Teachers – they’re overworked, underpaid, and completely disrespected.
And they just keep showing up anyway.
What is something a high school teacher told you, that you will never forget?
byu/absolutejuice22 inAskReddit
Not all of them are saints, of course, but if this thread is anything to go by, a huge number of them have left enormous impressions on many of us.
Take it away, Reddit.
1. The rude dude
I had a gym teacher that was known for being strict/rude. He actively would make kids cry on the regular.
Anyway, after my dad passed away he was still super strict towards me. But one day after track practice he caught me in the hall and said “your dad would be so proud of you.”
It caught me so off guard, I actually cried
– lizzy_in_the_sky
2. Always ask questions?
My chemistry teacher told my mom that I would do so much better if I asked questions.
I’ve found that this is true in all stages of life. Ask questions!
– Weaselywannabe
3. The coffee gambit
My partner had a high school teacher that would walk through the busy hallways at school shouting “HOT COFFEE, HOT COFFEE” while holding an empty mug.
He just wanted people to get out of his way and it always worked.
– Dodney_Rangerfield
4. That makes alot of sense
My English teacher in grade 6 put “A” and “LOT”on 2 separate pieces of paper and taped them to opposite walls on the classroom.
Then she got a student to run from “A” to “LOT” while yelling with them “AAAAAAAAA” * gets to other side* “LOOOOOOOTTTT” to teach us that they were separate and that ‘alot’ is incorrect.
I have never forgotten and can still picture it as if it were yesterday ? it’s been 12 years
– megbee17
5. Strike it lucky
My highschool baseball coach / Sociology teacher always used to say ‘Those who are prepared create their own luck’ before exams.
This is a true life lesson.
– TheDeadMonument
6. A real piece of history
Best history teacher I ever had was a substitute.
Final day of his weeks long run, I told him as much and asked him why he didn’t do it full-time. He said he’d like to, but he doesn’t coach any sports. All the coaches are history teachers because they can get away with spitting out names and dates and descriptions and that counts. His style was more cause and effect and while more engaging, it wasn’t deemed necessary by the school board. I said you should move to a better area. He said naw, he liked it here because it’s where he grew up and where he’d die.
He confided in me that he had a terminal disease. Died the next year.
– Tokugawa
7. Feel the chemistry
Our high school chemistry teacher said:
“Remember – a warm test tube or Bunsen burner are no substitutes for a satisfying relationship.”
– Back2Bach
8. Step up and say something
In my childhood only one person ever tackled my mother about her abuse of me and my siblings.
It was parents day and my b**ch of a mother, as usual, turned up to take the credit for my being top of the class again. At one point there was just me, my **** b**ch of a mother, and Mrs. Soames (physics teacher) in the lab. Mrs Soames quite calmly challenged her, saying “Mrs xxxxx, why do you treat [Tomsdottir] the way you do? She’s a good girl and doesn’t deserve it.”
To my astonishment, my evil b**ch of a mother was speechless. No-one had ever confronted her before and she just didn’t know where to put herself.
It was easy for the other teachers and pupils to make snide, patronising remarks about this cow to me. A 13 year old girl isn’t in a position to do anything about it, and I’m guessing they were trying to ease their consciences about the fact that they were too cowardly to intervene.
But Mrs Soames has been a role model for me ever since, and an unforgettable example of those people brave enough to tackle a bully in the presence of their victim. To have someone stand by you when you are vulnerable, and make their support for you clear – I can’t tell you how that changed my view of other people.
– TOMSDOTTIR
9. Find the formula
My favorite math teacher had a philosophy about us understanding how to get to formulas instead of memorizing them.
Basically if we memorized them we were gonna remember them wrong and would never be the wiser because we thought we remembered it.
– rabbitpiet
10. What the f**k are you doing here?
Struggled with dyslexia and a learning disability my whole life. English class was h**l for me every year.
Senior year my lit teacher read some short story that was required of me and said, “What the f**k are you doing here. You are starting in my AP Lit class starting tomorrow.”
I passed the AP test and my entire life really began because he believed in me. I’m now a high school teacher, and while not as great as him, really think I’m doing good work.
– Sarnick18
11. The fallen branch
Class camp, we’re out walking a trail to the next campsite, carrying our lives in our packs.
I was not in great physical shape and was well back in the rear. So it’s basically just me and one teacher to make sure no one fell too far back.
We came to a part where a branch had fallen across the trail. Big enough to be an effort to move it but not so large that it couldn’t have been moved by any of the thirty+ other students and teachers that had already walked around it.
Without even thinking about it, I grabbed the branch and tossed it to the side of the path.
The teacher said to me: “Thirty boys walked past that branch. It took one man to move it, and he made life easier for every person after him.”
It became a personal motto, of sorts: “Make it easier for the people who come after you.” Although when you do a good job, the person who comes after you is usually also you.
– Gambatte
12. Unforgettable, but in a bad way
My mom had me when she was in high school. She had to take me to school with her in a stroller every day.
I ended up attending the same school and most of her teachers still taught there and remembered me as the baby. Most had super fond memories of bringing me stuffed animals and s**t for me to play with in their class…except one, Mrs. Englehardt, she straight up to my face said “I remember you. Your mom was that wh**e”.
– FrivolousFrank
13. That smarts
I had a friend that was in the same history class as me and she had a HUGE crush on the teacher. She was also salutatorian of our class and literally voted most likely to succeed. I graduated with barely a 3.0.
She and I both had our history teacher sign our yearbooks and in mine he wrote “I’m going to miss our banter in class. You are a highly intelligent individual.” In my friend’s yearbook he wrote “Keep on truckin’.”
I never felt particularly competitive with my friend, but that little bit of irony really changed the way I understood how people view intelligence
– rowdyate9
14. Laying down the law
“Young man. I said no talking. If you have something to say, meet me out in the hallway and we’ll discuss it like men.”
– Another freshman history teacher filling in for my regular teacher after I (a new kid who had only been enrolled for 2 days) whispered “Who is that?” to my neighbor
– TheAccountant09
15. It’s not your fault
I had a baseball coach for English sophomore year and we had to write a daily journal.
One day our theme was writing about something we regretted.
I wrote about how when I was younger, my mom had cancer and regretted not being there more for her. I didn’t think he read these things and ended up writing you did nothing wrong and being young, you couldn’t have known any better.
He was a good man/teacher
– Coffaroo
Well, MOST of that was pretty inspiring anyway!
What’s something unforgettable a teacher’s told you?
Share it with us in the comments.