When we think back to our school days, there are often one or two teachers whose words still stick with us today. Whether it was something they said in a moment of frustration, strong encouragement when you needed it the most, or even just timely advice for life on the whole—these lessons hold an incredible amount of value that can last long after the class is done and over with.Â
As such, today we will be looking into 20 pieces of advice given by a teacher which has left its mark on our lives and could very well do so for you, too! Read below to see which nuggets of wisdom have had such longevity throughout time.
1. “Don’t Come Back For the Second Class”
One user shared his story and posted, “The French teacher basically said don’t return to his class for the second one.. it wasn’t meant to be mean. He saw that I was struggling really badly, but I managed to pass the class. But he said if I wanted to learn, stop by during lunch. And we could go over the topics of the second class. This man, instead of enjoying his break, chose to teach me.
“‘You fight like no other. You never give up. You inspire me.’ He said this to me. I should have clarified that.
“We remained friends until his unexpected death in ’19 (16 years AFTER my last class with him). We would email each other in French, and he would send me French music. ‘What better way to learn a language than to listen to it.’ Man, I miss him …”
One user replied, “That man was born to teach!!!”
2. “Be the First to Show Kindness to Everyone You Meet”
“You should always be the first person to show respect and kindness for everyone you meet. You can take the concern away if they show they don’t deserve it through actions.
“If everyone refused to show respect unless the other person showed respect first, no one would have respect for each other,” one online user posted.Â
3. “Don’t Write What I Say, Write What I Mean”
One Redditor shared, “‘Don’t write what I write. Don’t write what I say. Write what I mean.’ -Chemistry Teacher.”
One user replied, “That’s a good one.”
4. “Enjoy Every Note You Play”
“My second bass teacher, in our first lesson, told me “Enjoy every note you play.” It changed everything for me,” one user shared.
Another Redditor added, “Oh, that one sounds good! I am currently learning violin, and there are always notes in a piece that I am scared of because I often misplay them. I will try out that advice!”
5. “I’m Stimulating My Frontal Cortex, You Should Do the Same”
One user posted, “My 7th grade history teacher pulled me into the hallway, looked at me and started rubbing his forehead. ‘Do you know what I’m doing?’ he asked. ‘I’m stimulating my frontal cortex. That’s where my decision-making comes from. You should do the same.'”
6. “Learn the Rules Before You Break Them”
“‘Learn the rules thoroughly before you opt to break them.’
“He was an English teacher referring to grammar and creative writing, but the advice can be widely applied,” posted one Redditor.Â
7. “Someone Telling the Truth Isn’t Afraid of Questions”
One user shared, “My 6th-grade science teacher: keep asking the questions until you find the answer. As someone who grew up in a religious community, I was always told ‘don’t ask questions’ and ‘you never question adults, especially the preacher’ this was eye-opening for me. Someone telling the truth isn’t afraid of questions.”
8. “People Remember How You Made Them Feel”
“I’m a paramedic and my mentor once told me, ‘People won’t remember what you said or what you did for them. They’ll remember how you made them feel.’ And all this time later, despite how jaded and burnt out the industry as a whole seems to be, that keeps me pretty chippy about the job,” one user shared.
9. “50% Is a Pass, 51% Makes You an Overachiever”
One user shared, “50% is a pass and 51% means you are an overachiever.”
10 “It’s Not What or Who You Know: It’s Who Knows You”
One Redditor mentioned, “It’s not What you know, and it’s not Who you know: It’s Who knows You! There is a big difference!”
One user replied, “Blimey, I like this one.”
11. “When Learning Something, Start With the Simplest Part”
“When learning something, start with the simplest part and do it to the highest degree of quality possible. Do everything that follows in this manner,” one Redditor commented.Â
12. “People’s Opinion of You Is Not Your Business”
One Redditor shared, “‘People’s opinion of you is not your business!’ He was right. Today, I truly don’t care what people think of me. I know me, and that’s all that matters.”
13. “Take a Break Sometimes, It’s Impossible to Do Everything”
“‘It’s important to take a break sometimes. It’s impossible to do everything anyway.’
“For the context, it came from a teacher in prep class for engineering school; it was almost impossible to keep up with everything at the same time, and you were forced to make choices. At first, I wanted to do as usual and be perfect everywhere, but except getting depressed because of my lack of sleep, I couldn’t do anything. So my teacher literally told me to learn to be able to do nothing for a day and just be ready to tank a loss.”
14. “Lend an Ear to People Who Clearly Need It”
One user posted, “I had this teacher who simply asked me what was wrong while I was sitting against the lockers alone one day. I just told him I was just tired, but he could tell I had some home life issues going on and treated me with a bit of extra love while in his classes, and I’ll never forget that s- ever.
“I guess it sort of taught me to lend an ear to people who clearly need it, just like Mr. Wood did for me. Yes, that was his real name, and yes, it got lots of jokes from immature teenagers Lmao. He also had a chick’s first name, which is probably what built his helpful character like a boy named Sue, lol.”
15. “Don’t Memorize Facts; Learn to Process and Understand”
One of the online users added to the thread, “One of my teachers told me ‘I don’t want you to memorize a bunch of facts; I want you to learn the learning process and understand cause and effect.’ Changed everything for me.”
16 “No One Has Ever Tried Crack and Not Become Addicted”
“‘No one has ever tried to crack and not become addicted. What makes you think you’re so special?’ I’ve never even laid eyes on crack, but those words sound off in my head whenever the question of prescription drugs or alcohol overuse comes up. I have no illusions about my ability to withstand addiction,” shared one user.Â
17 “When You Master the Small Stuff, the Bigger Stuff Isn’t as Big”
One Redditor posted, “‘Don’t stress the small stuff; when you can master this, the bigger stuff isn’t as big … ‘ I have lived this since being told it, and I teach my kids this. Because I don’t sweat the small stuff, I can be methodical with the big, and I have yet to encounter an issue I can’t handle…”
18. “What’s Democratic Isn’t Always Fair”
“‘What’s democratic isn’t always fair.’ Happened when two girls had a cold on a cold day, and the majority of students wanted the AC pumping because the room was feeling warm,” one user shared.Â
19. “Don’t Believe Everything You Hear and Only Half of What You See”
One Redditor also added to the thread, “In second grade: don’t believe everything you hear and only half of what you see. Definitely impacts my critical thinking, and I teach it to my own students these days.”
20 “Strive to Not Be Mediocre”
“My math teacher told us that we shouldn’t be satisfied with what everyone else around us is doing. We should always strive to achieve more and not be mediocre,” one Redditor posted.Â
Do you agree with all the wisdom shared above? Share your thoughts!
Source: Reddit.
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