Some examples are:
- Erin Gruwell, whose students wrote the Freedom Writers Diary
- Victoria Leigh Soto, who died protecting her students in the Sandy Hook shooting
- Sonya Romero, who provides her students with food and clothing (which, I'm sorry, I've seen my own teachers do that and they haven't gotten in the news. They should.)
In my own experience, as someone currently in her first year of high school, I have had good and bad teachers. One of my best teachers is the teacher who taught me history and essentially fueled my obsession. I've had teachers who treated me like I was intelligent enough to go to university. Even the teachers that weren't so good (for the most part, we all know that person) genuinely cared about their jobs and did more than was expected of them.
For the most part, my classmates complain about our teachers. They dislike them because of homework (which I must agree can often become excessive and sometimes serves no purpose at all) or they dislike them for the subject they teach. This lack of appreciation can lead to other difficulties. Teachers are often not paid well and have to work in schools that are not receiving sufficient funding. They often have to work with students who despise school. Yet, with all of that, they still continue to teach. In my opinion, teachers are heroes.
So this thread has a fairly simple idea behind it: Take a few moments to appreciate teachers. How can the government improve schools or help teachers? Who was your favourite teacher? What have teachers done for you? This can also be a general school-related thread. Charter schools vs. public or private? Best start times? Should everyone be trained for university instead of life?
As for you teachers, thank you. I can never thank my own teachers enough for what they have done for me, and you all have done that for your own students. Thank you, thank you, thank you.