Today is National Teacher's Day so naturally the Big Question for this week is: Who has been your greatest teacher?
I have been lucky to have many great teachers in my life. One of my most memorable teachers was in 3rd grade. Mrs. Kalichstein was fearsome- in fact, I spent the summer before school making myself sick at the thought of having her- and to many students, she was downright mean. However, the stars aligned and she liked me, and I became "teacher's pet." Along with spelling drills that I can still recite today, Mrs. K was instrumental in making me feel self-confident, even though I was the smallest kid in the class. "Good things come in small packages" was her favorite thing to say to me, and it really made a difference in how I viewed myself.
Further along the line is the person who put me on my career path- Professor George Armelagos, medical anthropologist. His perspective on health, disease, and adapting ancient cultural beliefs for contemporary public health issues led me to public health. The rest, as they say, is what happened next.
I would be remiss if I didn't include my wonderful children in this tribute to my important teachers. Not only because they have actually taught me how to do things (like use a computer, or how to navigate social media), but because see the world through them has taught me so much and expanded my thinking in countless ways.
Thanks to all the amazing teachers out there!