WOODBURY — It’s often odd to think about the people we interact with everyday. In a world where we are all on our own paths, we all somehow see the roads of our lives intersect at one point or another. 

Teachers, for example, are people who help us through the most timely moments of our lives. We often take for granted exactly how much teachers impact our lives throughout our pre pubescent years. 

While taking a deep dive into what exactly makes teachers want to teach we learn the moral thought processes behind the job itself. From a young college student who had no idea what they wanted to do for the rest of their lives, to a youthful aspiration of helping kids, an admirable profession is born. 

“I think I always wanted to be a teacher ever since I was little. That’s really what keeps me doing it: the people, the kids, the students. I just really love it,” says math teacher Nicole Cowles. “When I first started teaching, what another teacher said to me is, ‘What you’ll love about high school students is you can forgive behaviors in them that you couldn’t forgive in adults,’ and I think that’s true. They are still making mistakes and they’re still doing things wrong but they’re supposed to be because they are not adults yet.”

After all these years of teaching, Nonnewaug’s teachers still find something new every year. Even so, the job of teaching is not just about the teacher but rather about their aspirations and learning goals for the students as well. 

“I like to think that in some way every year is like a new experience, it’s a new challenge. You neve stop reaching new goals or new hopes for your students and your career,” English teacher Katy Aseltine stated. “I also think that if you can understand the brain of a high schooler, it does really help you to be a high school teacher because there’s so much going on socially with high school students.”

All in all, appreciation for the teachers all around the world is widespread and yet isn’t completely recognized by all. The influence that our teachers have on our students as well as the impact they leave on our lives is more than just an overall positive experience. Teachers lend a helping hand into our coming of age, and anticipate the people we will soon become after our brief time spent in class with them.