"...Because I Knew You, I Have Been Changed for Good"

This post is dedicated to all the educators out there--pre-service, in-service, and retired. Thank you for everything that you do!

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." ~Henry Brooks Adams

TEACHERS WHO HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE:

• Dianne Searfoss (High School English Teacher, Mother)-She TAUGHT me almost everything I've learned in life, and she has always fostered my love for writing, literature, and imagination.
• Connie Salisbury (3rd Grade Teacher)-She TAUGHT me that a teacher's passion can shine brightly in the classroom (Elvis and Chocolate), and it was in her class that I first realized that school was fun and that I loved learning.
• Lois Schumucker (3rd Grade Teacher)-She TAUGHT me that Science and Math, two subjects that I wasn't too fond of, could be exciting, entertaining, and fun--it all depended on how they were taught.
• Barbara Guilliam (Late 5th Grade Teacher)-She TAUGHT me that a teacher will always be there for you, a teacher will always care, and a teacher will continuously live in the lives of others even after she is gone.
• Shane Martin (Jr. High English Teacher)-He TAUGHT me that writing could be fun, and he was one of the first teachers to foster my love for English. He was my first male teacher, so he showed me that males can do a terrific job in a rather female-dominated career and that students need male teachers who are great role models.
• Larry Bunting (High School Math Teacher)-He TAUGHT me that teachers could be the definition of "cool", and we should always stand up for what we believe in.
• Deb Meyers (High School Technology Teacher)-She TAUGHT me to never lose sight of what I want in life, and she opened my eyes to the fact that there is so much out there in the world by showing me N.Y.C.
  
• Sharon Hess (High School Science Teacher)-She TAUGHT me that I was an excellent writer no matter what I was writing about, and this helped influence my change of majors in college. She also taught me to never give up and always try my best at anything and everything I do.
• Kelli Malchow (High School English Teacher)-She TAUGHT me that reading and writing can be fun for everyone in one way or another, and I should never be afraid to be myself. I always will value her creative teaching style, the compassion she has to see her students succeed, and her willingness to get to know her students as human beings. She is the epitome of who I want to be.
• Marianna Hofer (College English Professor, Academic Adviser)-She TAUGHT me that my writing was excellent and that English was the right field for me. I changed majors from science to English and education with her encouragement. She also taught me that you don't have to do everything by the book; sometimes you have to make your own trail through life, and lifting your front foot to start that trail is half the battle. I eventually want to continue on with my schooling and become a college English professor, an English professor like her.
• Christine Denecker (College English Professor, Circle K Adviser)-She TAUGHT me that there are various ways to teach English in order to make it fun, and a teacher should be someone who cares not only about making a difference in the lives of their students, but they should take the time to make the community a better place as well.
• Gary Johnson (College English Professor, Dean)-He TAUGHT me that reading is more than just reading words on a page; each piece of text opens up doors to the world of cognitive thinking. I will never read a piece of literature the same again after taking his Literary Criticism class.
• Chris Underation (College Communications Professor)-He TAUGHT me that a class made up of mostly lectures can still be a blast for students; it all depends on how the teacher teaches.
  
• Diana Montague (College Communications Professor)-She TAUGHT me that there is much more to a film than just watching it for the sake of watching it; every movie I watch now is an educational experience.
  
• Dorthy Copas (College Education Professor)-She TAUGHT me that getting to know your students is essential and that it makes the classroom a happy and joyous place to be.
• Elizabeth Raker (College Education Professor)-She TAUGHT me that teaching takes place inside and outside the classroom, and that I can enjoy teaching no matter the subject area nor the age level of students (i.e. History Comes Alive at Litzenberg Farm).
• Kim Forget (College Education Professor)-She TAUGHT me that it is okay to laugh, sing, and dance in front of your students and that laughter goes a long way in the classroom.
• Alvin Trusty (College Education Professor)-He TAUGHT me that computers and technology can mesh with education to form quite a pleasing and enjoyable environment.
• Penny Soboleski (College Education Professor, UFOSEA Adviser)-She TAUGHT me that teaching is a busy profession, but regardless how busy you are and how stressed out you might get, you must continue on with a smile on your face and always possess a joyous attitude. She also taught me what it means to truly care for each and every student, how to make storybooks come alive, and that it is definitely okay to show your sensitive side in the classroom.
• Karen Ackerman-Spain (College Education Professor)-She TAUGHT me that teaching is a gift that can be re-opened every day and that we have the ability to be teachers in every aspect of our daily lives.
• Buzz Dyer (College Eduction Professor)-He TAUGHT me that a teacher should never be afraid to have fun, smile, and laugh. He also taught me that common sense is the best textbook in life.
• Ben Sapp (College Education Professor, Mazza Director)-He TAUGHT me that I shouldn't be afraid to love art and literature despite the fact that I'm a male, and students' love for imagination should be fostered no matter how old they are.
• Jerry Mallett (College Education Professor, Mazza Founder)-He TAUGHT me that literature and art are both true gifts that should be shared with all the children of the world, young and old.
• Julie McIntosh (College Education Professor, Dean)-She TAUGHT me that teachers are professionals in and outside the classroom and that management is the essential component that makes a classroom run smoothly. She also taught me that teachers have to be flexible and that they should always make time for students who need guidance and/or help.
• Brian Bratt (Junior Block and Student Teaching Cooperating Teacher)-He TAUGHT me that English teachers who are males are very interesting individuals and that if you respect your students, they will respect you. He also showed me that you can bring various projects into the English classroom in order to make the subject interesting and enjoyable for your students--it's not all about reading and writing.
• Trisha Heestand (Late Colleague, Classmate, Friend)-She TAUGHT me that the characteristics of a teacher can be alive and well in a person even before they receive a degree, and a teacher never really dies because they will forever live in the lives of those that they have taught and touched throughout their life, no matter if it happens to be a long or short life.
• Vicky Thompson-Hayes (Tap Dance Instructor)-She TAUGHT me to dance through life, and that no matter what brings me down, I will always have my dancing shoes to get me by.

MOVIES THAT HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE AND TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

• Dead Poets Society (Touchstone Pictures, 1989)

• Dangerous Minds (Hollywood Pictures, 1995)

• Billy Elliott (Universal Focus, 2000)

• I Am Sam (New Line Cinema, 2001)

• School of Rock (Paramount Pictures, 2003)

• Finding Neverland (Miramax Films, 2004)

• Little Miss Sunshine (Fox Searchlight Pictures, 2006)

• The Ron Clark Story (Alberta Film Entertainment, 2006)

• Chalk (SomeDaySoon Productions, 2006)

• Freedom Writers (Paramount Pictures,2007)

• Charlie Bartlett (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 2007)

• Smart People (Miramax Films, 2008)

• Waiting for Superman (Walden Media, 2010)

• That's What I Am (WWE Studios, 2011)

BOOKS THAT HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE AND TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

• The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (Little, Brown and Company, 1951)

• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (Covici Friede, 1937)
• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith (Harper & Brothers, 1943)

• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (J. B. Lippincott & Co., 1960)
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row, 1963)
• I Never Told Anybody: Teaching Poetry Writing in a Nursing Home by Kenneth Koch (Random House, 1977)
• The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg (Atheneum, 1998)
  
• Trade Secrets for Middle and Secondary Teachers by Billie Enz, et.al. (Kendall Hunt, 2002)
• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Doubleday, 2003)
• I Choose to Stay by Salome Thomas-El (Kensington, 2004)
• Teacher Man by Frank McCourt (Scribner, 2005)
• Content Literacy for Today's Adolescents (Prentice Hall, 2006)
• Learning to Teach by Billie Enz, et. al. (Kendall Hunt, 2007)
• The English Teacher's Companion by Jim Burke (Heinemann, 2007)
• Teach With Your Heart by Erin Gruwell (Broadway, 2008)
• The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (Hyperion, 2008)
• A Memento Sent by the World by Marianna Hofer (Word Press, 2008)
  

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and thank you for being you. You chose to be a teacher not because you wanted to make big bucks, not because you wanted to have a fancy mansion and European cars, not because you wanted to become a millionaire before you were thirty, but because you wanted to make a DIFFERENCE, and that choice was PRICELESS. Thanks for making a DIFFERENCE in MY LIFE by being my TEACHER. The DIFFERENCE you have made in MY LIFE has influenced my future in the same profession as you, that of a TEACHER! 

Feel free to leave comments to this post about teachers who have changed your life or the reason why you chose teaching as a profession. :)