Teacher: Can anyone tell me what the Dog Star is?

Pupil: Lassie!

Cute, huh? Okay, corny. I found that joke on the website St. Aiden’s Homeschool Resources. Check it out. You’ll find many other cute (or corny) teacher jokes there.

I dedicate this Teacher Appreciation Day to:

Mrs. W, the elementary school teacher who first encouraged me to write.

High School Teachers Miss Hansen and Mr. Zook who pushed me to probe books for meaning and made me think about audience.

Phyllis Taylor Pianka whose stellar writing group kept me writing and whose delectable desserts gave me the energy.

Sara McCaulay who encouraged me to pursue my MFA and who gave the best writing prompts ever, especially the Stranger in a Strange Land exercise that wound up in Natural Bridge.

Sandra Grayson who taught me to link theory to literature and showed me how to foster questioning in others.

Six is my lucky number, and these six fabulous teachers (in order of appearance) nudged me along my writing path. I can’t thank you enough, but I’ll try.

THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!!

And to all teachers everywhere past, present, future: Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!

A final thought from education reformer Mustafa Kemal Atatürk: “A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others” (qtd in The Quote Garden).

Who is your favorite teacher? Please share! I’d love to hear.