What Makes a Teacher Memorable?

Here at Kognity HQ, we have been reflecting on our favourite teachers from school, and what made them stand out. This is a question that Hugo, our CEO, makes every new employee think about in their first week at Kognity. Every team member has their part to play in building our product, and we try to keep teachers, and their needs, pain points and ideas as our inspiration. 

Our teachers can be responsible for building our confidence, making us discover new interests and passions, and even inspiring our career paths. Whether you are someone who loved every second of school, or someone who loathed it, most people when asked this question have a teacher who comes to mind straight away. Why is that? What makes a teacher so memorable, even years or maybe decades later? The votes are in from our team members, so let’s find out!

Richard, Key Account Manager

Went to school in: Fishguard, Wales

“Mrs Blaxland, my history teacher, was not only an inspiring teacher but an inspiring person. Her passion whilst teaching history was truly infectious, however, it was the life advice that still sticks with me today. Lessons were a great mix of hard learning, challenging conversation and a ton of laughter. I went on to complete a degree in History after being inspired by her!”

Hugo, Kognity CEO & Co-Founder

Went to school in: Linköping, Sweden

“My best teacher growing up was called Håkan, my physics teacher in years 7 to 9. He turned a subject that the typical 13 year old kid finds boring, theoretical and difficult, into exciting adventures. Every class was full of experiments and teacher sanctioned, physics-centered shenanigans. And if nothing else, Håkan provided a constant stream of physics jokes that, even though they were coming from a 40 year old man and were on the topic of physics, actually were funny even to a group of loud, unruly 13 year olds. He really managed to engage his students around a subject, and created a deep and lifelong interest in physics for me.”

Max, Senior Business Developer, South America

Went to school in: Maracay, Venezuela

“Juan was my favourite teacher because on top of all of his knowledge about science, he also loved classical music. To this day, most of my classical music knowledge comes from him. He used to play Beethoven during exams!”

Kakul, Fullstack Software Engineer

Went to school in: Lucknow, India

“My favourite teacher from school has to be my English Lit teacher from 7th grade, Mrs Mittal. She was the first person to motivate me to think about the information I wanted to communicate and to structure it concisely. It helped that she is the only person I’ve ever met with the same first name as mine and it made me feel extra special in class.”

Stew, Product Designer

Went to school in: South Queensferry, Scotland

“Mr White was the teacher who had the biggest influence in putting me where I am today. He was my Art and Design teacher, who, after I was asked not to take the subject as a Standard Grade, really got behind me and supported my efforts to get into art school. He helped me understand the amount of work that was needed to build a strong portfolio. He pushed me (with some honest feedback delivered kindly) to improve my skills in a variety of mediums, and taught me how to explain the reasons behind the decisions to use ‘X’ or build ‘Y’. He opened his classroom up to me during his free periods, and when he had a class, let me draw in the department’s store cupboard. He also let me experiment with his secret stash of crazy chemicals that he had hidden under the classroom sink. Thanks Mr White!”

Courtney, User Engagement Manager

Went to school in: Florida, USA

“Ms. Arena was my teacher for Literature, World Religion, and Art History in high school. She is the most eccentric and lovable teacher I’ve ever met, and she taught me how to think and communicate in a way that still influences me today.”

Konstantine, Onboarding Manager

Went to school in: Athens, Greece

“For me, my favourite teacher in high school was Christos (Chris) the Physics teacher. He was way ahead of his time and his class was the only class that the actual teaching was so amazing and interactive, that all the pupils had the highest scores and we all loved and longed for his class every single day. He used to take us to adventurous locations and run workshops outside using nature’s laws and doing fun experiments. He’s a person I still keep contact with and respect greatly, as his love for passing the torch of knowledge is still going strong!”

Tessa, Senior Project Manager

Went to school in: Canterbury, UK

“Dr Braddy inspired my love of music – he was immensely talented and fun! But, more importantly, he demonstrated that everything had a value: if you liked something, that was great – regardless of what others thought. He was innately inclusive, and could tailor his conversations with all students. One minute, he was randomly teaching the Greek alphabet; the next, he was chatting about the TV reality show ‘Big Brother’!”

Mélodie, Content Design Manager

Went to school in: Versailles, France

“My favourite teacher and biggest inspiration for when I started teaching was my English teacher in secondary school: Mathilde was full of energy and positivity, and she always tried to find new ways to teach and new approaches to keep the class engaged. We translated Bob Dylan songs, drew some scenes from Wuthering Heights, listed slang words in rap songs, and (of course!) watched Friends. She instilled in me a curiosity about languages that has never left me!”

Edward, Business Developer North America

Went to school in: Brussels, Belgium

“Mr Dehairs, my German and English teacher, was the first language teacher I remember who really made diving into foreign cultures exciting. He made the content of his teaching more engaging with relatable music and films, but more importantly I remember the style of his teaching; treating us as equals rather than merely as students.”

Amber, Content Marketing Manager

Went to school in: Harrogate, UK

“Mr Smith, my art teacher. I had gotten behind on my art coursework during my GCSEs, not realising the amount of time it would take away from my other subjects. Mr Smith booked me out of my other lessons one day and set a table aside in his classroom so I could complete all the work for my portfolio under his supervision. He didn’t judge me, or guilt me for not giving his subject the dedication that it deserved, he simply knew I could do better, and helped me to get there. He was so kind, inspirational, and had a great sense of humour too!”

Who was your favourite teacher and why? What made them so memorable for you? Tag us on social media and let us know!