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Our Voices - Quick Takes

The Things Students Say That You’ll Never Forget

Educators share the funny, weird, and unforgettable things students have said to them.

Quote byKarin Ibrahim, Wisconsin

Hamlet, … ain’t that a breakfast food?”
—Karin Ibrahim, Wisconsin
Karin Ibrahim

Quote byChad D.

It was my first day as a teacher’s aide in a first-grade classroom. A student walks up, gracefully touches my arm (I have fairly hairy arms), then looks up and says, just above a whisper, ‘You’re like a wolf man.’ Then, he quietly walks away. That was my very first student interaction as an educator.
—Chad D.
Wolf Man

Quote byNoydena Douglass, Oregon

When teaching third grade, one of my students came up to me and said: ‘I have some advice for you. Never kiss a hermit crab. It hurts when they grab your lip, and you can’t get them off without help.’ Sure enough, she had a small, bruised mark on her lip.
—Noydena Douglass, Oregon
Hermit Crab

Quote byDawn H.

I had a third-grade student tell me I was his favorite teacher ever and that, ‘When you die Mrs. S., I’m going to help carry your casket.’ 
—Dawn H.

Quote byAnacris N.

‘I told my mom you taught us about orgasms.’ (Organisms. I taught them about organisms.)
—Anacris N.
organisms

Quote byKathy N.

Last day of school, I had the children lined up to go home. One boy, who was very shy, kept telling those behind him they could go in front of him. Once it was just himself, and I reminded him he could wave, give a high five, or just say goodbye, he told me: ‘I let the others in front of me so I could hug you the longest.’ I literally cried.
—Kathy N.
hug

Quote byStacy Schmidt, Iowa

When I was teaching in an alternative school, one of my students asked me to attend their Narcotics Anonymous meeting to celebrate a milestone for their sobriety. One of the highest, yet most humbling honors I’ve ever received. We do so much more than teach content.
—Stacy Schmidt, Iowa
group therapy

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