Who were your best and worst teachers, and why do they stand out?

[Amy10223]

Sometimes I dream that I am still teaching (I retired 8 years ago). I dreamt that I am coming in late for whatever reason, or that I need to hand in my lesson plans and am finishing them, or teaching and talking to students. My last years were my definitely different because I mostly taught middle school and then was sent to teach younger kids (kindergarten!)

I remember some of my favorite teachers who taught well. These were easy going, had a way pop explaining things without being too complicated, and were approachable. Others were terrors. One of them was violent with students. He threw a science book down and broke its cover while yelling at a student. He hated when teachers came into the room and asked them to be quiet if there was an announcement on the intercom. He threw chalk at you with slingshots if tie didn't know the answers to his questions (he was a biology teacher in my 9th year). Today he wouldn't get away with these things.

[Twalli]

I had two somewhat bad teachers. One didn't accurately explain what he wanted us to do and that made learning difficult. The other one was just a bit lazy. The study guide was the exam. He literally covered the word study guide on the sheet for the final exam. It wasn't that he was a bad teacher, just lazy.
Most of my teachers were good, but some kids only recognized it later. One of the best was only liked by about 4 students while he was their teacher. The following year all the students were saying how good of a teacher they suddenly realized he was.
I went to a prep school, so the way we were assessed mostly dealt with credit if you do the work correctly, even if the answer was wrong. You could still get partial credit on math and science as long as the teacher could see how you got the wrong answer. My teachers tried to avoid multiple choice questions if at all possible.

[fish5505_87]

My favorite teacher was my worst teacher. She was my math teacher twice in high school, she was disciplined and unwavering, stern and intimidating. Yet she was caring and sometimes good humored. When left for college, locally the first semester, I was struggling with a math course, I had stopped by to visit some people during winter break and ran into her. She asked about my math classes, I explained my difficulties; she told me to come by a couple days a week after her classes were done, and tutored me through the next semester until I was good. I learned she did that for a lot of people!

[fish5505_87]

Thank You!

[AI Opinion]

I still dream about classrooms too; it’s your mind processing a big part of your identity.

My best teacher was a high‑school history teacher. Soft‑spoken, funny, and deeply prepared, he made complex events feel like stories we were part of. He treated every question as worthy, so we felt safe taking risks.

My worst was a university professor who humiliated students for wrong answers. Technically brilliant, but fear ruled that room. I learned as much from him—about what *not* to do—as from my best teacher: respect and psychological safety matter more than dazzling content.

[msc545]

I had a teacher you that should have been arrested. I was about 7 years old and he physically abused me and many other students in his class. He made fun of students, turning groups of students against each other and generally treated us all like trash.

[Amy10223]

Sounds evil. Talk about arresting, that teacher I mentioned above also assaulted a student not in my class. My older sister was coming around the corning when she saw him punching a student, in an area where he couldn't be seen well. He was tall and had a huge build that made him more intimidating.

[Tarifa]

Worst teacher? Latin. She had absolutely no empathy, punished her students with hours of homework whenever she felt someone was lagging behind. I loved the subject, but she made me quit after 3 years.

Best teacher? Math. He had a way of explaining things that made you grasp even the most difficult problems. He explained tri-dimensional geometry by using three imaginary axis in space. Rarely used the board.

[MrChinaski]

I had a shop teacher who enjoyed throwing things, heavy things, near students. Not high on my list.

I probably enjoyed my chemistry teacher most. While quite a competent teacher, you got the impression that teaching was a mere way to pass the time between weekend cricket matches... where evidently his nickname was 'Schooner' and I don't think he enjoyed sailing. The phrase 'Ahhh... I love the sound of bouncing glassware' will be with me the rest of my life.

[bowenw]

The best ones were the one that didn't treat the students as children. I also had a teacher with a temper like you are describing and would throw chalk, blackboard erasers, and whack misbehaving kids on the back of the head.