A teacher can influence you for the rest of your life. Their words penetrate malleable young minds. But there are a lot of different kinds of teachers, good teachers, bad teachers. All of the various kinds made an appearance in response to this question from u/d1_light on r/AskReddit, “What did a school teacher say that stuck with you?”
Even as an adult, some of these wise tidbits might stick with you. The good teachers encourage everyone to treat people respectfully and do their best. The bad ones will remind you of how much power an adult has over the life of kids. Be a good teacher in your own life, even if that’s not your job.
1.
“Have I been respectful to you?”
Me: “well, yeah”
“Are you being respectful to me?”
Simple words. They have guided me so much. —JustGreenGuy7
2.
My algebra teacher ends every class with “Have a good day, be nice to people.” Such a small thing but it’s sweet —ararlynn
3.
(Biology teacher, pointing at student). “Ugly bag of protein, full of water!” —danial_farooq
4.
This reminds me of a science teacher I had who would do a little pre exam ritual thingy to help ease anxiety and help students focus.
She would turn off the lights and have everyone relax and close their eyes, put their head on their arms on the table etc., and play calming ocean sounds from her computer while walking around the classroom calming taking to us. She basically would start with saying to take deep breaths, think about your favorite place to relax, and recognize that we are all living, breathing, emotional human beings capable of love and care and with hobbies or skills outside of the course we were taking. That the exam was a simple measure to see what you have learned, not to see how smart you are, or how good you are with the topic at hand. That the outcome of the test had no impact on who you are as a Human and doubtful that it highlights our best skills or areas of expertise.
The first time I experienced this, like any highschooler my initial thought was “okeeey lady, whatever” but holy shit did it help… I remember one time in particular when I was struggling with the course and about to take an exam while she did this she stopped and calmly rested her hand on my shoulder for a moment while my head was down and seriously thought I was going to break out crying. I felt like she was in my corner rooting for me at a point where I was struggling and I will never forget it.
All through the rest of high school and university I would rethink and try to relive that ritual before exams and it helped me big time. Easily one of the best teachers I have ever had! —DarkSentencer
5.
“I know what it is to be young but you don’t know what it is to be old”
I don’t know why and how it came up, but our English teacher asked me if I understand that. It was the first year and I was 10, and I definitely did not understand. But it somehow stuck in my mind as the sound of the sentence, until I could decipher the memory in retrospect. —sinabey
6.
One day in 7th grade our principal came into the homeroom class and wrote on the board “$19.32” in big numbers. He got our attention and announced to the class: “This (pointing at the number) is what you are worth. Every day you come to class, the school gets $19.32 from the state for each of you. So if you are sick, you should still come to class, go to the nurse, and get sent home. That way the school will still get its $19.32.”
That was the day I stopped caring about school. I’m pretty sure he was trying to increase attendance and believed what he said was positive. But when a person you’re supposed to respect tells you you’re worth less than a 20 dollar bill. . . —Starlight_OW
7.
I once asked my teacher something about the subject. And she said, “I don’t know, but I’ll do some research and get back to you tomorrow.” —kskii_IV
8.
First day off science class: “Many of the topics I will be teaching you this year will likely be proven false throughout your life” —AlarmingNectarine
9.
“You’re a spoon in a knife block” when asked why most of my friends were high achievers and I was only average. —wildthings
10.
“Once you’re an adult, you choose your own fate. Your mom won’t control you anymore.”
this came from a 9th grade Algebra 1 teacher who took the time to tutor me. My mom was/is a antivaxxing, cult following nut bag who didn’t think school was important because Armageddon is coming. I was terrible at math until I met him.
It’s been 25 years and I think of this teacher still, I am grateful. Don’t talk to mom anymore, she got tired of me asking where Armageddon was… —bluegoddess13