look inside. He got yelled at for being inappropriate while he was sunbathing naked in his own garden by a tourist who let themself in the gate and walked around the house to have a look at his garden."
Frequent_Artichoke
Defacers
"Deface world heritage sites for souvenirs or internet clout."
"For example: The Colosseum in Rome has graffiti carved into it's walls by arsehole tourists and Stone Henge is closed off to the public because arseholes were chipping pieces off for souvenirs."
Bedlamcitylimit
"It is worth noting: at one point the 'caretakers' at Stonehenge handed out rock hammers to tourists for the specific purpose of chipping off bits to take as souvenirs. That was before the modern idea of 'museum as conservation of history.'"
beamrider
Snapshots
"Stopping their cars in the middle of the road to take in a view. WTF?"
Duality_is_my_prison
"They do this for wildlife where I live as well. I've seen idiots chasing bears with cubs into the forest to take pictures with their phones. A friend of mine lost a relative because a touron in a bear jam didn't look before pulling back into traffic on the road because he was so focused on the bear and didn't see the cyclists. Hit one of them and broke the cyclist's neck."
MizElaneous
Hands Off
angry yellowstone national park GIFGiphy"For your sake, STOP TRYING TO PET THE BUFFALO! Or don't, some of us are entertained by the videos of you flying through the air."
WyoPeeps
Why do we always want to touch the wild beasts? We have death wishes.
Too Many Sips
Happy Spring Break GIF by HBOGiphy"Driving drunk. I live in Sonoma County, California. Make sure you’ve got a sober driver ffs. The roads around here are never more dangerous than winery tasting room closing time on a sunny weekend."
XinaRoo
Money Woes
“'I paid a lot to be here.' 'Change (blank) or I’ll leave a horrible review.' Driving like a d**k head, leaving garbage anywhere but a rubbish bin, stopping in the middle of the road to let out your family of 12 instead of pulling into the parking lot. I have a lot of stories. I live in Hawaii and work only with tourists. Best yet, My company was asked to contact the cruise ship company to have them move the ship because it disrupted the sunset."
Ishart_thesherrif
Infested
"In my hometown, it somehow became a thing that tourists would rent mopeds. So when you are trying to get to work, you often get stuck behind a flock of tourists on mopeds, riding at 20MPH in formation so you cannot pass them. We are infested with gawking tourists moped gangs. If they want to rent mopeds, at least go the speed limit, and ride in a manner that allows others to pass you."
Panthean
Food Wars
"Stop feeding the damn seagulls."
AlwaysPhrasing
"I worked at Disney World for a few years and the squirrels there are vicious. People think it's fun to feed them so they are completely fearless. They'll hop right into a stroller and grab food from a child."
Jupiters
Proper Attire
Falling Down Lol GIF by America's Funniest Home VideosGiphy"Stop trying to hike up a mountain in flip-flops! Also, don't try to use an air mattress as a mode of transport between islands. Several of these every year."
JoetheGrim
Hey SoCal...
"I live in SoCal and... there's a lot, but one thing I find hilarious is the way people complain about the locals at Disneyland. 'The passholders ruin it for everyone! It's too crowded!' Like ok let me just not enjoy my local amusement park so that you can have less crowds during your vacation."
"Maybe stop traveling here in the summer. It's SoCal; it's warm all year long. Come in the winter. Another funny complaint I heard was: 'It's weird seeing the locals walk around chilling, like it's just a normal day for them. It kind of ruins the magic of Disney."
heidismiles
That Weekend
"Allowing their kids to do whatever they want. I grew up in a small tourist town that does Civil War re-enactments ( Ulysses S. Grant lived there when he won the presidency). Once a year they have a weekend where the Boy Scouts take over the town camping down by the river, taking tours of the historic buildings etc."
"Every year most of the downtown shops will close for this weekend because of how much the Boy Scouts will steal or vandalize while there. Everyone that lives their dreads that weekend because the troop leaders just let the scouts do whatever they want."
m00mrayne
What's left behind...
"Spain. We get a crap of tourists. Very well behaved for the most part where I am. So, thanks for doing it right, tourists. The worst is littering on the beach, which is thankfully pretty rare. I occasionally see someone put a cigarette butt in the sand. A lot are taken away when they leave, but the sand has away of hiding stuff, so a lot remain."
"I'll give you tourists one tip. Night swimming. If you put your keys, glasses, etc. down in the sand, they're gone. Between the sand and the dark, you'll never see them again."
sbenzanzenwan
History Spots
dallas cowboys football GIF by Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the TeamGiphy"Stop walking out into the middle of an active downtown street to take group pictures of yourselves in cheerleading outfits on the spot where Kennedy was shot."
stupidlyugly
Just Stop
"Clean up your f**king trash. I used to live in a spring break destination which was a small surf town. After spring break, people would be cleaning up pounds upon pounds of beer cans, broken bottles, needles, used condoms... f**king revolting.
"Edit for you nitpickers: I meant 'stop throwing your garbage on the ground.' There, now get off my cheeks."
MiniatureWendigo
Oblivious
"Amsterdam. Walking around like they're at Legoland, blindly stepping into traffic, oblivious to the fact that people actually live here. We use the bike to get to work, to get groceries, we're not just aimlessly cycling around for the fun of it."
bidluf
"I live in the Netherlands so I’m used to bikes. Amsterdam however truly is on another level. The residents ride their bikes like they are ready to kill anyone standing in their way."
neortje
Dead Pause
"Stopping dead in a crowd in the middle of the sidewalk."
ScoobyJoobyDigDog
"St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago when they dyed the river green, we had tourists stretched across the sidewalk taking photos with selfie sticks. I eventually had to gently, physically move them since a massive crowd was forming and they wouldn’t let anyone through."
Proper-Emu1558
Show some...
Respect Aretha GIF by MOODMANGiphy"Just respect the land! Clean up after yourself. Be very careful about making and extinguishing your fires (because forest fires!). Don't dump garbage, fuel, gray/black water in ditches."
"A big one in BC is for tourists to learn how to drive in mountainous areas. Most tourists drive way too slow (leading to road rage), and too many don't know how to stay right on highways except to pass. Or pull over to let people pass you if you don't know how to drive on twisty roads."
cabalavatar
Well this is all good information. Now... will people listen?
"Have you ever genuinely lost respect in someone because of their opinion? Why?"
People with no compassion and don't have an open mind can stay living under a rock.
Undermining
"Any time I hear from someone that my depression is fake, my doctors are brainwashing my brain and the pills is just placebo to act like a zombie, I can handle it. And an ex-friend did that except she wanted to sell to me her Bach roses/mlm sh*t and told me they CURE everything. I asked her if she even had a time per month to listen to my worries and said 'I don't have time for that.'"
– Edgefish
Questionable Therapy
"A friend I have since withdrawn from told me that she wanted her boyfriend; who has Aspergers; to go on a 5 day course to 'change his personality'. I didn't even know this existed! Horrifying."
– Cute_Island_260
The Xenophobe
"I'm an immigrant, and I have lived my whole in Europe ever since I was 4 months old . A 'friend' of mine back in high school complained about immigrants, and that they're 'filthy'. I told him 'Well, I'm an immigrant as well, and he just answered 'Well, you're a different immigrant. You're not like them'. I had known him since middle school. I guess I saw his true colors lol."
– EntertainmentFit2023
The Racist
"When I was in the break room, watching videos on my phone and my boss walked in, sat down, and was waved at me to take my headphones off and so I did and she said"
“'Do you go to the mall? Cuz I don’t, I hate seeing Mexicans and blacks just living off the government.'”
"I'm Spanish decent and I’m brown as well, what the f'k."
"Edit : added Spanish descent because an account reposted my story throughout my comment history because they were mad I said I was brown."
– Flywire789
Blaming The Victim
"Yeah Mt ex said that women who walk by themselves in the dark and get raped need to blame themselves."
"He was the ugliest man I ever met after that discussion."
"'I know it's illegal to rape someone but why walk about on your own after dark if you don't want that to happen to you?' BECAUSE WE NEED TO GET HOME FROM WORK, DANIEL. IT'S DARK AT 4PM HERE."
– [deleted]
An unpopular belief system is enough to write off a friendship.
Pro-War
"An old friend of mine thought wars are good and necessary due to overpopulation. She specifically mentioned WWI & WWII and why innocent people had to die."
– HotIcePack
Just The Facts, Please
"Yes. If someone’s opinion contradicts a scientific fact then I can’t respect them. Flat earthers are a good example of what I mean."
– Bjorn_Suicide
Flat-Out Believer
"A guy I was friends with started going on about how the earth is flat. I thought he was joking at first as there are a lot of flat earthers out there. But no, he's one of them. I struggle to hold a conversation with him now as it's all I think about when I (now rarely) see him."
– An-Englishman-in-NY
Support For An Autocrat
"A classmate of mine posts stuff on Facebook how it's NATO countries fault that Russia is invading Ukraine and not Putin. He makes it sound like Putin never had any fault in this and is blaming western countries. He also supports a dictator's son who is obviously a liar and a thief who is running for President. Seriously, that Dictator's son is a coward who doesn't show up at debates and interviews because they are 'biased'. That coward also has lots of troll farms on Facebook and Twitter."
– 567stranger
Outdated Norms
"A friend had his nephew (2 yrs) with him at another friend's place, I said i have toys at my place that I could bring over. I brought the toys over and he straight up said NO, he's not playing with these. Why? Because it was a kitchen set."
"I have had many of my nephews and cousins (boys and girls) play with them. I had already been realising that he was kind of sexist, but that just left no room for doubt."
– 1_step_at_atime
Perception Of Attractiveness
"People who think a relationship only works if you're entirely physically attracted to them. No I'm happy with being half into their looks. Really isn't as important as having a good personality with matching chemistry."
– joelfoy44
About Healthcare
"A former friend of mine once said that he hoped that healthcare was privatized here again. He said that he was 'sick of paying for other people's healthcare' and that people who couldn't afford it deserved to die anyway.He's from a middle class family and he said that to a group of people who were from working class families, who wouldn't be able to afford privatized healthcare and who in his eyes 'deserve to die.'"
These Redditors frowned upon those who lack having any sense of morality.
Cheaters
"People who cheat on significant others, when I learn you cheat I instantly assume you have zero integrity, I have 0 respect for you and I will distance myself from you any way possible because you are a backstabbing piece of sh*t."
– Kusanagi8811
Perception Of Criminals
"I work in medical research. It's a complicated topic and I don't want to get into an ethical debate in the comments, but I lose respect for somebody every time they say 'Why don't we just test drugs on criminals instead of poor little animals?'"
"You're philosophically bankrupt. We've got historic evidence that defining someone's right to human dignity and human rights based on criminal status is a bad f'kin idea. Tying that to profit motive and encouraging an increased 'production' of criminals to test on just gives you a system that is somehow even worse than the current American prison system."
"Kind of a niche rant, I know, but it bugs me that people actually believe this would work."
– Stradoverius
Bullies
"people who treat the weak badly."
– rasbperr1
Actions Speak Louder
"I have a sibling who is one of those people who makes a huge performative display of empathy and liberalism, but never undertakes action to back up the displays. A virtue signaler, I guess would be the term."
"Anyway, after years of outward display of being an LGBTQ+ ally, they justified Hillary’s stance against marriage equality in 2008 because 'it just wasn’t a smart political move'. This same sibling also told me they could never love a bisexual person because you could never trust that they wouldn’t cheat on you."
"Me and my fiancée are both bi and haven’t come out to our families."
– MagnusCranmegranate
Human beings are complex individuals, and we are constantly being influenced by our environment and those around us as things change.
So it's unsurprising how we grow distant from certain people as we get to know others who come into our lives.
And even though we may get along well with them on the surface, their views on the world around us and how they perceive others is a telling characteristic of who they are as a person.
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Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.
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I don't know the mailman's name. I really should. It's been the same guy for a year. I should make him cookies. Who else are we overlooking?
Essentials
Selena Gomez Cooking GIF by HBO MaxGiphy"Janitors. Teachers. Garbage workers. Restaurant cooks and servers."
Be Kind
"Being in beauty school where we had clients 3/5 days every week (the other 2 being class time) and when I worked as a carhop at Sonic. Soon after I have grown a much more sense of respect towards all customer service workers and the importance of tipping (live in the US)."
Delivery
"Mail/Package delivery carriers. All we do is sit in the comfort of our homes complaining about how the online system says our package is running late. Meanwhile these men and women are out every day including rainstorms and snow to try to get your mail and packages to you as quick as possible. Some of those older cars don't even have AC on top of the of the fact they do not get paid enough for the work they do."
"Now I work as an account manager (customer service) at Discover Credit Card and it amazes me how crappy ppl can be towards someone who's job it is to service you and in my current job help you. To be honest when I get really sweet customers who rave the company, the agents and especially yourself it makes it all worth while knowing some ppl will appreciate u and make sure you know it."
Head above Water
"Sewer Workers. Imagine going through literal crap to deal with people's crap."
"I am the head water and wastewater operator for the city I live in. It really isn't as bad as you might think, most of the time. If you take your precautions, it really isn't a problem. As for why, I wouldn't say it is a great paying job for what it really entails."
"For instance, all the certification and government restrictions, that you have to deal with. You are basically a chemist who gets to work in the field. And it is by far one of the hardest tests I have had to take, and I have a college degree. I just fell into this position, and I really like what I do. I am essentially responsible for delivering clean drinking water to the home and removing the waste from it. The town folks health is in my hands, and I feel better knowing it is me running it instead of the lazier people I have seen in that role."
- ihcubguy
Feed Me
homer simpson tractor GIFGiphy"Any food-related job, from farmers to delivery drivers. You'd think that something involving a basic survival necessity would be lauded to Heaven and back, but nooooooooo."
Road crew staff. Without them we'd be stranded. That job is dangerous too. Working amongst drivers? That's death defying.
homer simpson truck GIFClean Up Crew
"Maintenance/janitorial services."
"Janitors in my high school were honored guests at the assemblies, and they were routinely and publicly thanked. It made them visible to the students, and I think helped make a culture where they weren't taken for granted. It was one of the nicest things I can remember about high school."
I Care
"Caregiver. My mother works as a caregiver in a nursing home. She spends her days showering the elderly, changing their diapers, feeding them, and cleaning bodily fluids. Not only is it a physical job (you often have to lift people, carry heavy things) but it's also psychologically hard. She sees many people suffering, dying, often alone and abandoned by their families."
In Flames
"Wildland firefighters. Specifically ones working for the federal government. Restricted to only having 4-6 days off a month. Paid horribly, 15$ an hr to expose yourself to extremely Smokey conditions with very poor hygiene conditions. High risk environment while working long hours multiplied by doing it for months causing cumulative fatigue. Fed worse than prisoners for the most part. It is a thankless job, no wonder there are retention issues."
Friends with Ben
"We as a society have a terrible habit of viewing these types of workers as dumb or incapable of getting "better" jobs, but in my experience this couldn't be further from the truth. I remember there was one member of the cleaning staff at my old workplace who was seriously one of the smartest guys I've ever met."
"He was really young too (probably not much older than 20), but if you spent five minutes talking to him it was apparent that this guy was next level brilliant. He could've done anything he wanted, but instead chose to work as a janitor while solving advanced math equations and hanging out with Ben Affleck."
Thank you...
GIF by FirstAndMondayGiphy"Grocery store cashiers - especially during this pandemic."
"Know what I hate? That cashiers can't sit because it might "appear" that they are "lazy." FFS! No one needs to be on their feet 8 hours if they could sit! It takes a toll on the spine, knees and feet! Please write/call your stores manager and ask for seating."
I need to do better. We all do. So let's start today. Tip your waiters. Say hi to the janitors. HELP AND PAY YOUR TEACHERS!!
Thank you for your services to humanity!
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