Teachers

Wonderful, wonderful people.

I just spoke with a woman who was my English teacher in high school and who has been my mentor and friend for many years now, and it is amazing how good she makes me feel every time I talk to her--no matter how long it has been. As she did when I was in her class, she always makes me feel that I have something important to contribute, that she is interested in what I have to say, in what I'm doing, and that she gets as much as I do out of our interactions. I call that one of the hallmarks of a good teacher and good person and something I aspire to in my daily life (with mixed results).

The other thing, I note now, that made her a great teacher and that makes her such an awesome person is her interest in and curiosity about a wide range of things. Proclamation: Intellectually curious people make the best teachers. Their classes are interesting and constantly in flux. They aren't afraid to be asked questions that go beyond their knowledge. They challenge you and like to be challenged in return.

I'm going to go do a little spinny dance now.