To commemorate teacher appreciation week, some of our readers submitted stories about teachers that influenced their lives.

Jill Funck wrote in:
“Once I decided to go to college, I knew I needed to take Expository Writing. Mrs. Stefonek was the teacher for the class at Rhinelander Sr. High back in 1979/80. She had a reputation of being a tough teacher and made you work hard to get a good grade. In the end, I’m glad she did. I was prepared for the classes I took in college and her guidance helped me continue to improve my writing skills through the years. Thanks for pushing us to be the best we can be.”

Cathy Oelrich also had a great experience with a teacher:
“Mr. Santy and Mr. Stein both were huge influences on my high school career, and also in finding out who I was as person. They pushed me to be a better person, and gave me the room to grow into the person, while at the same time trying new things. Both gave me a new appreciation for teachers and their commitments to their students. Every time I hear a Clapton song, or look at a photograph, I think of both of them and how much time they took to help me be the person that I am today. I am forever grateful.”

I had a great teacher growing up. Mr. Blau was our history teacher and also taught the new and upcoming field of computer programming. As one of the few students in both his history class and his computer programming class, I was given the responsibility of going around to different rooms and installing new software on other teacher’s computers and troubleshooting problems they were having. Trusting me with that kind of a task went a long way to build a 16-year-old kid’s confidence.

Do you have a great teacher story to share? You can always comment below.