Happy Teacher Appreciation Day! Here are Two of My Favorite Teachers Growing Up

Today is Teacher Appreciation Day and, as I grew up with my parents working for the Yakima School District, it's certainly a day when you should thank teachers for all they do.

Being a teacher is one of the most thankless jobs in the world. They have to baby-sit your kids, put up with each individual's characteristics and carry on with their day all 180 school days of the year without freaking out each and every day as I probably would.

Since moving back to Yakima a few years ago I've run into a few of my favorite teachers. The one pictured on the left is Ms. Wagner. She was the choir teacher at Davis High School. Like the TV show "Glee," choir was about the only thing I had going for me in high school. Sure, I had friends and felt like I belonged, but I didn't belong to any clique or club or group or anything.

But when I joined choir (oddly enough, because it was the only elective I could take after signing up for my other classes) I fell in love with it and took choir for the rest of my high school career. I even found a loophole that let me take choir twice a day in my senior year, but I won't tell you how I scored that.

The teacher on the right is Mrs. Shaw, who I had for second and third grades. When she moved up a grade, I came along for the ride. Believe it or not I was painfully shy back then. I didn't speak unless spoken to. I didn't talk out of turn and I kept all of my creativity to myself. She was about the nicest teacher you could ask for in elementary school. You'll still see Mrs. Shaw sub here and there and she still hands out Skittles if you're well-behaved.

I can probably name just about every teacher I've ever had and speak fondly of every one of them. Who were your favorite teachers? Tell us in the comments below.