Teachers Who Made a Difference - NAM:
"Editor’s note: In early September, on schoolyards and in hallways across the country, the same excited, anxious question rings out: “Who'd you get?” Students know that the heart of education beats inside the individual teacher. When NAM asked young people in our youth communications programs to write about the one teacher who’d really made a difference, they barely had to think before the keys were flying. This feature supported by funding from the California Teachers Association."
Coach K Demanded GreatnessBy Roland BallardThe teacher who made the biggest difference in my life would be my high school freshmen P.E. teacher, Keith Norman, better known as Coach K. He was my coach on the basketball team and also the first person to sit and talk to me about college. And he never let up on me. Outside of all the basketball knowledge he passed on to me, he also showed me the ways of a man. He taught me that a man makes sacrifices to be successful.
Ms. G: A Push in the Right DirectionBy Anastasia Freeman Throughout the years I have had a lot of teachers who have greatly affected me. The one who has affected me the most has to be Ms. Grinberg, my English and History teacher. She is the reason I am alive today. When I first came into her class it was because I had gotten kicked out of my old high school. I walked in with my mind made up that I wasn’t doing anything at all. I had just given birth to my daughter, who was a preemie and was still in the hospital. I was only going to school because I was on probation and I didn’t want to go back to jail. So, for two whole marking periods I just sat there and failed.
Mr. Jackson Told Me I Would Go PlacesBy Janet Lagto Michael Jackson. For many people, that name sparks memories of the dancing, performing maestro of pop. For me, however, it strikes up memories of attending high school, and sitting in Mr. Jackson’s stifling classroom that smelled heavily of mildew and glue. This tall, blonde man touched a very special place in my heart. Although I was rarely in school during most of my high school years, when I was there, my favorite place to be was in Mr. Jackson's classroom, listening to him rant and rave in an intellectual and witty way. He knew I had no interest in school. He knew I was picky about what work I would actually do. Yet he placed hope in me and told me things my other teachers never did. He told me that someone as bright as me (imagine, me, bright!) would eventually go places.
"Editor’s note: In early September, on schoolyards and in hallways across the country, the same excited, anxious question rings out: “Who'd you get?” Students know that the heart of education beats inside the individual teacher. When NAM asked young people in our youth communications programs to write about the one teacher who’d really made a difference, they barely had to think before the keys were flying. This feature supported by funding from the California Teachers Association."
Coach K Demanded GreatnessBy Roland BallardThe teacher who made the biggest difference in my life would be my high school freshmen P.E. teacher, Keith Norman, better known as Coach K. He was my coach on the basketball team and also the first person to sit and talk to me about college. And he never let up on me. Outside of all the basketball knowledge he passed on to me, he also showed me the ways of a man. He taught me that a man makes sacrifices to be successful.
Ms. G: A Push in the Right DirectionBy Anastasia Freeman Throughout the years I have had a lot of teachers who have greatly affected me. The one who has affected me the most has to be Ms. Grinberg, my English and History teacher. She is the reason I am alive today. When I first came into her class it was because I had gotten kicked out of my old high school. I walked in with my mind made up that I wasn’t doing anything at all. I had just given birth to my daughter, who was a preemie and was still in the hospital. I was only going to school because I was on probation and I didn’t want to go back to jail. So, for two whole marking periods I just sat there and failed.
Mr. Jackson Told Me I Would Go PlacesBy Janet Lagto Michael Jackson. For many people, that name sparks memories of the dancing, performing maestro of pop. For me, however, it strikes up memories of attending high school, and sitting in Mr. Jackson’s stifling classroom that smelled heavily of mildew and glue. This tall, blonde man touched a very special place in my heart. Although I was rarely in school during most of my high school years, when I was there, my favorite place to be was in Mr. Jackson's classroom, listening to him rant and rave in an intellectual and witty way. He knew I had no interest in school. He knew I was picky about what work I would actually do. Yet he placed hope in me and told me things my other teachers never did. He told me that someone as bright as me (imagine, me, bright!) would eventually go places.
