Teachers can easily have more than a hundred students under their instruction across several different classes every year, so it means a lot to them when a student stands out, as we learned when Redditor ZucchiniFace44 asked: "Teachers of Reddit, what was your "That student's going places" moment?"
"A girl in my class..."
A girl in my class last year had a tough home life. Her father left, her mother was disabled, and her little brother was going down the wrong path. She had to hold the family together. She had to drive her mom to doctor's appointments, discipline her brother by taking his phone away when he acted up, and worked a full time job.
When she came to class she got straight to work and worked up to the bell because she didn't have time to come to tutoring. Every time she had to miss class because she had to take her mother to the doctor, she would let me know a couple of days in advance so she could get her work and stay caught up with the class.
I truly believe hard work is more valuable than natural talent. I trust she'll be successful in her life.
"I kept in touch with him..."
4th Grade teacher here! Half the way into one year, this student James learned trigonometry and began learning calculus immediately after that. I kept in touch with him and he had finished learning practically all of calculus by 7th grade. I even tested him and he got over 90% right! He's in high school now. Can't wait to see where he ends up!
"About 10 years ago..."
I'm a dance teacher. About 10 years ago, I made a passing correction to a class of 9 year olds about something really specific. Several months later, this one little girl was still making sure she remembered that specific thing every lesson (as well as every other correction she'd ever been given - this one just stood out because it was such a tiny, specific detail, none of the other kids even remembered it the next week). She was naturally talented and a hard worker, and I knew that level of attention to detail would take her really far. She's now doing really well in the commercial dance world, and I called it first, so that's my claim to fame.
"I usually hung around..."
Taught English in Japanese middle schools for the 2016-2017 school year. The seventh graders were just (officially) starting to learn English. I usually hung around after school to chat with the students, helped them with English hw/questions, or just stuck around during their club activities. One seventh grader (1st year of middle school in Japan) came up to me early in the year and started talking with his very limited English. Normally the students would be self conscious about making mistakes or not knowing how to say something, but he kept trying and didn't let the mistakes bother him. Over the year he was one of the best English speakers in his grade and his classmates often asked for his help when talking to me. He was in the student government/representative group thing, but as he was just a seventh grader he was like low level.
I went back to the school a couple months ago to attend their graduation, and also to see how far he's come since I last saw him. I couldn't spot him during the ceremony, but near the end when one of the staff members asked the head/leader of the student representative group to come up and they called his name, my immediate thought was "of course it's you."
I got to see the students and congratulate them afterwards. Of course I spoke with him again and caught up a little. He just started high school and is doing well so far, and I'm looking forward to see him continue to do well. I've told all my students that I look forward to seeing them again if/when they come to the US in college and show them around, but he is definitely one of the ones I hope to be able to continue to foster and encourage his education and life.
"I did that thing..."
Me teaching honors biology:
"Hey guys, today we will be delving a little deeper into the digestive system."
Student raises hand, "will we be going... bowels deep?"
I did that thing where you try to hold back a laugh but end up essentially blowing your own nose on your face. This kid was brilliant, star lacrosse player, and witty to boot. I couldn't help but acknowledge his comment.
"The first thing I thought..."
Formerly a teacher. Pre K- I saw a student playing with a toy, just as happy as can be. I then see another student (very sweet little girl, but also very sassy) come up with another toy, tell the first student that he wants to play with said toy, so she could take the one he was playing with. Kid gives up what he is playing with for the new toy. She walks away with the biggest smirk.
The first thing I thought was that she will work on Wall Street one day.
"Girl came as a Somali immigrant..."
Girl came as a Somali immigrant, spent some time in a refugee camp before coming. My first year of teaching at a pretty rough school and she was the most driven, sweet little seventh grader. She's graduating in a couple years and she's in all AP classes.
"I was teaching a pop singing program..."
I was teaching a pop singing program and a totally weird, tall, red headed girl with a huge personality came in. When she spoke, she had this sort of gawky, never-stops-joking personality but the moment she sang she was completely vulnerable and real. She was every kind of different all at once and we fell in love with her.
A season later, Catie Turner placed seventh on American Idol. Nice work, Catie.
"I've had so many."
I've had so many. I've been lucky enough to teach some incredible, ambitious, kind, compassionate and intelligent students. The first debate team I had were funny and smart and would talk about space and geopolitics for fun. One now in getting her PhD in Astrophysics from Stanford (after graduating from MIT), the other is high up in a microlending non-profit. One student was just a dream to coach and learned an event from me easily, getting championships...shes VP in an international business firm and divides her time between the US and China.
I have students who became doctors, built hospitals in other countries, created NGOs, fiercely advocated for the disenfranchised, teach with compassion, create amazing art, perform internationally... and many who turn out to be really good people. I love seeing updates on their lives. I love seeing their posts on social media where they are passionate about what they believe in. It's one of the best parts of the job.
"Every day he would come in..."
I used to tutor for kids with learning differences at a Place called Shelton School in Texas. I taught an English class in the morning and a Lego robotics course in the afternoon. A lot of the kids in the Lego robotics course had a hard time keeping up, and were in groups of two to four kids that were helping build one kit.
But there was one kid, named Ranen, who never needed help. He had a group, but generally worked by himself without any need of assistance from any instructors or classmates. He even figured out how to program the robot without us having to give out instructions.
Every day he would come into that class with the biggest smile on his face, ready to work from the start to the end of class. Great kid, worked his butt off, inspired the class to do their best, and was once of the sweetest most enthusiastic kids I've ever met.
The old wives' tales.
They are the stories of legend.
I think we all need a big DEEP Google dive though.
Where did they originate?
WHO ARE THE OLD WIVES!
You don't hear about them as much anymore.
It's like science and logic are suddenly a thing.
But they sure are a good way to keep your kids and their behavior in line.
Redditor the_spring_goddess wanted to discuss the tall tales we've all been fed through life, so they asked:
"What is an old wives tale that people still believe?"
"Wait an hour to swim after eating."
What a crock!
So many summer hours wasted.
I want revenge for that one.
Say Nothing
Giphy
"An undercover cop has to tell you he's a cop if you ask him."
LonelyMail5115
"Pretty much most advice when it comes to cops are old wives tales. I’m not even a cop but most of the advice you hear is pretty off."
I_AM_AN_A**HOLE_AMA
Say Something
"That you have to wait 24 hours to report someone missing."
Severe_Airport1426
"I really think this one is important and should be the top regardless. As it’s a piece of advice that needs to be relearned and the only way to do that is through awareness."
crappycurtains
"This used to be true. I think they changed it after some guy named Brandon went missing back in the '80s or '70s. You used to have to wait 24 hours if the missing person was an adult because they had 'a right to be missing' and then everyone realized that was stupid and stopped doing it."
AlbinoShavedGorilla
Body Temps
"That drinking ice cold water after eating oily foods will solidify the oil and permanently remain in your body. I informed my coworker that if your body temperature ever reached that point, you’d have bigger problems than weight gain."
chriseo22
"Oh, I have a cousin who 100% believed this. One of those guys who believed every early 2000s internet rumor and old wives tale. One night I chugged a big glass of ice water after dinner and he started freaking out and saying my guts were gonna harden."
"I sarcastically told him to drive me to the hospital if that happened. Obviously, nothing happened and the next morning I said something like 'Thanks for being on standby in case my guts filled with hardened oil.' He just walked off muttering under his breath."
apocalypticradish
Arms Down
"When I was pregnant, I was told by young and old alike that I should NOT raise my arms above my head or exert myself in such a manner because it could cause cord strangulation to my unborn sons and daughters."
Fatmouse84
10 Years Actually
Unimpressed Uh Huh GIF by Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Giphy
"Chewing gum stays in your stomach for 7 years."
"I remember accidentally swallowing a piece of gum when I was a kid in like 1995 and just accepting my fate like welp, gonna have this in my stomach til high school I guess."
Gecko-911
I was so afraid to sallow my gum when I was young.
This tale is haunting.
High/Low
Hungry Debra Messing GIF by Will & Grace
Giphy
"You can tell the sex of the baby by how you carry."
LeastFormal9366
"Pregnancy certainly wins awards for the most old wives tales. So much absolute BS was repeated to us by everyone we talked to."
IllIIIlIllIlIIlIllI
The Cursed
"If you’re a woman and you wear opal jewelry but opal is not your birthstone (October), you’ll never be able to have children, or will be widowed, or just generally have bad luck or something. You can counteract this by having a diamond in the same piece of jewelry as the opal, though."
"I have a nice opal ring that my parents gave me years ago, and I’ve had other women give me this 'advice' unprompted more than once when I’ve worn it. I have absolutely no idea where it started, but I’m pretty sure this little chunk of silicate rock has no concept of what month I was born in, let alone of how my reproductive organs work."
SmoreOfBabylon
Stay In
"Going outside with wet hair will make you get pneumonia. Or an earache. Or maybe arthritis. Depends on which old wife you listen to."
"Jokes on them - I haven't blow-dried my hair in decades and usually leave the house with wet hair in the morning. On winter mornings, the tips of my hair get frozen. No ear infections or pneumonia or arthritis yet."
worldbound0514
Dreams and Facts
"You never make anyone up in your dreams you've seen everyone in your dreams somewhere else before and never make anyone up entirely."
"How would you possibly prove that to be true? My partner adamantly believes this and tells me this 'fact' whenever I have a dream about someone I've never met before."
mattshonestreddit
"My late wife used to tell me that before she met me she would have dreams of standing at an alter on her wedding day but could never see the guy's face, no matter how hard she tried. After meeting me the face was filled in with mine. Don't know if it's true but one of those things I like thinking of every now and then when I miss her."
Darthdemented
Cracked
Getting Ready Episode 2 GIF by The Office
Giphy
"Some people still believe cracking knuckles causes arthritis."
Choice-Grapefruit-44
"There's a doctor (Donald Unger) that cracked his knuckles a couple of times a day for 60 years, but only on one hand, just to prove it. Both hands remained exactly the same."
MacyTmcterry
I love my knuckles.
Do you have any tall tales to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below.
