Who was your favorite teacher when you were young? For some of us, that’s an easy question to answer. For other of us, it’ll take an extra minute or two. Maybe it wasn’t a school teacher that made the most impact on you. Maybe it was a Boy Scout leader or a gymnastics coach or your piano teacher. Okay...now that you’ve thought of who that person may be, let me ask you another question. Why was that person your favorite teacher/coach/mentor? What did he or she do to resonate so deeply with you? Hmmm…
My favorite teachers (yes, I have two...I can’t pick just one) were two very different teachers with very different personalities and teaching types. First is my third grade teacher, Miss Stevens. I know there must have been several times when she wanted to pick me up and throw me out of the nearest window. Instead of pulling her hair out or sending me to the principal’s office every day, Miss Stevens got creative with rambunctious little Deni. She made me a checklist and taped it to my desk. If I forgot to raise my hand before blurting something out, I would get a check on my checklist. If I made it through the week without too many checks, she gave me a scratch-and-sniff sticker. Ahhh...I loved the scratch-and-sniff stickers. That did it for me. She had me at scratch-and-sniff. Miss Stevens made such an impact with me. She was creative...she knew me and she figured out what would motivate and inspire me. In fact, if you ask the KPW kids, they know this story...I give them scratch-and-sniff stickers from time to time for bringing their Bibles. There’s just something about those stickers!
My second favorite was Senorita Sullivan. She was my Spanish teacher in the 7th grade. She was the first teacher that I had that was “human”. She wasn’t the perfect super-organized teacher. She had grumpy days when she was trying to quit smoking. She had an attitude from time to time. She was frequently sarcastic. She was flawed and it was refreshing. I loved her dearly. She loved teaching and getting to know us as people- not just students. She treated us as little adults and held us responsible for the decisions we made and gave us great freedom to be creative. I still remember her and her classroom vividly. I don’t remember the Spanish language though, but I’m sure that wasn’t her fault. I’ll blame that on my aging brain.
I’m sure you’re wondering why all this is on my mind. It’s because February is Children’s Ministry Team and Child Development Center Team Appreciation Month around here. Each week, there are two amazing teams of people who teach our kids, laugh with our kids, change our kids’ diapers, and make the most of every moment with our kids for the glory of God. Each Team member is creative and impactful. Each one reflects Christ beautifully. Each one is luminous. Just like Miss Stevens and Senorita Sullivan did on me, each teacher here at Greenridge is making a lasting impression on our kids.
Thank the teachers in your life. Today. Give them a hug, or handshake, or a high-five. They just might be your child’s favorites when they look back 30 years from now.
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