Did you know that today is World Teachers’ Day? Or in other words, It’s the best time of the year to let the teachers in your life (or who were at one point in your life) know how grateful you are for everything that they’ve done for you or helped you accomplish.

I don’t know about you, but teachers have always been important to me. When I was little, before my younger sister started school, one of my favorite things to do was play school. I was the teacher, and my sister was the student. I have no idea whether my sister learned anything, but I was clearly influenced by my teachers up till that time. As I got older, I realized that I didn’t want to be a teacher myself, but it never changed how important I know they are. So today, on World Teachers’ Day, not only did I want to celebrate my five favorite teachers, but also call attention to the people who haven’t been as lucky as I am with regards to the educators who came into their life.

Here are my 5 favorite teachers, in the order in which I met them:

1. Mrs. Hockey: I was in second grade many years ago, so it’s too long ago for me to remember everything about my teacher that year. However, everything that I do remember was amazing. She introduced me to the poetry of Shel Silverstein from Where the Sidewalk Ends, and in her class, we got to make books of our own stories, using wallpaper for the covers. She also was one of the first people to award me in a literary way, giving me a copy of The Balloon Tree by Phoebe Gilman for the Book Award that year. I was already a big reader, but these experiences solidified my bookworm status.
2. Mrs. Anne Osborne: When I was in both grade 7 and 8, circumstances worked to put me in the split class both years with the same teacher – Mrs. Anne Osborne.  Even though she made me stand in the hall one day because she said I was “acting up to the eight graders,” she was one of the teachers who had the greatest influence on me. She selected me for the Writers In Electronic Residence (WIER) Program at my school both years, and convinced my parents to let me take part in the program when they weren’t sure if was a good idea. I loved it so much, and I found myself wishing that they had the program in my high school. Unfortunately, they didn’t.
3. Mrs. Nancy Haaf: Of all the English teachers I had in my high school career, I think I learned the most through Mrs. Haaf about academics, empathy, and life. She was both the first high school English teacher and the last one. In fact, she was my teacher for three of the seven English classes I took. She told me that she thought I had a lot of potential as an English Literature student just as I was finishing my high school career, which was great for my confidence. Many of my experiences with her are ones that I will never forget.
4. Mrs. Morley: When I was in 10th grade, I had one of the hardest English teachers of my life up till then. She spoke about responsibility with a weird story about “carrying your own monkey,” and she wasn’t generally liked. I had her again in my last year of high school for a creative writing class called Writer’s Craft, and it was then that I realized how great she was. She was tough, didn’t play favorites, gave me confidence in my writing, and most importantly, listened to me and shared information about the world and her personal life because of the things that I was going through at the time. Her kindness and the way she pushed me to meet my responsibilities are unforgettable.
5. Dr. Carol Margaret Davison: University was the place where I came into myself. I had several important university professor mentors, but Dr. Carol Margaret Davison was the one who means the most to me till this day. She was one of my referees when I applied to grad school, she’s been a reference for me when I’ve applied for a new job, and she taught me about the books of my heart – Gothic literature. Finally, and most importantly, she is someone who took the time out of her busy schedule to listen to me and support me when I needed it.

Each of these five teachers have helped get me where I am today. They encouraged the small town girl I was to keep reading, learning, and dreaming, and they showed me that I had what it takes to become a highly educated person, even though I was the first person in my family to attend and graduate from university.  So, today, on World Teacher’s Day, I can’t help but thank them from the bottom of my heart for everything they’ve done for me and to thank all teachers for what they continue to do to make sure that our young people have the tools they need to succeed.

I also want to take a moment to share with my readers that not everyone is as lucky as I have been. Even though education should be a universal right, not everyone gets the same encouragement as I did. Maybe you are one of those people who are system didn’t reach, or maybe someone you know is, or maybe, it’s people who live in very different places and come from very different backgrounds who don’t have access to great teachers.  With this information in mind, I hope that you’ll take a minute to look over this infographic prepared by Grammarly about the children who don’t get the educational support that they need and maybe donate to an organization that wants to make sure that no child is left behind from the knowledge and educational experiences that children need:

This Infographic was brought to you today by Grammarly!