Have you ever had the worst day of your life and you still had to come to school? Then you go to that one teacher’s classroom and they let you just rant until you start to feel better? That is what separates the good teachers from everyone else. Their ultimate goal is to teach students life skills so that they will thrive in the real world. They are here to make an impact on the students.
“I try my best to have relationships with my students so that they know that I care about them outside of their grades,” Journalism teacher, Stephanie Strange said. “They come later in life telling me that the classes that I taught them helped them choose what they wanted to do as a career or helped them with other life choices.”
When you meet that one teacher that you consider your school mom/dad, you know that you can fully trust them with anything going on in your life. When a teacher knows their student and the student knows the teacher, there is a mutual respect and trust that is formed. When two people trust each other, they trust what is being taught, and therefore the learning environment is positively impacted.
“People just need people, and there has to be a reason to come to school,” Olivia Thuringer said. “Last year I literally only came to school so that I could talk to Mrs. Strange.”
A teacher is someone that you should be able to trust, someone who you can share anything with. They make it their goal to help everyone and spread joy throughout the whole student body.
“Sometimes teachers are the only people that can influence teenagers,” Strange said. “I think it’s important to have people who love you in those foundational years in your life.”
During the teenage years, people are the most unstable. Teenagers need a foundation, a rock to stand on, and someone or something to guide them through the hardest years of their life. When you go to school eight hours a day, five days a week, you are going to be influenced by the people around you. Most of the time that’s teachers.
“She makes an effort with each of her students, not just her classes as a whole,”Thurigner said. “She has helped me grow as a person and as a leader. Also, she helped me figure out what I want to do in my future, which is graphic design.”
Mrs. Strange has been known around campus to be one of the most fun, trustworthy and bubbly teachers. She helped Thuringer through ups and downs, which is why she trusts Mrs. Strange with anything. A teacher’s connection to their students is one vital part to teaching. Without the connection between a student and a teacher, how can they trust each other and learn?
“The teachers who are here for the right reasons are here for the students, and they do their best to be good examples to them,” Strange said.