7 Teachers + Edmentum Team Members Share Stories of Teachers Who Inspire Them

We’ve all had at least one educator who has impacted our life in a positive way. We couldn’t possible thank educators enough for all that they do for students every day. They work hard to inspire, motivate, and push us to achieve our dreams, and they are incredible role models for us to look up to. To celebrate and highlight a few of these stories, we asked our awesome community of educators on Facebook and fellow Edmentum team members to highlight the amazing educators who have made an impact on them.  

“Rhonda Hill taught me how to create an effective argument, as well as exceptional speaking skills. I see her every year, and she is a close friend of mine.” – Brook Mostoufi, Elementary Program Advisor

“My favorite teacher growing up was Trace Craft. He was my history teacher in high school. I toured Europe with him as well, so I was able to see two sides to Trace. He got me interested in travel and other cultures and I have had a travel bug ever since. I still stay in touch with him. He was recently diagnosed with ALS, but he has been nothing but positive since.” – Tom Patterson, Elementary Program Advisor

“My favorite teacher—I had two: my World History teacher, Coach Wade, and my AP Psychology teacher, Dr. Pinyon. They could not have been more different but were both great. [Coach Wade] was blunt and to the point but knew when his students had an aptitude and affinity for history and helped us get deeper into the content. This was before individualized/differentiated learning was a big thing. Dr. Pinyon was great at making the classroom a warm and welcoming environment. We could sit wherever—it was discussion-led versus lecture-based, and again, this was when we usually sat in a classroom with a teacher at the front of the room lecturing. The dry-erase boards were our newest instructional technology. The one thing [my favorite teachers] had in common was that they saw all of their students as individuals and didn’t ascribe us to a whole group. They tailored what they could to our needs.” – Cassidy Longoria, Engagement Specialist Supervisor

“I had many wonderful teachers growing up who inspired me to also become an educator. Learning is a passion of mine, and I love when it’s fun in the process. Although I was around so many exceptional educators, there is one who stands out above them all. My 5th grade teacher, Mr. Bridges, takes the lead! He attended my piano recital that year, personally bought us all custom-engraved pencils as gifts for the holidays, called us by our last names instead of our first names (there were multiple Amandas in my classes all while I was growing up, so this was greatly appreciated), and went out of his way to ensure that our instructional time was individualized and challenged us appropriately. Our class also won a pizza party at the end of the year for our weekly spirit contest since our class had the most number of students in our school gear each Friday! All that fun throughout the year and so much learning—that’s a win in my book!” – Amanda McElrath, Virtual Partnership Manager

“During my Senior year in high school, I served as a teacher aide to Myra Floyd Hogan. I learned so much that year about being a teacher as I observed her each day. She was such a beautiful role model as [she] taught her students, but also loved each one with such intensity! I owe my success as a teacher to her! I will always be thankful to her for all she taught me about education through her example daily!” – Brenda G.

“My first grade teacher taught me to never give up. She was such an amazing role model. I have so many memories of her. Unfortunately she passed away from cancer when I was in 7th grade. Greatest teacher I ever had!!” – Tami Y.

“A teacher that had an impact on me and helped me decide to become a teacher was Sara Vale, one of my high school teachers. I studied a LOT of psychology in college and almost became a child psychologist because of my interest in people and their behaviors. I decided to become a teacher to help children because she showed me how great it was to have that effect on children.” – Amy R.

The teacher who Amy mentioned even replied, and she was so happy to receive the shout out—how cool!

Educators, from the bottom of our hearts, we THANK YOU for the dedication, passion, and inspiration you bring to classrooms all across the country. Want to share your own inspiring educator story with us? Follow Edmentum on Facebook and Twitter!