Awesome teachers

[Zuljeet]

We've all had teachers who were... perhaps less than adequate in our eyes, and it's easy to rant and cry about it. That said, who had an awesome teacher? I'm not talking about the one you got along with and/or liked. I'm talking about the one (or more) teacher(s) who managed to get inside your head and get you thinking and actually learning something useful.
Case in point: I had a teacher in college who taught Statistics. I hated that effing class SO MUCH, but I had to learn it to complete my thesis. I had the same instructor for all of the stats classes I wound up taking and he consistently went out of his way to pound that mess into my head and I was able to complete my studies without too many horrible things happening.

 

[Noetherian]

I consider myself really lucky; I've had tons of awesome teachers, by both of your definitions.

There was the English teacher in middle school who let me help grade spelling tests and introduced me to other students of hers who were also into anime -- when she wasn't teaching us Latin word-parts that to this day help me feel intelligent when I encounter unknown words. She helped me come out of my shell and make some of my best friends. (She apparently also let her Reading class read Harry Potter, but alas I wasn't quite that lucky.)

There was the sweet down-home algebra teacher who showed us a home video of her move-in to college (and oh boy, did she ever have an accent!), when she wasn't throwing us a pizza party for increasing the class average from the last test or making sure we were all ready for geometry and beyond. She knew how to motivate without being mean, and she made sure we were excited for college in 7th grade.

There was the ex-military history teacher who was adorably obsessed with his unborn daughter but managed to be both strict and comedic. In 8th grade, he had us writing essay-tests for every unit. Not only did he let me get away with describing the Pilgrims via the theme from Gilligan's Island, he picked that essay as an example to read to the class. Not only did I feel more engaged than I ever had in a history class, I also gained a lot of confidence in my writing abilities from this guy.

There was my Algebra 2/Trig teacher, who had a mathematicians' birthday calendar and required us to write essays on the history of mathematics while we worked though the material, so we had context and perspective for math as the invention of men (rather than some mysterious and incomprehensible formulae).

There was my AP European History teacher, who let us put on skits for projects and acted like the French Revolutionaries had been some of his best friends. (Needless to say, this guy gave me an even healthier appreciation for the Borgias-- on Showtime and in Assassins Creed. I'm continually amazed by how much of his class I remember. Anybody else familiar with the War of the Three Henry's?)

There was my chemistry teacher, who kept us in the lab on a weekly basis and showed rather than telling some of the most amazing things I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. (Flame test lab is still one of my favorites, though; someday when I'm rich I'll have a lamp that just burns lithium.)

There was my calculus teacher, who's probably one of the most influential people in my life. She pushed me through calculus and independent research-- in high school. If not for her, I might never have gotten into my dream school or achieved near what I have today.

I could go on-- we haven't even gotten to college yet-- but I think I'll stop before I go completely overboard. School can be pretty rough, but the classes and the things I learned got me through it and keep me fascinated to this day. I'm truly grateful to all my teachers for that-- even the ones who shall go unmentioned.

 

[TheFinish]

In High School, both my Math and Biology teachers really pushed me forward and basically made me realise what I wanted to study in college. My English teacher is the reason I now speak the language near flawlessly, while my Computer Science teach was and is one of my best friends.

In University, my Cellular Biology professor is a million different kinds of awesomesauce, as is my Calculus prof (who looks and acts a lot like Fred Flintstone).