There are currently 194 teachers at Eaglecrest, and of those 194, 29 of them are English teachers. That means only 15% of teachers here teach English. And if you asked any one student at Eaglecrest who their favorite teacher is, chances are, they’ll name an English teacher, whether it be their current one or from their freshman year. Why might this be?

On Tiktok, videos have circulated illustrating teacher stereotypes, including English. Typically, they’ll be wearing a cardigan and knee-high boots while drinking Starbucks coffee. These videos could be the catalyst for crafting the archetypal English teacher, branching even further to create deeper, more meaningful stereotypes for them. 

“There’s also some of the good videos where English teachers are mentioned, like, ‘has everybody had an English teacher who changed their life?’ And luckily I’ve been tagged in some of those and it’s so cool! And I think of my English teachers and I’m like heck yeah! They changed my life too,” said English and AVID teacher Angela Endly. 

English teachers are even sometimes seen as parental figures to some students–someone they can reach out to if they’re feeling stressed, excited, sad, or even if they just have a great story to tell. Endly and other English teachers, speculate that this is because the content they teach allows for them to be more personal with their students. In an area like Math, everything is linear – two plus two is four, and that’s that. But in a class like English, students have the ability to share very personal details with their teachers through narratives and essays. 

“I think it’s because our content allows us to talk about really big real issues,” Endly stated. “For example, I learn a lot of deep things about my students when they write narratives and they talk truly to me about their life and things that they’ve experienced. Some other contents just don’t always naturally figure out this stuff the way we do – it has to be a deeper conversation.” 

Teachers are notoriously known for impacting the lives of their students. Of course, being in school for 12 years of your life, you’re bound to be impacted by the people you see on a day-to-day basis. 

9th grade Honors and Read/Write English teacher Kimberly Torpey reminisces on a teacher she had in 11th grade named Ms. Paulk. “She was a phenomenal teacher,” Torpey said. “With a classroom of all new students, instantly we just bonded and became this community – and she was an older teacher! Like grey bun – talk about stereotypes! She was way before her time. We did this research paper and she encouraged me to do Emily Dickenson. I explored it and loved it, and I stayed in touch with her. She even saved all of her teaching materials for me when I graduated from high school. She treated us like people, treated us like we were as smart as she was.” 

Even the people who you look up to have had an experience with a teacher that impacted their life significantly. Teachers have an impeccable impact on their students, having the ability to change someone’s mindset completely, to either love a subject or despise it. Courtney Cervelloni, Eaglecrest English teacher, said that she, too, had a teacher in high school who inspired her to become a teacher. In high school, Cervelloni wasn’t the best at English, but this teacher had helped her love reading and the subject. 

As a teacher, one should enjoy being around kids, whether they’re as innocent as elementary schoolers or as rowdy as high school seniors. Endly and 11th grade English teacher James Proctor both stated that they decided to become teachers because of their connections with younger people. 

“I enjoy working with kids and helping them figure out who they are and their place in the world,” Proctor expressed. “I think English is a good way to do that.” 

Many teachers would agree, even those who don’t teach English. School in general is an important time for students, a time to figure out what they’re going to spend their lives doing and, as Proctor said, find their place in the world. Endly adds on nicely, “I wanted to be able to be with kids right before they entered the real world, and really have a big part in what they become and what they do after high school. High School is just a time where people deal with a lot in their lives and I wanted to be a person who could help with a lot of that, since I experienced a lot growing up myself.”

English teachers are an important aspect of students’ lives. Math or science teachers, who, of course, teach students a lot, are not as connected to their students as an English teacher may be. They make a large impact on their students’ lives, and help lead them into the ‘adult world’ after high school.

Please remember to show appreciation for your teachers and what they do for you. Give them a wave and a smile in the hallway, a kind-hearted ‘have a nice day’, as you leave class, maybe even a gift with a note telling them how much they’ve impacted your life. Without teachers, our lives would be a lot more confusing and complicated.