There are things we memorize on purpose—grammar rules, birthdays of loved ones, important dates, and deadlines. But there are things that get stuck with us even though we never really put any effort into remembering them. Words have far greater power than we may realize, especially when said at the right place and the right time.
Speaking of the right words, one Reddit user invited others on the social media platform to share things that their school teachers said that stuck with them. Some wise words turned out to be powerful teaching moments for students, whereas some get replayed in one's mind because they hit some kind of nerve. All in all, the thread blew up, with thousands of replies to the discussion and almost 50k likes. Scroll down to find the best answers that Bored Panda picked for you and vote for the ones you liked the most. In addition to this, in the comment section, share if you ever heard something from a teacher that stuck with you for life!
More info: Reddit
#1
I was several weeks into a course in high school I still hadn't bought the textbook. When the teacher found out I didn't have the book, she took me aside and asked why. Being a dumb teenager, without thinking I gave her some lame excuse about the book being "too expensive." My family was solidly middle class, and, although not rich, my parents definitely would have bought the book for me. The real reason was just that I was lazy.
But my teacher looked sincerely concerned and quietly handed me a $20 bill. I was caught off-guard and mortified. Of course, I did buy the book right away after that. And then later that year returned a $20 to the teacher.
I always struck by the generosity of a teacher who would do that for her students, but I felt awful about how what I thought was an innocent lie turned out. Definitely a valuable lesson in honesty, lol.
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141points
#2
I once asked my teacher something about the subject. And she said, "I don't know, but I'll do some research and get back to you tomorrow."
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123points
#3
“Killing yourself is a selfish act. There are people you haven’t met yet who need you.”
She was my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Stone, and I swear to god she saved my life without knowing it.
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122points
#4
First day off science class: “Many of the topics I will be teaching you this year will likely be proven false throughout your life”
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119points
#5
"You have an accent, your skin is brown, your whole life will be filled with people who will assume this means you are not as smart or as good as they are at literally anything. That's why I push you. That's why I demand more from you. You have to work harder now so you can prove them all wrong for the rest of your life."
Ms. Johnson 9th grade English teacher
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119points
#6
“Have I been respectful to you?”
Me: “well, yeah”
“Are you being respectful to me?”
Simple words. They have guided me so much.
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114points
#7
I'm FB friends with several of my old teachers. I once wrote about how I had the recurring nightmare of being in my chemistry teacher's class and having to take an exam but not having studied for it.
He replied saying that his recurring nightmare is my being in his class.
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109points
#8
“Once you’re an adult, you choose your own fate. Your mom won’t control you anymore.”
this came from a 9th grade Algebra 1 teacher who took the time to tutor me. My mom was/is a antivaxxing, cult following nut bag who didn’t think school was important because Armageddon is coming. I was terrible at math until I met him.
It’s been 25 years and I think of this teacher still, I am grateful. Don’t talk to mom anymore, she got tired of me asking where Armageddon was...
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106points
#9
I had a maths teacher who was an older woman, really strict and nobody particularly liked her. We mocked her way of speaking and were generally mean teenage assholes.
Once, when I was around 15, I hadn't finished my homework so I dropped my book in a puddle and showed it to her in class to say I'd lost the homework so couldn't hand it in. She questioned me a bit on how it had happened, then asked me to stay after class. The whole lesson I was [crapping] myself, expecting to be absolutely bollocked once everyone else had gone, so when the bell rang I sheepishly went up and sat at her desk after everyone had left.
To my surprise, she didn't shout at me but gently asked if I was being bullied and somebody had taken my workbook and ruined it on purpose. I was a little skinny kid with glasses and braces, so I can see why she would have thought that, but in that moment I suddenly saw her as a human being with feelings and empathy and not just a teacher. I felt like [crap] for the way I had treated her, and for lying about what had happened. I never admitted it to her - just reassured her that I was fine - but it did stick with me and I was much less of an [asshole] to teachers after that.
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85points
#10
In my Senior year we had a dinner at school. There was a very long queue for the desserts, so I went and asked a history teacher where it started, because I couldn't find it (it was pretty chaotic)
The teacher proceeded to put an arm around me, walk me to the desserts table, and say "Ray my boy, [damn] the queue"
The teacher proceeded to put an arm around me, walk me to the desserts table, and say "Ray my boy, [damn] the queue"
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81points
#11
I took Latin all four years of high school. I quickly realized I despised the language, but I stuck with it for the teacher himself. He alone was worth it.
Our Latin class was right above the hallway with classrooms for special needs kids. One day, after it was apparent nobody did their homework, my teacher stopped class and said, “you’re all taking what you have for granted, and it’s inexcusable. There are several dozen kids in the hallway below you who wish they had the mental faculties to do homework.”
I did my Latin homework regularly after he said that.
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75points
#12
After being caught smoking pot in high school (1986). My Science teacher (Hi Mr. Fischbein) said to me: "there is a time and place for everything, this is not the time, nor the place". He did not report me to administration. He was a great teacher.
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72points
#13
This came from a teacher who hated my guts (and I his). We never got along - I disliked what he taught and how he taught it. He thought I was pompous and bragged about my grades (maybe pompous, but never bragged about my grades).
Anyway, we had turned in our Ethics final paper, and mine was 20 pages long or so. Sometime later, he asked me to come by his room to pick up my paper. Despite how much he disliked me, he told me, "Sam, I've been teaching this class for over 10 years - this is the best paper I have ever read. Can I use this as an example for future classes?"
I gained a ton of respect for him that day because I knew how hard it had to be for him to admit that.
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71points
#14
"You should just join the army because you'll never make it into university and get a good job."
15 years later, I'm a teacher. I'm not going to say that kind of trash to students.
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70points
#15
My geometry teacher was super chill. He taught us to play poker and blackjack. On the last day of school he said, “Remember: if you ever need anything or have any questions while you’re at this school, there are about 50 other teachers you should go to before you come to me”.
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65points
#16
My art teacher told me I couldn't draw. Fast forward 15 years and I've graduated university with a fine art degree and have my own small illustration business as a side gig. It's not a huge thing, but I've had over 150 sales now and have like, actual fans! So, screw you Miss H!
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58points
#17
(Biology teacher, pointing at student)
"Ugly bag of protein, full of water!"
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57points
#18
"Teachers like marking your homework as much as you like doing homework"
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53points
#20
I had a 9th grade Earth Science teacher who actually had a PhD in biology. He told us that he had made his was through school by writing things he had to learn on 3x5 note cards, and would pull them out of his pocket when he had a few minutes to learn/memorize the material he had written on them. I used that technique from then on - all the way through my own PhD - when I had something important to understand or commit to memory.
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47points