Teacher Appreciaton Week

I know some hardcore unschoolers who hate, absolutely hate, teachers. Fortunately, I can count them on a single hand. The dozens of others I know have favorites from their childhoods and recognize that teachers are not the problem themselves. They are mostly caring individuals who want to make a difference in the world. In fact, I could see so many of my teacher heroes working in free schools if we could adopt that kind of system in our country.

(Of course, I do see these smug Facebook messages where teachers tell people “You’re welcome” for teaching them to read a message, and that does irritate me. My mom taught me to read when I was three. I taught my sisters to read in similar fashion. Prior to the institutionalization of schools, American literacy was estimated to be higher than it is today. But I digress.)

I have had many teachers in my life that I do not like—some that even bullied me. I also have some teachers in my life who I consider heroes. The disturbing fact is that the list is about 50-50.

Most of the teachers that I want to thank are English teachers, which is no surprise—but there’s also a science teacher or math teacher in the mix here and there. Today, I’d like to give a shout out to the following teachers:

Dr. Donna Hopson, who encouraged me to write in fifth grade and was the first "unschooling-esque" teacher I met. She was a friend, a mentor, and a wonderful person. She died of lung cancer several years ago and boy do I wish my daughter could've met her. Other amazing teacher heroes: Janice Page, Gary Cook, Carol Hagan, Harold Hagan, Melissa Surber, Stacy Endebrock, Zona Ludlum, Rose O'Shaughnessy, Michael Huskey, Michael Vreeland, Karen Wright, Benna Stokes, Stephanie Gillespie, Kevin Gillespie, Rebecca Etchason, William Brooks, Larry Underberg.

I apologize for any that I miss; my memory already isn’t what it used to be. And for those teachers who bullied me, demeaned me in front of peers and generally, along with peer bullies and plenty of other fodder, helped this former straight-A student learn to hate going to school, I say thanks, too. You helped to make this whole unschooling decision much easier. I wouldn’t want my daughter to spend a minute with a person like you.

How about you, homeschooling and unschooling parents? Do you have any teacher heroes who made a difference in your life, who encouraged you or helped you chase a dream? Did you have any teachers who, on the other hand, helped to inspire you to skip public school for your kids altogether? Share your stories below.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia