We spend more time with our teachers than we do with our own parents. Rather than seeing them as the people who pile work onto our desks, or lecture at us for an hour, it can make a huge difference to lean in further and appreciate their lives as respective human beings. 

Comegys is passionate about his job and confident in his abilities. ”There’s always room for growth, but I think I’m a pretty good teacher,” he claims. His opinions on what a ‘good teacher’ should be, however, are not in any way biased. “The biggest lesson that I‘ve learned from myself, as well as my colleagues, is that you teach the way that you think you will be most effective and chances are, you’re doing a great job.”

The specific experiences that mold us as a person are what drive us to become successful adults. Most teachers have a significant circumstance that led them to choosing their career. In Comegys’ case, it was the teachers he had growing up that got him started, but what keeps him inspired to carry it on is the most important of all. “I’ve had students say, ‘I wasn’t really sure about this subject, but now I think I might minor in it.’ The fact that they are coming up to me and saying those little things every once in a while; that’s really what keeps me going.”

Mrs. Lynne Lansford, a Spanish teacher at Stafford, has similar enthusiasms. Just as Comegys prides in appreciation and recognition from his students, Lansford can strongly agree. “I love seeing students later on in the years. One of my favorite things is when people get back to me and say, ‘Mrs. Lansford, I did this because of you’.”

Seeing students excited about a subject exerts pure joy on a teacher’s face, knowing that their hard work and dedication can make a difference in a child’s life. One special experience that describes just that, occurred during spring break one year when Lansford was on a school trip to Europe with Stafford students. “When we went to France, we were in the Louvre, and one student went with me. She pointed at a painting, and said, ‘I did my report on that painting’. She was crying, because the painting is exactly what she did her report for. She was so excited; it made it for her. That’s one of my most memorable moments.” 

When finding a career, there’s no doubt that we all want success, along with gratification. Like they all say, you want it to feel like you aren’t at work; like you’re just simply doing something you love. Teachers are a prime example of people whose jobs are solely to make a difference while also enjoying their time doing it.

“It’s almost like you keep learning. It’s something that we all do, but just in different ways. I think when you stop learning, you die. You need to learn and be adventurous,” says Mrs. Lansford.