The experience of any high school career is defined by friends, extracurriculars, classes, and teachers. Every student has come across teachers that they have troubles with, or teachers that inspire them to immerse themselves into a subject. There are hundred of thousands of teachers across America, and even more all around the world that dedicate their time to students. It is argued to be one of the most important jobs available, holding the responsibility of educating and producing critical thinking students that use their information in the real world. A study by Harvard and Columbia found that “having a good fourth-grade teacher makes a student 1.25 percent more likely to go to college… and 1.25 percent less likely to get pregnant as a teenager” (Kristof). There is no doubt that a good teacher can have long lasting effects on a student. Research has also shown that a student who has had a good teacher is more likely to be more successful themselves economically. One studies research showed that “teachers in the top 5% helped each class of 28 students earn an extra $250,000+ over their lifetimes” (How Teachers Impact Your Child’s Life). So having a good teacher will not only benefit a student financially, but also influence them to make productive decisions in later years.

Madison Dodger Online was able to talk with students of Madison High School and ask them about good teachers and how it changes their school days. When asked if they had had a good teacher either now, or in the past, all students were very quick to answer yes.Some even provided a list of their top 5 because they couldn’t pick just one. Every single participant was quickly able to retell memories of the class, and became happy thinking of their teacher. The picked teachers spanned from second grade to their present grade. But what makes a good teacher according to real students? When Katie Kern, junior, was asked, she responded that “they really just [want] you to succeed and really [have] your back”. Another quality that a good teacher has is being able to excite students about class, and increase participation. All who were asked said that they were definitely more excited to go to a class where the liked the teacher rather than when they did not. Mark Cowan expressed that his favorite teachers are able to let him be “a lot more comfortable with the class and [make him] eager to go to the class”. Teachers who are understanding and caring of each individual student was a common trait from all recipients about the qualities of a good teacher. Teachers who fail to involve themselves with students, and do not make a connection with the class are more likely to receive bad reviews from students. High schoolers are looking for compromise, and a fair chance to succeed in and out of the classroom.  Educators that are willing to do that work with the students instead of just doing the job is what every student wants. Cowan’s top critic of some teachers are when they are “just doing it for the work and not getting involved with the students”. The educational system revolves around the educators and the learners, and the relationship that the two balance. The majority of recipients also acknowledged that they have more teachers that they liked instead of disliked. The importance of a good teacher affects every single student, and the results of that can last for a lifetime.