[kingkilr]

Great idea, I recently (I'm in college now) went back and thanked several of my elementary school teachers who were really excellent. They don't get nearly enough thanks, but I know for damn sure I wouldn't be where I am today without them.

[heartsteachers]

Very true, the feeling of "they don't get nearly enough thanks" is one of the reasons for the site. although sometimes we don't realize it right away, teachers can really change our lives.

[yummyfajitas]

I know for damn sure I wouldn't be where I am today without them.

How do you know this?

[kingkilr]

Because I see bits of them in myself. An example: my sixth grade teacher math teacher frequently said that good mathematicians were lazy, that the simplest solution to a problem was often best, and that we didn't need to use overly complex techniques to solve problems. That's now at the core of my philosophy as a programmer.

[yummyfajitas]

How do you know you wouldn't have picked up the same trait from another source?

It's not as if that teacher is unique in advocating simplicity.