Thank A Teacher Today

By Jen Martin, May 3, 2011 02:14 PM

It's National Teacher Day, and I have a question. Do you remember your first-grade teacher's name? How about your third-grade or sixth-grade teachers? Mine: Ms. Giest, Ms. Hall and Ms. Hughes. Come to think of it, I could probably name all of my teachers throughout my entire school career. There's a reason for that - they made an impact on my life in one way or another.

Teachers hold a special place in my heart. Not just because of how they helped shape me into who I am today, but because a handful of my friends grew up to be teachers themselves.

It just so happens that AARP was founded in 1947 by a teacher and principal, Dr. Ethel Percy Andrus. Her story is pretty amazing. As a volunteer at the Welfare of the California Retired Teachers Association, she saw that many of her fellow retired teachers were facing financial insecurity. They didn't have health insurance, little to no pensions and most had lost their savings in the Depression.

One day, a local grocer asked Dr. Andrus to check on someone. What she found angered her - a teacher reduced to living in a chicken coop, due to a bad financial situation. Dr. Andrus was galvanized to action. She thought bringing the individual state retired teachers associations together into a national group would strengthen them all. So, in 1947, Dr. Andrus founded the National Retired Teachers Association - the NRTA. At the time, she was 63.

To learn how more about Dr. Andrus go HERE.

And if you're a teacher, THANK YOU. If you know a teacher thank them. And to my teacher friends: Thank you, Kelly. Thank you, Amanda and thank you, Mary, for shaping lives everyday.

So, what's the name of your favorite teacher and what's your favorite memory of them?

Photo credit by AARP.org

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