Throughout my life I have had some great teachers, some awful teachers and every one in between.

Many teachers whom I didn’t enjoy took very little interest in their students as people. This mentality sometimes seeped into their teaching style as they often had little regard for whether I learned anything in their class. Instead, they spewed information with the hope that we were somehow absorbing it or, at the very least, understanding it enough to do well on a test.

The list of nitpicky issues I had with teachers over the years is probably endless and varied, but the result of their time as my educators was often the same. I treated their classes as dreaded chores that were attended to only because it was required and any effort shown was for the sole purpose of fulfilling my academic duty.

Luckily, I had many teachers who were amazing and have touched my life in unimaginable ways.

The first is my AP Psychology teacher from Lyons Township High School in LaGrange, Ill.: Mr. Morrison.

Over time, Mr. Morrison became one of those teachers whose names you know years before you have him and (apparently) a name you continue to talk about for years after. This might be because he is funny, irreverent and cool. However, I think the real reason is that he made going to class the highlight of my school day for a whole year, in part because of his humor, but also because I left class feeling like I learned something. Every single day.

Second is a long-haired advertising lecturer at this university: Peter Sheldon.

My first encounter with Peter came at Mediapalooza during my senior year in high school, where he spoke about the strengths of our lauded Charles H. Sandage Department of Advertising. 

In the process, he wowed my dad and me by his intelligence and genuine interest in the success of his students. We also thought his long hair meant he was one of those “real deal” college professors.

A little over a year later I had Peter for Advertising 450. This course covers the concept of creativity in advertising and showcased countless examples of smart advertisements. More importantly, Peter came to class each day more prepared than anyone I have seen and, as a result, he always had a real objective for each class. I can say in all honesty that his class is the only one I have chosen to take handwritten notes in since coming to college.

Last, but certainly not least, is a Ph.D. student and my current teacher for Psychology 201: Melanie Tannenbaum.

Melanie has been a refreshing person to learn from this semester as every single slide, lecture, email, example or other resource has been maximized to its fullest potential. Whether this meant including examples geared toward people our age or sending out emails that outlined the week ahead, she was always focused on our job as students: to learn. While many professors at this University would view this as over-the-top or outside of their job description, she viewed it as the norm and it really showed. To top it off, she wrote everyone in class a handwritten note to end the year, something I have never seen at any grade level.

Although those three teachers had some similarities and differences, the result was the exact same in that they all made my motivation to learn and do well totally intrinsic. They each motivated me to do well for myself and, in some ways, for them as well.

More importantly, they did so in an American education system that is largely reliant on extrinsic motivations like grades. These teachers did their job in giving me the tools to do well, and I had to return the favor by trying my hardest. The resulting learning experience in all instances cannot be duplicated by gold stars or cash for every A on a report card.

(At the very least, the fact that I mentioned the psych terms intrinsic and extrinsic motivation alone shows that Mr. Morrison and Melanie did something right.)

While everyone sees the good, the bad and the ugly throughout their academic careers, we must recognize those great teachers for what they do because, whether or not they realize it, being a great teacher can change lives.

John is a junior in Media. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JohnBuysse.