Nelson Mandela said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” Each and every day, teachers are on the front lines of society, empowering and sharing knowledge to brighten the future for us all. Today is World Teacher’s Day, and we can’t think of a profession more worthy of celebration and praise.
At Certiport, we’re passionate about celebrating teachers and all they do. To celebrate this special day, we asked some of our employees to share their memories of their favorite teachers. Check them out!
- "Looking back, I had some pretty great teachers. The ones that stick out to me all had one thing in common: It was very clear that they truly cared about their students, inside and outside of class."
- “In high school, I was invited to take a class which provided teachers with assistance and support. Mrs. Finlayson constantly showered me with praise and confidence to the point that I never wanted to let her down. She asked me to assist in the typing class to time students each week on their speed tests. She pushed me and encouraged me to excel. I got to the point where I could type 122 words per minute (with 2 mistakes) and beat anyone in class. As a result of that experience, I was hired to be a speed typesetter at a printing company that transferred books from print to digital format. That experience influenced my career path in information technology. Thanks Mrs. Finlayson!”
- “I’ve always loved writing. When I was in my senior year of high school, my literature and composition teacher kept pushing me to expand my writing skills and have confidence in my abilities. She never let me give less than 100%. To this day, I think of all she taught me, and owe my career to her pushing me to believe in myself.”
- “I'm grateful for the teachers who helped push me to be my best, who spent time outside of class to help me learn challenging concepts, and who truly listened to me. My teachers created a positive learning environment that gave and still gives me the confidence to think that I can do hard things!”
- “Thanks to a really great teacher, I had the confidence to take a class that would introduce me to what I would decide to study in college and I'm so, so glad that I did.”
- "In ninth grade, I was a teacher’s assistant to a new English teacher. I remember how hard she worked to make classic literature relevant to young teenagers. She wanted to help them understand how good use of language and grammar helped people express the way they viewed the world and their place in it. I wound up listening to her class lessons more than entering grades in the book and grading quizzes. At the end of the semester, she gave each student a condensed format of a classic literature piece and inscribed why she gave them the piece she did. She gave me Great Expectations and inscribed that she had great expectations for me and expected I’d live up to them. I still have that book as a reminder of someone who saw potential in me I didn’t yet understand."
- "I owe much of my personal, collegiate, and professional success to high school teachers that treated me like the person I could become rather than the teenager I was. They mentored me, nurtured me, corrected me, and held me to a higher standard than I held for myself. I am forever grateful for teachers who, through their patience and compassion, taught me humanity--oh, and math, English, and several other important subjects."
- "As I think back to my formal education and teachers who influenced me, there are several of them that come to mind right away. The teachers who influenced me the most were the ones who challenged and encouraged me. They helped me see that I could be more and do better than I had in the past."
To all the educators around the world, thank you! Especially during this year of uncertainty and worldwide panic, you have risen to all the challenges placed before you. We, as a company, as a society, and as individuals, owe so much to you.
As our way of saying thank you, we're offering $15 Microsoft Certified Educator vouchers to all our teachers in the US and Canada. Don't miss your chance to earn your own industry recognized credential, and validate your skills and knowledge.