It's Teacher Appreciation Week! I encourage you to take a moment and thank your favorite teacher(s). You may think that they just work while you're at school, but being married to a teacher, I can tell you that is totally not true! From grading papers, attending meetings, to being involved in extra-curricular activities teachers put in more than a 8 hour day, and with the funding mess, many, if not most teachers are reaching into their own pockets to provide essentials for the classroom!

I want to say thanks to three of my high school teachers that I am friends with on Facebook.

Henry Ziegler taught me history and was my basketball coach. I could never spell Napoleon correctly, which was difficult given that it seemed we spent one whole year on him. I still remember learning about "isms" and his love of history inspired me to be a history major at Middlebury College.

Steven Masters was the art teacher at Saltus Grammar School. I may have taken one year of art with him, and it's a wonder that he had the patience to deal with me because I don't have an artistic bone in my body. But what I remember most about Steven Masters was that he had us go from one of the end of the gym and taught us how to project our voices so we could be heard at the end of the other gym without shouting. I thought it was the silliest thing at the time, but I have used that skill throughout my entire life, and it's allowed me to become a broadcaster and public speaker.

Jon Beard was our physical education teacher. He was a great coach, and inspired many throughout the school. He instilled in my the belief of putting others ahead of oneself, and that it didn't matter how good you were, as long as you gave your complete effort everytime!

Going to a small high school, and living in Bermuda, teachers were more than instructors, they became friends. Having graduated high school 35 years ago, I still remember the lessons that these three and others taught me, and to them and all the teachers I have come across I say thanks!

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