‘Effort beats skill.’ ‘Never give a gun to a duck.’ 25 times teachers gave us the best advice.
What is the best advice you ever got from a teacher?
From words of wisdom about organization and getting enough sleep, teachers continue to craft the minds of students every day, encouraging them to asking tough questions and take necessary risks.
And sometimes, the lessons stick with us for a lifetime.
Last year, we asked people across the United States to tell us about the most important thing they were ever told by a teacher. The responses ranged from thoughtful and sincere to offbeat and whacky.
In honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week, which kicks off Monday, May 8, here's what 25 Americans say is the best advice they have ever received from a teacher:
‘Some day, you will appreciate a sensitive man’
Student: Kendra Strey, 42.
Teacher: Butch Monk, principal of Redwood Christian Elementary School in Castro Valley, California.
Advice: "I got sent to his office in fifth grade because I kicked a boy in the shins. He asked me why I did it, and I told him because (the boy) was such a crybaby. We had been playing a game of kickball and he started crying when people were getting home runs off his pitching. Mr. Monk told me, 'Some day, you will appreciate a sensitive man.'"
Don’t read bad books
Student: Doyle Woody, 61.
Teacher: Wayne Mergler, AP English at Bartlett High in Anchorage, Alaska.
Advice: "Life is too short to read bad books. A bad book is any book you think is a bad book.''
"He had a personal policy – he'd give any book 125 pages and if it didn't work for him, he tossed it and started a new book."
‘Never give a gun to a duck’
Student: Mark Masferrer, 54.
Teacher: David Oglesby, English teacher at Jesuit College Preparatory School in Dallas.
Advice: "'Life is not fair. And never give a gun to a duck.' Not sure what the second part meant but it helped me remember the first part."
Student: Emma Soto.
Teacher: Thomas Beeman, Spanish teacher at California Virtual Academies.
Advice: "Failing a class is not the end of the world. I failed a semester of math and still made it through college and into my career, you will be able to get through to yours, too."
'The Star-Spangled Banner'
Student: Bob Carroll, 52.
Teacher: Olga Einhorn, Gallaher Elementary School in Newark, Delaware.
Advice: "She taught us 'The Star-Spangled Banner.' We learned a new line every week. She would accompany us on the piano. She wanted us to know the words so, 'When you go to a ballgame you don’t just sit there like a bump on a log.' For the last 40+ years, every time I hear our National Anthem I sing along proudly, smiling, and think of Mrs. Einhorn."
Student: Anthony Montalto, 23.
Teacher: Kalisha Whitman, TV reporting teacher at the University of Florida.
Advice: "It’s OK to break the rules once in a while, as long as you know the rules like the back of your hand."
"With this advice, (she) taught me that it’s OK to be creative. It’s changed my writing and reporting process for the better, and I’ll always be grateful for her guidance and advice."
An ‘unaxed’ question
Student: Joshua Melvin, 42.
Teacher: Lee Hettinger, social studies teacher in Fox River Grove, Illinois.
Advice: "‘The only stupid question is the unaxed one’ (written on a giant axed-shaped piece of wood that hung over his classroom door.)"
‘Smart people don’t know everything’
Student: Erin Myrla, 41.
Teacher: Katherine Kasper, Waterloo High School in Atwater, Ohio.
Advice: "I had a teacher tell me once that smart people don’t know everything, but they know how to find information. I’ve often thought of that advice over the years."
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‘Many things aren’t so black and white’
Student: Alex Hubbard, 32.
Teacher: Shari Scott, former teacher at the Tennessee School for the Blind.
Best advice: "I had a government teacher in high school who, in the face of my fixed and certain political views, told me, 'You will find that many things aren’t so black and white.'
It was probably not the most profound advice I have heard, but boy I think of it a lot."
Student: Joan Bandy, 49.
Teacher: Ray England, retired senior pastor at Second Baptist Church in Greenville, Kentucky.
Advice: "Feel whatever you need to feel, just don’t stay there any longer than you have to. Find the joy.”
‘No such thing as a free lunch’
Student: Tammie Brooks, 54.
Teacher: Larry Diemer, English, rhetoric, and debate teacher at Galesburg High School in Illinois.
Advice: “There is no such thing as a free lunch. Be prepared to work hard and never expect anyone to hand you what you haven’t earned."
Student: Erica Riba, 33.
Teacher: Oliva Kuester, University of Michigan School of Social Work.
Advice: "Say yes and then figure it out."
Student: Shawn Bednard, 26.
Teacher: Randall W. Scott III, broadcast and media teacher at Davison High School in Michigan.
Advice: “You don’t have to be the best or the most talented, you just have to be willing to work the hardest. Effort beats skill.”
Meeting students where they are
Student: John Bracey, 58.
Teacher: James Townley, physical education and secondary education teacher at the University of Southern Mississippi.
Advice: "I learned from him that I shouldn’t be afraid to teach 'outside of the box' before that was even a term. I learned from him that it was my responsibility to vary my teaching techniques to meet the learning styles and personalities of my students/athletes."
Student: Geoffrey Louis Koch, 44.
Teacher: Dave Olivo, physical education teacher and football coach, Marquette High School in St. Louis, Missouri.
Advice: "'Adversity doesn’t build character it reveals it.'
And as mush as my 17-year-old old brain was at the time, that clicked. I immediately felt wiser and grateful for that information."
Keep reading
Student: Richard Schoch, 67.
Teacher: Nick Di Nacastro, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School in Ballston, New York.
Advice: "'Read all you can.' Senior year of high school in British literature. Fabulous class."
Student: Rythm Broadus, 35.
Teacher: Ellen Johnson, home schooled in Grand Bay, Alabama.
Advice: "Ellen Johnson taught life on the front porch. My grandma (and teacher) told me, 'Greatness requires sacrifice.' She said that when I understand that, I have the basics of understanding life."
Changing
Student: Michelle Eades, 33.
Teacher: Larry Bridgesmith, graduate school professor at Lipscomb University for Mediation.
Advice: "When the pain of remaining the same is greater than the pain of change, you will change."
‘Lisa is happy-go-lucky’
Student: Lisa Gentry, 62.
Teacher: Lola Hubbs, Fountain City Elementary School in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Best advice: "At an open house during that 4th year she told me and my mother 'Lisa is happy-go-lucky.' I asked, 'Is that good?' She replied, 'Not necessarily.' I have often checked myself throughout my life for this 'quality!'"
Student: Scott Barry, 42.
Teacher: Johannes Greer, drum line instructor at Brentwood Academy, in Brentwood, Tennessee.
Advice: "It wasn't what he said, but how he taught. Everyone had a place and was always challenged to take the next step. A friend and a mentor."
What is writing?
Student: Ana Campbell, 34.
Teacher: Maria McKenzie, English teacher (and also her mother) in Brownsville, Texas.
Advice: "Writing is rewriting."
‘Be an active world citizen’
Student: Leonardo Garcia, 19.
Teacher: Sharon Eskenazi, world cultures teacher at Walsh Middle School in Round Rock, Texas.
Advice: "Discover new things about the world and the people in it! Be an active world citizen."
Student: Ben Gerow, 27.
Teacher: Monica Gerow, teacher at Powhatan Elementary School in Powhatan, Virginia.
Best advice: "While she wasn't my direct teacher, my mom's 30-plus year career as a teacher gave me such respect and admiration for the profession. As a teacher she was always so kind and respectful to any student she had, no matter their background or how well they faired in her class. So in a way her advice was shown through her actions of being patient with people and knowing there's good in them."
How to lose a friend
Student: Kevin Haagen, 53.
Teacher: Jerry Gribble, marketing teacher at Woodinville High School in Woodinville, Washington.
Advice: “If you ever want to lose a friend, go into business with them."
Your future job might not exist right now
Student: Tucker Diedrich, 36.
Teacher: Linda Mikunda, Barron High School in Barron, Wisconsin.
Advice: "'The job you have in the future doesn't exist today.'
A great reminder of how things change and what you think you want to do as a career can change as technology and interests evolve."
Got more advice to share?
Think your teacher's advice tops these submissions?
Email the below information to nalund@usatoday.com and include a photo of yourself with your teacher.
Your first and last name and age;
Teacher's first and last name, what they taught and where they taught;
Advice.
Natalie Neysa Alund covers trending news for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: National Teacher Appreciation Week: Best advice Americans ever got
