A conversation on TED.com: Did you have a teacher that inspired you, opened doors in front of you and put a fingerprint on your life the way it is now?

Nicoleta Nastase
Leiden
Netherlands

Information Specialist (Physics), TU Delft

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Did you have a teacher that inspired you, opened doors in front of you and put a fingerprint on your life the way it is now?

There are some of us lucky enough to have had a teacher that stepped in the classroom telling a poem for hello. Giving away hints, opening roads to explore, replacing the thousand words with a scheme, making his house a non-stop walk-in walk-out of students that took away a piece of math problem, a poem, a piece of politics lost in the discussion, something for the mind to chew on without being aware. I honour his memory and speak with friends from those times about him bringing us together, a riverbank for the small rivers to flow.

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Mohammad Marohombsar
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Dec 15 2011: I can think of a few, then I suddenly remember many. It may sound cliche, but I think all of my professors collectively give me impressions of their experiences. I really don't think you need a Coach Carter to come along in your life.

There are professors that we all hate. I believe these are the ones who never really cared for their students. But the ones that do care, they will deliberately or inadvertently let-go of some piece of advice for their students. Even if they may look like they don't care, if they do, they will most definitely have an impact on their students.
Zofia Kostyrko-Edwards
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Dec 14 2011: I grew up in Poland: at that time mostly white, catholic, conservative and communist monoculture. My early 70's elementary school years were spent under political regimes run by communist puppets of Kremlin. As many of my fellow Poles, I grew up despising all and everything Russian. They were the brute Big Brothers that took away my country's freedom and gave us empty slogans, short food rations, and loaded tanks on streets of the Eastern Block countries to shut up our voices of discontent and calls for democracy.

A Russian language teacher: expat from the Leningrad who married a Polish man turned my world around. She taught us how to see beyond the propaganda. Her name was Pani Anna. She gave my class the gifts of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, and Russian music, and showed us how to love the human spirit within all of us, and the artists of all races regardless of the circumstance or nationality of the author.

AS a 19-years old I moved across the world, to the United States, alone, and built a beautiful life for myself. People from all backgrounds, with wildly differing stories and points of view became my family of choice. My caucasian daughters grew up believing to be twins with their best friends, African American sisters from Jamaica. The first wedding the girls ever attended was for a lesbian couple, still together after 20 years. My friends range from --19 to 90++. They are Republican and Democrat, all religions and ethnic backgrounds, rich and poor.

If it wasn't for Pani Anna in our 6th grade despised, mandatory Russian class, I might have missed out on the key ingredients that make my life extraordinary.

So yes, she put a giant fingerprint on my story. Spasibo, Anna Romanova!
Kayla Jacobs
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Dec 14 2011: I just graduated high school and since then have been confused about what direction i want to take in regards to my future. Looking back on the last years of my life i realized that one of my teachers, Mr. RIdyard, was one of the most inspirational figures of my life. He bought us to borrow the least frequent paths and to never stop learning. He bought us to be sensitive and to always walk a mile in someones shoes before any comment. Finally, he showed us all that we had the power to change the world, and make it a better place if we only tried.
Seo Rim Kim 100+
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TED Translator Associate

Dec 13 2011: The best teacher that changed my life was the Mrs. Sudano (4th grade teacher) who gave me the habit of reading at least 30 minutes a day.
As I look back, that habit of reading and trying new books after books gave me the intellectual curiosity, patience, and creativity that still allow me to question what's given to me and seek the better answers.
Bob Van Oosterhout 20+
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Dec 12 2011: The teachers who transformed my life and career were profound and severely impaired residents of a residential facility (mental institution) who had a history of violence. Many had no speech and needed help with basic self-care. The Behaviorism that was accepted standard of care made me cringe and I had no idea how to bring calm to a room of 26 men in a room with locked doors and bars over the windows and the phone in a cage.

I hung out with them, watched and interacted in whatever ways seemed to work. They taught me a new language beyond words where we could connect and understand each other as equals. When I was in tune on this level, they responded beautifully, when I was out of tune, chaos returned.

They taught me about an interconnected world beyond words, inhabited by every human but with access blocked by over-stimulation, mental pre-occupation and ego. This has provided a foundation of hope along with a basis for understanding what works in solving human problems.

The other important teacher was the person who taught me to meditate almost 40 years ago and those who reinforced the value of daily practice.
João Pinto
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Dec 11 2011: I think these days, unfortunately, this is becoming very rarely, and is practicaly part of an utopical vision.
I´m saying this beacause, of course, i've never had that teacher.
Jim Moonan 30+
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Dec 11 2011: There is a play entitled, "The Method Gun" I saw recently.

As you entered the theatre they gave you a scrap of paper and one of those tiny pencils. Before the performance began there was an announcement that we were to write down the name of a person who most influenced us and put it in the basket that was passed around

The play itself was the story of a small acting company that was under the directorship of a charismatic drama teacher who would at times ask them to do things that seemed on the surface to be pointless,even dangerous. In the end, they learned that there was a method to his madness...

As the play came to an end, a screen dropped down and on it was a scroll of names - the names of the individuals the audience had written down and placed in the basket. As the names scrolled down you could hear the audience gasp one by one as they looked for and recognised the name of the individual that had meant so much to them in their lives. It was a moment I will never forget as I saw my teacher's name slowly scroll upwards and disappear. I will never forget that moment of satisfaction I experienced as I sat there in the dark theatre looking at the name that has made all the difference to me.
Jim Moonan 30+
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Dec 11 2011: Yes I do. His name is W.A. Hughes. He taught me to see the world as a great story being told. He encouraged me to engage in the telling of that story.
colin mackenzie
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Dec 11 2011: yea i have a two, both work at leominster high school. Robert Gendron and David lane
Henry Mulligan
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Dec 11 2011: That would have had to be Mr John Barrett, my personal tutor while at the University of Bristol in England and my three year lecturer in Developmental Psych. In my freshmen year, and in his first lecture he came into the lecture theatre with a big aluminium question mark sat on his head. He impressed upon us the need to question absolutely everything he said and also what we believed. he truly instilled an enthusiasm for scientific method, Popperian methodologies and was able to unpack things in such an animated and enthusiastic way that whilst in his company, one completely forgot that one was learning.... He died a couple of years ago and I was totally upset. I'm so pleased to have known him though, he rawked !
Tony Kuphaldt 10+
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Dec 10 2011: Two teachers, actually: Mr. Don Dineen (4th grade) and Mr. Bill Charleston (5th grade). Together, they formed an after-school electronics club and got the elementary school to purchase two personal computers (in 1978!) for students to learn BASIC programming. Mr. Charleston's focused emphasis on project-based science had us 5th graders building model rockets and using trigonometry to calculate their apogee!

Their efforts literally changed my life in terms of learning to teach myself subjects outside of the formal school curriculum, and setting me on a path to a very rewarding career.
Mary M. 50+
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Dec 10 2011: My fifth grade teacher Mrs. Tangy. She was the only teacher who ever sat with us in the cafeteria. She used to bring boiled eggs, tomatoes, and apples for lunch. I thought she was so special. She would bite into her tomatoes like you bite into an apple. And, she would take her thumbnail and cut her apple in half before eating it.

But what really moved me and I have never forgotten was the creativity and dedication with which she taught. We would play learning games in class like spelling baseball.....I still remember how many of us struck out on the contraction "you're". We all would insist on spelling it "your". We also made vanilla ice cream from scratch using a churner, what a treat!!!

Mrs. Tangy made such an impact on my life, that I always credit her for the kind of teacher I became. Sadly, when I went to thank her many years later for her devotion to her teaching, I discovered she had passed away. I will never forget her. Her face is etched in my mind's eye.

I have enjoyed reading all your entries :)

Here is one of my favorite teacher quotes: "Teaching is a work of heart"
Deborah Zotian
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Dec 6 2011: Two come to mind immediately. Mr. Miller my freshman highschool English teacher. He only taught for a few years, but was one of the best teachers I had. He taught me how to 'cut the crap' from papers and only put in the facts and important information. He graded down on fluff and filler - he wanted information and he wanted to know you understood what you were writing. It made me change how I learned as I had to weed out the fluff to get to the 'good stuff''. (I wish I knew where he was - I would love to thank him.)

The second was Fr.John Schmotzer - he taught at Fairfield University in the Graduate school of Political and Corporate Communications. It wasn't so much what he taught as how he lived that inspired me. He had been a prisoner in China when it turned Communist because he was a Jesuit priest in the area. His family was from Czechoslovakia, so he was behind the Iron Curtain at home as well. Yet, he was the most loving and forgiving person I've ever met. He was more concerned about others and it made me feel like I should emulate him with his love and passon for people. I was able to thank him for what he did for me before he passed away. In typical Fr. Schmotzer fashion, he thanked me for being a god student. One of the best compliments I ever received.
Rush Delfin
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Dec 5 2011: Whenever I look back on my school days, there is only one teacher who I can say inspires me the most and made me realize the numerous aspects in my life that I have to be prepared of. Dindin Villarino as she was fondly called by her colleagues. I met her in college and I the first thing I noticed in her was her much fairer skin. Such a very childish way to describe a university instructor but I was pretty shallow at that time. Because of my immaturity, I was quite unprepared of what college is. I tended to be relaxed and less focused on my studies and each day was a drag.
I have heard rumors of her intelligence and her teaching style in the university yet it didn’t budge me to be serious. As days went by, she reproofed us of our lack of interest. As a punishment, she assigned us chapters to read. I sincerely love my subject with her, but reading many chapters each night just to catch up with her was a pain and this went on for the whole year. Her name is etched in my memory and the thick books I had to read.
Years have passed, I graduated and I have my own career. I thought working would free me from the tedious task of reading but I was proven wrong. I have to continue reading to learn something new and equip myself with new knowledge. As I began to read a lot, I remember my beloved instructor and what she did to me and my classmates as well. Through her reprove, I was forced to READ and LEARN countless things. Reading is a simple task but it helps me in so many ways in my life. It helped me pass my licensure exam. It helps fill me boring days. It enables me to impart knowledge to others, by that, I am listened by others with admiration.
She, in some ways, shaped me through her deeds and “ mocking” words. Remembering her, I am grateful for her tongue lashing because without it I would not appreciate what I have become, a reader not only who teaches knowledge but wisdom as well.
David Silva
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Dec 4 2011: Mr. Kavanaugh, my 6th grade teacher. The first week of school I grabbed a desk in the back row with my friends. I was buying large bags of candy at the store and selling them in class. I made $50 bucks the first week of school. The second week of school, Mr. Kavanaugh, who was a stocky no non-sense Ex-Marine, moved me to the desk directly next to him in the front of the class.

We were all required to do book reports throughout the year. One day at recess, Mr. Kavanaugh called me into his office alone. He was holding a book report I had done on Jackie Robinson, the first African American to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. He started interrogating me about the book report, and flat out said he didn't think I could have written this alone, "Who helped you with this?" I couldn't help but smile. He said, "Why are you smiling?" "Because no one helped me, I did it myself, so I am taking this as a compliment." He continued to stare at me for a moment. Then he said, "If you really did write this, then you are too smart to be horsing around in my class." After that we became friends, and I learned to really enjoy reading that year.

At the end of the year, Mr. Kavanaugh stood up and said, "I have been teaching in this classroom for over 30 years, and someone this year did more book reports than any student I have ever taught. I have a present for that person." Then he walked over to my desk and handed me a one dollar bill.(Haha, it was the 70's)
I never forgot that, and 30 years later I am a published author and filmmaker.
Thanks Mr. Kavanaugh!
Josh Conescu
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Dec 3 2011: My 11th grade math teacher, Mr. Robinson, at Lower Merion HS. I was not a good math student. It never made much sense to me. I would consistently fail my tests because I would take 'swipes' at every problem, rather than try to answer a complete single problem. I thought I might be able to fool him into thinking that I knew what I was doing. After 2 or 3 "F"s, Mr. Robinson called me up to his desk and said to me, "Josh. You're really struggling with this. You're not going to be a math major in college, are you?" I had to agree. I wanted to be a lawyer (...it was 1973 - everyone wanted to be a lawyer). "So, rather than mess around with each problem, why don't you just try to do one or two COMPLETELY. If you can get a couple completely right, we'll celebrate that. You won't get an A, but you won't fail, either. Show me what you know." That was so liberating. A teacher who was willing to celebrate small successes rather than chastise big failure. Nearly 40 years later, that memory still resonates, and defines what I try to do with my 4th graders. Never made it into the legal profession, Mr. Robinson pointed me in a direction that was to be much more satisfying.
Sharon McCann
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Dec 3 2011: When I was in college I had a English Comp professor who drove me crazy. I was a scholarship student and as part of my student work hours I actually tutored English. I ended up tutoring some one who was in the same class I was. I helped this student write and rewrite their paper. We both turned in our papers and the student I was tutoring got an A! I, however, got a C on mine. I was livid. I had helped with that student's paper and I knew it was not as good as mine. I banged on Dr. Machon's door and he heard me out. Then he said "That student worked very hard on that paper and it was the best work they could do. You banged your paper out the night before it was due. It was A work for her and C work for you." It told me he believed in me and it forced me to be better. I use it now myself....
Ed Schulte 30+
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Dec 3 2011: Yes

Tolle ...but then he is not a teacher ...and there is no "classroom" for his level of light explication
m keshen
- +1
Dec 2 2011: i had a professor who once said to me, "show me something new, something i've not seen before." that one statement really opened my eyes and made me think and work differently.
Theo Vavas
- +2
Dec 1 2011: Mr. Drago, 1963; my art teacher at H.S. of Commerce (where Lincoln Center is today).
He was a very active, serious and very understanding man, a father image to me.
I never new that I had any talent in art until I attended Mr. Drago's art class. In one of the sessions he asked us to draw a face profile of the student next to us using a thin brush and ink. As we were working he walked by checking on our progress. He paused a bit longer when he checked my work and said out loud to everyone that he liked what he saw on my paper. I was a bit embarrassed and more surprised as I did not think I was doing anything special.

A few weeks later Mr. Drago had arranged for me to attend art classes at a private art school on Saturdays free of charge. Very enthusiastically I went for my indoctrination day where they also gave me a lot of art supplies and beautiful art books.

Later on that evening my father came from work and asked me where did I get all this material. He had a fit when I told him about the Saturday art school, tore up all the art books and threw everything out into the garbage. He told me that only crazy people become artists, I were to become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer, and if I insisted on art he would throw me out of the house.

That Monday back at Mr. Drago's art class, I was not sure of what I should do or say, but as Mr. Drago started talking about our work for that day, I new I wanted to be an artist. As soon as I graduated from high-school that year I did not wait for my father to throw me out. I got myself a good-paying job loading trucks, got me a studio apartment across from the Chelsea Hotel on 23rd Street, and two years later had my own art gallery in Greenwich Village.

I had not seen or heard from Mr. Drago since high school, fourteen years, when one day I spotted him in front of the old Madison Square Garden. I ran up to him and I was so thrilled that he even remembered my name.
I have had a very happy life & career in the arts field.
- Ed Schulte 30+
  - 0
  Dec 3 2011: a thousand Plus "thumbs up"
Jack Booton
- +1
Dec 1 2011: Mary Billingsly. Sixth grade elementary school teacher. One of the notable aspects of her class was her emphasis on reading. We were to read one book per week. Any book really. I chose whatever was available in our library, working my way from 200 some page books to the Lord of the Rings series. I became a machine, reading two books every week.

Nine years later, having gone on to pursue a degree in Architecture and being exposed to many wise, well known educators, Mrs. B still takes the cake. In my generation, reading is mostly considered "boring" or "stupid." The habits I've created by reading have made me the person I am today, and boy, am I grateful. My peers struggle to formulate sentences and relate their ideas (spitting "like" , "kind of" , "whatever", etc.) because they are not truly literate. She taught me personally how important reading is.

The ability to speak and write well are results of my reading habits, and I mostly owe that to her. I hope people can again grasp the value of literacy from a young age.
Dara Singh
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Nov 27 2011: My sports teacher in high...played a vital role in making me wat I m .........

in sports as I used to get nervous soon.....I always used to take part in running in school days bt always failed to get first position..most of the time I was second or third in the competion.
One day my sports teacher came to me and asked why dont come first and I said " Perhaps the person who came first runs faster than me". But he shouted at me and said " No, that person is not faster than bt ur nervousness makes u slow."
Next day during the practice he asked us to come individually on the track and complete 100 m as fast as possible ..Meanwhile he noted our time of completion with stopwatch bt he didn't disclose our timings to us. After some times rest he called me and said " wolud u like to know who has taken the least time to complete 100m ".I replied " oh yes sir." at which he smiled and said " thats u.. and u r faster than others bt when u r in competition u get nervous and bcoz of this nervousness u fail to come first "
I understood what my Sir wanetd to explain...in the next race i just focussed on the race without getting nervous abt the results ...and this time DARA SINGH came first.
So then I realise that its 'our mind ,our thought,our will ' that are to be controlled and to be moulded in right direction to achieve something
RAHMA ALGHAFRI
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Nov 26 2011: YES ! when i chose to come to the USA for study i didn't really thought that they will be someone rather than your close friends or family who will understand what you want or be there when you needed somebody to show you the way to your future but i was wrong .. and i was lucky to have a great professor her name ! Dr.Kim Tucker . she made me believable in my self ,trust i can do it when i didn't believe in my self and she was always there for me . bottom line she held the light at the end of the tunnel and trusted me to go through it by my self.
scott wallace
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Nov 25 2011: Not to the best of my recollections, but now having children of my own I look at their current headmaster and think if back when I was in school if my headteacher had his inspiration it would have driven me to greater heights.

Also if you want to see inspirational teachers there has recently been a documentary in the UK called educating essex a fly on the wall show with warts and all the head and his deputy are an aamazing pair of teachers... well worth a watch.
V Raj
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Nov 23 2011: When I look back over the course of my life, I know that much of what has gone right in my life is a direct result of the time and efforts spend in inculcating some good habits in me by my parents and teachers.

I guess there’s no better adage then ‘First Teacher of a Kid Is His / Her Parents’. From the very early days of my childhood I realised that I wasn’t just a KID for my Parents, I was also another person who has an opinion.. They valued my ideas, included me, encouraged me and taught me how to behave. And never for once chided me saying ‘U won’t understand as Ur a Kid’

With time, I also had the opportunity to learn from some of the greatest minds of the world... who not only encouraged my thirst for knowledge but also how to channel my energies, keep a focused mind.

Dr. DALJEET SINGH BANS – My Principal in the High School
Mr. SURRINDER MALIK – My English Teacher in the elementary school
Mrs. USHA KAUL – My Economics Teacher in Senior School
Dr. RAMESH CHANDER MALHAN – My Economics Professor in College
Dr. MANMOHAN SINGH – My Economics Professor in Post Graduate Course
Prof. SEENU SRINIVASAN - My Doctoral Advisor!

Got me to think how beautiful and yet undiscovered this universe is, they helped open my mind to the simplest and most complicated problems. They instilled in me the value of commitment, hard work and most importantly “Life is not all about just doing your home work on time and scoring good marks in exams but it is also about exploring the world around U, being kind and gentle to one and all, valuing people and relationships’
Brock Wie
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Nov 21 2011: Yes his name is Jesus Christ
Silvia Marinova 20+
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Nov 21 2011: Mr. Pehlivanov was one of the best teachers I've had in my life as well as some others (but he made great things for us as a class teacher as well!). I had a teacher who was a native speaker from the Peace Corpse from Alabama - Amy Watson and she was a very sweet addition to my list of nice people around. As for my teachers in Bulgarian ... well, for them I have no words to express my gratitude!!!
Guillaume Regis
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Nov 19 2011: Two for me, one who got me to think of how vast our universe is and opened my creative mind. The other who taught me how hard work can pay off for good in the long term. Im afraid that I found many of the teachers in my secondary school hostile, and disinterested in inspiring their pupils
Salim Solaiman 50+
- +1
Nov 19 2011: Yes I had one. In early days of my university when all my teachers thought me to be hopeless misfit in class, he was the only one who thought I am definitely misfit in the system but not hopeless. So he gave me special attention.....
He thinks I proved him right. Interestingly after so many years I am still in contact with him.