watchallisonteach:

My senior English teacher taught me what not to do as an English teacher. He never truly listened to his class or what they had to say. When we ALL wanted to read 1984 (a staple in the senior English curriculum in my school) he made us read Heart of Darkness instead - and in retaliation, no one…

So important! My fourth grade teacher did a number of things that gave me the drive to prove her wrong.  She used to charge me a quarter everyday to use the phone and call my mom because I was so forgetful, I’d leave my things at home. She also dumped my desk out on the ground in front of my entire class due to my lack or organizational skills. All of these things were accompanied with tears, each and everyday.  I remember when she met with my parents for the first time so vividly.  She told them she believed I had ADHD and I needed to be tested, but the school could do nothing about it at the moment. 

To my advantage, I moved to the suburbs a year later where I was given the attention I needed.  I wound up in all honors three years later.  By the end of high school, I had taken enough AP classes to graduate with an entire semester of college credits under my belt.  I graduated college Magna Cum Laude in three and a half years.  

Here’s to you, Mrs. D. I’m sad to hear you’re now a principal.  Yikes….