Sea Wolf":2iiftsi9 said:
I thought we might hear from a teacher on this...
Much as I generally hated school, I had many excellent teachers who recognized this, and still provided encouragement and alternatives. They understood my thirst for learning, and found ways of satisfying it beyond scheduled coursework, and for that I owe them a great deal.
The first of which was my third grade teacher, Mrs. Westphal. What a great lady...when it became clear to her I understood, but was bored stiff with the basics, she set me loose on my own. I was allowed to sit in the back of the class, and basically read books all day that interested me. She would give me a suggestion of a category to read - science, fiction, history, etc. But she never assigned any particular text, and made it clear I was free to choose from whatever books were available in her classroom or at the library.
Every week, she would set aside some time to chat with me about what I was reading. No doubt in my mind, I was learning far more than the other kids, and was having a great time doing so.
Which leads me to think, that perhaps the most important teachers we have are those from our early years. If one posesses the abiliity to make a child excited about learning, that's a trait that will probably follow them for life.