Tell Us About Your Favorite Teacher

National Teacher Day prompted me to reflect on the teachers who made a difference in my own education.

The first who comes to mind is Mr. Mamer (his friends call him by his first name, I imagine – Jim) who gave me my very first school discipline on the very first day of middle school: I stuck my fingers out the window (everyone was doing it!) and I had to write a letter to my parents apologizing for acting up in school.  

My tear-soaked letter burned in my memory for weeks and I was determined to show him how smart and well-behaved I was. He was famous around school for handing out Jolly Ranchers to students for correct answers. By the end of my four-year tenure in his math class – for which he's been nationally recognized – he had dubbed me the Jolly Rancher Queen. I'm still reminded of his classroom every time I taste that sticky, hard grape candy.

But he wasn't all candy bribes. He's very involved with the Connected Mathmatics Program, an innovative curriculum that changes the way students think about math. Our classes test-drove the lessons and he gave feedback, and he continued his education at Michigan State University* – both learning in and teaching seminars.

We didn't fill out pages of problems in his classes, and he never just gave us an equation. To find out how to find the area of a circle, we participated in a guided exercise that included filling circles with other shapes. Somehow, under his hand, we came up with the equation ourselves. 

He helped me understand not just how math works, but why it works.

Though I didn't go into math in my profession, the problem-solving skills and self-guided curriculum he taught, as well as his high-fiving, Jolly-Rancher-tossing, group-work teaching style gave me insight into a higher form of learning: one where I was responsible for my own education. It's an attitude that carried me through high school, college and into my career.

We know there are multitudes of teachers out there who have made an impact on your lives, too, and we wanted to make sure you had space to share it.

Whose high expectations – like Jim Mamer's – drove you to achieve? Who took extra time to make sure you got the lesson? Who inspired you? 

For National Teacher Day, take the time to let that special teacher know just how they influenced you and share your own stories in the comments.

And to Mr. Mamer — Thanks.

Editor's Note: Soon after this article was published, Mr. Mamer sent an email with a very important correction: he's been teaching at Michigan State University, "not the evil University of Michigan." Always a Buckeye.