Can anyone point to one experience in ther academic lives that changed everything?

[Anonymous]

Going to a single-sex (all girls) high school. It gave me confidence in myself and assertiveness that I never would have otherwise discovered. And the friends I still have from that time in my life are among my most treasured friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was f-ing up royally when I started high school. (Not known at the time, but undiagnosed ADHD). I was getting bad grades because I couldn't focus and was essentially giving up. I had one class in particular that I really didn't take seriously and goofed off in. It was history and the teacher was really young and I made his job much harder than it had to be.

Well at the end of the year, our class had to put on a history "news show" type of thing and he assigned everyone different roles (anchor people, news correspondents, camera and audio/visual people, etc.). I was the biggest slack off in the class but the teacher apparently saw that I was better than that. He made me the producer. I went to him afterwards and asked if it was a joke. He explained that he knew I could handle it and he thought I could use the challenge.

Not to be all "chicken soup for the soul" but he was dead right. I took it seriously and did a great job. Around the same time, my parents wanted to switch me to private school (because of the slacking off) and this teacher ended up writing me a rec for private. I don't know what he wrote, but I got into my school of choice with awful grades. I would say that this experience changed everything for me. I went on to a top university and then law school. This teacher’s little experiment gave me the confidence in myself that I needed to help me focus and he clearly helped me to get into private school where I was able to finally get the specialized attention that I needed to succeed.

I think this is an important example of how it is possible for just one teacher's action(s) to make a huge difference on a child (whether good or bad). Unfortunately for me, no one pushed me or believed in me. It wasn't until after high school that reality hit me. I am not blaming anyone else, because I only have myself to blame. Now I am successful and advanced in my career, making over 6 figures.

[Anonymous]

For some reason, around the fifth grade , a woman teacher took me aside and said something to this effect,Read, and never put down anything until you know what it has said.
I never forgot those words. To this day I hear them. They haunt me in a wonderful way
Without a doubt they transformed my life, from a student bored with school I latched onto libraries big time. Sitting in those old style marble alcoves, I lived Emily Dickinson's There is no frigate like a book. . . .
When I was asked at my doctoral orals where I had gone to high school, I looked out the window at the wonderful, Greek style, beloved public library in the distance and said, "There."

[Anonymous]

I went to an all-girls school and essentially ran everything by the time I was senior class president. That leadership opportunity has really helped me a lot throughout life and in doing well in the business world.

[Anonymous]

In 4th grade, my math teacher told me I was not good at math and never would be. I believed her and gave up. Still have given up on math to this day.

Then in high school, I was doing poorly in everything, bad attitude, the whole package. My English teacher realized I was sleeping through her class and getting B's and she fought tooth and nail for me to get into AP English. Everyone said no, and she put her reputation on the line. It changed the trajectory of my life. I got grades grades, went to college, and became a great English teacher. She literally gave me the confidence to keep going.