Teacher.

I’ve been thinking a lot about teachers, recently. Perhaps it is because I’ve started teaching a post-secondary class, or perhaps it is because I am wondering when and if I should start thinking about going back to school. Perhaps it is because I read The Last English Teacher by Nick Ripatrazone and it reminded me of so many of the great teachers I have had throughout my life. Here’s a snippet from Nick’s piece:

“I teach every class like it is my last. It could be. When I started teaching, I thought my purpose was to create a legion of English majors. I have learned that my purpose is to pause the lives of my students for long enough that a line of poetry is the loudest sound they encounter during the day.”

I think, perhaps, I shall write more about teachers and teaching, sometime soon. For now, here is a list of a few teachers, off the top of my head, that have made considerable impact on me and have been a large part of making me who I am:

• Mme. Boughton
• Mme. Sherman
• Mrs. Sitarek
• Mr. Niedre
• Mrs. Hollinger
• Mrs. Padmore
• Mr. Novak
• Mrs. Robbins
• Mr. Robertson
• Mr. Legault
• Mme. Jean-Baptiste
• Nico Bethel
• Eileen Dombrowski
• Reverend Alvaro Ribeiro
• Dr. Joshua Barker
• Dr. Sarah Salih

There are many, many more not listed here. I am eternally thankful to every single one of them.