Miscellaneous Monday - Celebrating Our Everyday Superheroes: Teacher's Day! 🎉

[Ananjan_Mishra]

Happy Monday Atlassian Fam! 🌟

Can you believe it's already September? And guess what? It's that time of the year when we don our invisible capes and celebrate our real-life superheroes – TEACHERS! 🦸‍♀️🦸‍♂️ 

As we gear up to celebrate Teacher's Day on September 5th here in India, I wanted to share a little story from my side. 📚

Back in my school days, I was lucky to have Mr. Goswami as my math teacher. He wasn't just a math wizard; he had this incredible knack for simplifying the most mind-boggling problems. 🧮

But what truly set him apart was his unshakable support. Whenever I hit a rough patch or whenever I felt like giving up, he'd be there with those reassuring words: "You've got this!" To this day, his encouragement remains my guiding light.

When I landed my first job, guess who called to congratulate me? Yep, it was Mr. Goswami, sharing in my excitement as if it were his own achievement. I'm forever grateful for his presence in my life. 🙏

So, here's my question for you all:

Who's that one teacher/Mentor who left a lasting impact on your life?

Share your stories, memories, or even just a simple "thank you" to the mentors who've shaped us into who we are today.📝

So make this day a day for your teachers/mentors to remember! Happy Teacher's Day in advance✌️


Best Regards,

Ananjan Mishra

[Dam]

I remember one my teacher while doing my Computing Master's degree... Her name is Bernadette, she was my principal teacher and she taught me how to code in C, in Java and many others languages. She was an amazing teacher with a lot of kindness but also some hardness when it was needed... I have to admit that I was not the best student at that time, I was a bit wild and free 😊 but she saw something in me, something that I didn't even know that I could have at that time... 

She helped me a lot during my degree, and she pushed me up to the top... When I finally understood that studies were important for the rest of my life, I worked hard... I ended to be the 1st of my promotion, with a fairly high average grade, thanks to her... Cause she really helped me to understand a lot of things in my life... 

I can never thank her enough. 

[Haoyang Lu]

Well, in my memory there was no teacher help me to understand a lot of things or push me up. (Maybe this is because I have never got into any kind of trouble that really need to ask for their help.)

They just did their job, give lessons and maintain order (bring justice is a way, but not the purpose).

What impressed me was, I can still remember some of my classmates/schoolmates who were really, shall I say, a little extreme and fragile, giving them too much punishment or little strong language may cause some adolescent sad stories happen, and even those teachers and us were not the same generation, they can discern the more 'dangerous' ones  from others and find a both effective and friendly way they can offer to maintain order and keep everything going. 

In my opinion they did prevent a lot bad things from even happening.

Can't say I and my teachers know each other well, but I'm sure is that my teachers did their job. In China we usually spent most of a week day with our teachers when we were students (primary or middle school).

Without parents around, they are the first defence line and sometimes the final defence line, and my teachers did well.

They are not that heroic to me, but worth a salute.😼

[Dreamsuite Mike]

I am happy to celebrate this day because as an adult I can look back at the little s**t I was at school and I marvel at my teachers for having the patience to deal with me.  

I have always had attention issues from a very young age and the common phrase all teachers would say was, "He's in his own little world".  I wasn't a nasty or very naughty kid, I was worse than that for teachers, just someone who was away with the fairies with little to no concentration, an inability to hold focus for longer than a minute and who would drift away and do my own thing. I also took it upon myself to be the class clown because I got more out of making people laugh than I did from learning.  

So to all those teachers who's lives were shortened by having to experience me, I thank you.

For all the teachers today who have the next generation of Mikes to deal with, I don't envy you

To my biggest mentor in the world who wasn't a teacher but my Dad, who in a world where we a conditioned to follow a certain order, taught me the lesson of free thought. He allowed me to develop my values and beliefs, never pressured me to be something I'm not and encouraged me to follow my dreams.  He's my hero for doing that. 

[Ananjan_Mishra]

"He's in his own little world" that's a classical teacher line! My teacher used to say this to me. Super relatable @Dreamsuite Mike 😂😂

[Trudy Claspill]

I had many teachers and mentors who have had a lasting impact on me. Here are just a few.

Mr. Wilson and Mr. Reisner in high school who enjoyed teaching and their subjects (math and computer science) so much the classes were always fun.

Mrs. Beard, my dance teacher through elementary school and middle school.

Ms. Hintz, my current dance teacher and the best ballet teacher I have ever encountered will particular skills teaching adult, non-professional dancers.

Mike Sonshine and Joe Ringland who, while not classroom teachers to me, were mentors to me in my career.

[Andy Gladstone]

I'm borrowing from an older post by @Jack Brickey - Friday Fun: Those that shape us - since the content is so relevant to your topic @Ananjan_Mishra and there is no statute of limitations on saying thank you to those that formed us.

Dan Horowitz. Dan was my high school hockey coach in 11th and 12th grades. At that time I was captain of the team, which made me chief misfit in the school. I was a good kid and descent student, but was devolving as I started to identify more with my on-ice personality than my in-class persona. As I was boarding the bus for an away game one day in Junior year he put his arm out and stopped me from getting on the bus. In no uncertain terms he told me that I could be a great leader, and a great man, but I am getting in my own way with all of the %$#^ I was getting myself into. It was 2-3 minutes of monologue tops. He flipped a switch in me at that moment. I don't know why he decided to do that at that exact moment, but somehow deep inside I knew it was what I needed to hear. From that moment forward I paved a new path forward based on the picture of the potential me he painted that day.

Ms. Silver. The absolute most inspiring teacher I ever had - 11th grade English Composition and 12th grade English Literature. She was not Robin Williams in Dead Poet's Society, but the thirst she gave us for every word of Dickens, Hemingway, Melville, Salinger, Hawthorne, Frost, Thomas, Emerson, Whitman and Thoreau still have me reading their works today and savoring them. She taught us that the tool of the expression of the mind is mighty pen. Sadly, she left the school the same year I graduated, and although she left me her contact information in my yearbook and college recommendation letter, she moved around a bit and I lost track of her. She married after teaching us and a change of last name did not help with trying to search for her. I wish I could call her on the phone today, almost 30 years after she impacted my life, just to say thank you.

[Ananjan_Mishra]

I just read the post by @Jack Brickey , The topic is definitely relevant and his part of the post is truly heartwarming. @Andy Gladstone , I believe this post is dedicated to all the people who taught us life's valuable lessons, even if we've lost touch with them.

[Amanda Barber]

This time of year makes me a bit nostalgic for my past career as a Kindergarten teacher. (However, I absolutely love being part of my own kids' first days of school!)

One of my most memorable teachers was my 5th grade teacher, Mr. Hanser. He really pushed me outside of comfort zone at the time with the use of simulation games. These "games" made learning fun, memorable, and so much more impactful. Prior to his class, school was pretty easy for me and I was always good test-taker. These games allowed me to practice leadership in a new way. 

Another teacher I think fondly of was my high school coding and stats teacher, Mr. Destache. He made me excited about math and different coding languages, but also - he was just incredibly patient and kind.

This post also ties in so well with the Lean Into Learning initiative!

[Jimmy Seddon]

Great topic @Ananjan_Mishra!

I was very blessed with a number of amazing and wonderful teachers throughout the years!  So to all of them: 

One of the most impactful lessons I learned from one of my Computer Programming teachers, Garth Santor, in college was how the marking scheme can be more important than what you turn in as a project.

We all had to build a video game using a number of C++ concepts we had learned.  There we some very beautiful games that were fun and engaging but missed a number of the items that were called out in the marking scheme and they nearly failed the project.  There were also a number of games (like mine) which were much more simplistic, but checked every box on the marking scheme and scored very well.

His lesson was this:

"When you get out into the working world, you are going to be given a list of requirements for any project you are working on. Skipping over the requirements  is not going to make the customer happy."

My takeaway from this was how important a written list of requirements is and how it's important to make sure that you understand this list in order to deliver what the customer/stakeholders have requested.

[ABR]

This is one topic really close to my heart! First because I've been blessed with amazing teachers all my life! Right from when I was a precocious toddler, to my shy childhood, moody teens to my self-reliant adulthood to my current re-discovered middle age - I've been guided, shaped, molded and honed into better versions of myself! I'm deeply humbled and grateful for this!

My English teachers throughout my school-life along with my physical training coaches have not only encouraged and empowered but given me my own thought and voice, made me believe in myself and others goodness. They taught me to recognize the everyday heroes around us and acknowledge them! But despite all their pains, I always find myself inadequate in words good enough to thank them for their contribution to my life! 

When I went to college, I found teachers who were more friendly but still firm in their resolve to make me better than they had found me! I am much indebted to their effort and I can't thank them enough!

Then I found professional mentors, who literally hand-held me to my achievements! Whatever I have achieved is all their success!

But, my best teachers have been my Mom and my dear daughter! My mom (by profession and inclination a teacher) taught me to love learning and books and thereby ensured that life is an ever beautiful adventure to me! My daughter, is still teaching me everyday, that life is about sharing your daily discoveries and alleviating other's miseries whichever way you can!

In our Indian culture, the Guru (Teacher) is worshipped as a manifestation of the Almighty! Hence I bow my head in all humility that the Grace has always been present in my life!