Image: ThanksforTeaching.Us

I have a secret dream speech that I've been composing in my head since age 14. Actually, I have two speeches. The first one is to the MacArthur grant committee, thanking them for deeming me an official genius and for their gift of zillion dollars with no strings attached. The second is to the general world. Basically, all the people on the planet would gather together to hear me talk about Judy Pittenger, my history teacher from 9th to 12th grade. Mrs Pittenger did things like dress up as colonial judge while re-enacting the Salem Witch Trials (complete with powdered wig) and assign novels like Anna Karenina and Eugene Onegin as part of a course on the Russian Revolution—teaching me that creativity and imagination have a place in all classes, and in all aspects of our lives. Add to this: she called us students "ladybugs," my favorite nickname of all time.


Luckily, there's now a site called Thanks for Teaching Us that will let me deliver these thoughts in a more realistic forum. Essentially, what you do is post an ode to your favorite instructor, then sign your name, former school, and grade—and, voila, feel instantly great. Another less obvious pleasure, however, is scrolling through the letters, seeing just how many different kinds of gratitude a teacher can inspire. Many of them recognize teachers for their caring and dedication, like this one from 3rd grader Sheri to Mrs.Tuckey, which thanks her "for doing cool things like bringing your green-shelled eggs to class and letting me be part of the puppet show."

The most moving, though go far beyond this, thanking teachers for "giving me perspective on what’s important and what’s not," or for "asking me if I was all right when it seemed as though no one else had noticed," or for "reading my terrible poetry." What most moved me, though, was this missive from a now-grown woman to her community college professor, who wrote "I have never been supported as well as I was the year that I had you for Algebra. I had always been told that I was stupid because I never could 'get it.' My children have benefited from the wisdom I gleaned from you...(Thank you for letting me bring my son into class!)"

Though, I'll never get to meet Mr. Ausland, the teacher that let a struggling, determined mother bring her young child to school with her, I would like to add my own thanks—for instructing us all in the value of compassion.

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