Wizards of wholesomeness. Kings and queens of kindness. Sultans of support. Teachers and professors can be very powerful forces of good in their students’ lives, helping guide them and unlocking their potential. Today, the team here at Bored Panda is paying homage to some of the best educators out there. That’s why we’ve collected some of their most wholesome and heartwarming moments.
It’s proof that educators really don’t get paid enough. We’d love to give each and every teacher and professor on this list a wage bump and a hug to thank them for being such awesome inspirations for us all. Don’t forget to upvote the pics that warmed your heart as you continue scrolling. When you’re done with this list, we’ve got some more teacher and professor wholesomeness waiting for you here and here.
And remember, Pandas, if you’ve ever had a great teacher or professor who you still remember fondly to this very day, why not tell them how you feel? Send them an email, give them a call, or drop by your old school. We’re pretty sure they’d appreciate your appreciation. Sometimes, a simple ‘thank you’ is enough to make it all worth it.
Bored Panda got in touch with Lisa McLendon, the William Allen White Professor of Journalism and Mass Communications and the Coordinator at the Bremner Editing Center at the University of Kansas. We had a chat about how educators can motivate students and about some of the nicest things that Lisa and her students have done for each other. You'll find the full interview below, dear Pandas, so make sure to read on.
#1 Some Teachers Go Above And Beyond For Their Students
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"Just this week I put a current student in touch with an alum who was looking for a summer intern—I knew the student and what the alum was looking for, and I thought they’d be a good match. By Thursday she had the internship!" Lisa, from the University of Kansas, shared one way that she recently helped one of her students.
"It’s always nice to see when your students flourish. I also encourage (and have gotten the university to fund) students to attend an annual professional conference, to see what professionals in the field are doing and start to build their network. Every year a few students go, and they’re always happy to have had such an experience," she said.
"As for nice things students have done for me, I keep a folder of the handwritten notes I’ve received from students, telling me how they value what they learned from me or just thanks for being their teacher, and I read a couple when I have a bad day, to remind myself why I do this job," the professor revealed that these notes can help motivate her.
#2 Teacher's Positive Words
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#3 I Came Out To My Very Religious Family A Few Years Back And Haven’t Been Allowed Home Since. I Just Got This From One Of My Professors And Had To Share It. I’m 100% Going
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Speaking of motivation, the professor explained to us what educators can do to help guide and inspire their students. According to her, it's important that professors show the purpose of everything that they're doing at university.
"Relating concepts and skills to real-world activities can help many students understand not just what they’re doing but why. Explaining the purpose of big-picture things like a whole course as well as small things like individual assignments can help students understand why what they’re doing is relevant. Also, putting concepts and skills into the larger field can help students contextualize what they’re doing and see how it relates to things they’ve done before and things they’ll be doing at the next level," the professor told Bored Panda.
#4 This Brazilian Sign Language Teacher Signs Her Entire Wedding Ceremony For All Of Her Deaf Guests
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#5 A Girl In My Geography Class Had To Bring Her Newborn To Class Today. The Baby Started Crying In The Middle Of Our Quiz
When she took him out to hold him, my professor insisted that he wouldn't mind feeding the baby and rocking his car seat until she was done. This is my so so awesome, sweet professor, on his kneesю
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#6 My Very Considerate Professor Allowing Me To Bring My Cat To Class
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Meanwhile, we were curious as to how educators could subtly let a student know that they should put a bit more effort into their work. "The 'sandwich' method usually works pretty well: Tell the student something good about their work (bread), tell them how something could be better (filling), then tell them something else good, either about their work or about your confidence in their ability to do it (bread)," she explained the sandwich method of criticism.
"Some students want simple, direct feedback on what to fix, but many want to know that they’re at least on the right track and that their teacher thinks they can do it."
#7 Last Minute Before The Graduation. Student Comes To Me In A Panic. He’s Like, They Won’t Let Me Graduate Because I Don’t Have The Proper Shoes For The Dress Code
In total disbelief, I go down to confirm. And sure enough, the lady down there tells me the same thing. So then it becomes a no-brainer to me, a no more questions-asked scenario. I gave him the shoes on my feet. Here’s the funny part though... My shoes were 2 sizes bigger than his, so when his name was called, he had to slide his feet like sleestak across the stage to receive his diploma. We had a good laugh.
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#8 This Is Pure Genius
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#9 Class Concern
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Teachers Tom Rose and Jack Pannett from the UK told Bored Panda during a previous interview that being an educator can be very stressful yet rewarding. Teachers need to be able to deal with a lot of unexpected situations. Planning is important, but being flexible and nimble enough to react to (sometimes unpleasant) surprises is vital, too.
“Box breathing’ is our ‘go-to’ method if we are stressed and want to calm down. Box breathing is a practice where you breathe in for 4 seconds, hold breath for 4 seconds, breathe out for 4 seconds, hold for 4 seconds and repeat until your heart rate slows down," Tom and Jack shared with us how they calm down if things get a tad too stressful.
The two teachers told us that it’s important to know your students well and to be aware of who might pose the most challenges. That will make it easier to manage their behavior in the future. What’s more, educators have to be very aware of their students’ parents as well. It’s very useful to be diplomatic when speaking to them or giving them advice about their kids. Parents also gossip. A lot.
#10 This Retired Chemistry Teacher Completed A Cross-Stitch Periodic Table After Two Decades Of Stitching
He meticulously hand-stitched every inch of the 58' x 54' embroidery. The table and border took six years.
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#11 This Teacher Wore Anatomy Bodysuit To Teach Science Class
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#12 Special Education Teacher Has Her Entire Class As Members Of Her Wedding Party
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Teachers Tom and Jack told Bored Panda that a lot of staff members are so busy taking care of everyone else that they can forget about their own health and wellbeing. They noted that teachers have to remember the basics: eating, getting enough sleep, taking time off to unwind after stressful periods.
According to psychotherapist Silva Neves, from the United Kingdom, human beings are hardwired to be kind. However, at the same time, human beings are constantly thinking about their own survival. So there’s an ongoing battle inside everyone about whether or not to be altruistic and to go the extra mile for someone else.
#13 My Teacher Is Currently In The Hospital Suffering From Stage Three Kidney Failure. And Still Makes An Effort To Teach
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#14 My Underpaid Elderly Teacher Buys Cake For The Class On The Second Last Day Of Term
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#15 Higher Learning
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“Being kind is good for us because it gives us a sense of purpose, it raises our self-esteem, and it releases feel-good brain chemicals,” Silva told Bored Panda earlier.
“It [kindness] is also good for others, obviously. So kindness is actually something that we, humans, are naturally driven to be,” he said.
#16 A Little Help When Needed
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#17 Spanish Male Teachers Wore Skirts To School After A Student Got Expelled Over It
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#18 "Free Math Classes" This Math Professor Helps Random People Who Want To Learn Math For Free
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“The sense of kindness is in competition with our survival mode, so, as human beings, we tend to live in contradiction, between kindness (opening our arms) and protection (closing our arms),” the mental health expert explained to us that there’s a constant flux between being helpful to others and prioritizing what’s best for us.
#19 A Very Caring Teacher
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#20 This Little Heart On My Hand Is Called A "Cuddle Button". Since My Wife Passed Away Last Year, My 4-Year-Old Daughter Has Hated Being Away From Me
Her teacher draws this on both our hands when I drop her off at school and every time we press it, it sends a hug to the other. It helps her feel connected to me.
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#21 Wholesome Teacher At My School. Too Good Not To Share
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Helping others can make you feel far more positive about life. What’s more, acts of altruism can also help put things into perspective and make you, well, happier. Kindness also has a way of spreading. Doing wholesome things for others inspires them to act in a similar way, in turn. Kindness leads to more kindness. And wholesome teachers create more wholesome students.
#22 Anatomy Teacher With His Drawing Lecture On A Chalkboard
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#23 A Film Class At UCLA Was Analyzing The Movie "Get Out" And The Professor Surprised Students With A Special Guest
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#24 So One Of The Students Came In With Her Kid Because She Couldn't Afford A Babysitter. The Kid Started Crying In Class And The Professor Took The Kid And Calmed Him Down
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Sarah Vero, from ‘Action for Happiness,’ explained to Bored Panda earlier that happiness is closely linked to the concepts of duty and purpose.
"The 10 keys to happier living are giving, relating, exercising, awareness, trying out, direction, resilience, emotions, acceptance, and meaning. We are likely to be happier if our lives have direction, meaning and purpose and if we are part of something bigger than ourselves," Sarah shared with us.
#25 Well Done Professor
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#26 Professor Of The Year
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#27 High School Teachers: Your College Professors Won't Be Nearly As Laid Back As I Am. My College Professor
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"Giving or doing things for others is another example. Relating is about being connected to other people and being part of a community. Duty and purpose don't have to be serious things, being part of a cause that you care about or taking part in charity fundraising, all these things make us happy and fulfilled. We should see these things as acts of service that help us to be happy and help other people at the same time. Awareness is about appreciating each moment no matter what we are doing at the time,” she went into detail about the things we can all do that lead to happiness.
#28 My Dad Is A College Professor. When One Of His Student's Babysitter Didn't Show, She Had To Take Her 4 Month Old Daughter To Class
She started to get fussy, so he did what any good dad would do. They spent almost the entire class like this.
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#29 In Mexico, School Was Cancelled Because Of The Pandemic. This Teacher Turned Her Pickup Truck Into A Portable Classroom
She drives two hours a day to teach children with autism who don't have books or access to the internet.
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#30 Professor Won't Let Fire Alarm Stop Students From Learning, Proceeds To Teach Using Storage Container
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Thinking about others, not just ourselves, leads to more satisfaction with our lives. Altruism benefits everyone.
"Think about how you can reach out and do things for others, help a neighbor or volunteer for a cause, we get happiness high from helping other people,” she suggested.
#31 New Office Neighbour Has A Very Sensible Office Door Policy. Last Point Is A Nice One
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#32 A Professor Friend Recording A Class Lecture From His Garage At Midnight
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#33 Teacher Posted This To Parents - So Thoughtful
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#34 Ya-Boi
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#35 This Drawing That My History Teacher Did On The Whiteboard
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#36 Wife Is A Kindergarten Teacher. A Couple Of The Teachers Started A "Comfort Closet" At Her School For Needy Kids To Get Hygiene Supplies And Clothes. All Donation Based
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#37 A 5-Year-Old Girl Was Being Teased By Her Classmates For Looking Like A Boy. Her Teacher Chopped Off Her Own Hair To Support Her
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#38 There Were Fire Alarms Going Off In The Building Due To Protests, But This UC Berkeley Professor Still Needed To Teach His Class. So He Used The Walls Of The Building
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#39 This Is Wholesome
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#40 Thanks To My 6th Grade Teacher
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#41 This College Professor And His Biology Class #trashtag! The Results Of A Saturday Morning Creek Cleanup In Charlotte, NC
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#42 Another Expo Drawing By My History Teacher
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#43 My Son's Teacher Is Proud Of Me
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#44 Chicago Public School Teacher Dwayne Reed, Who's Wife Is Eight Months Pregnant With Their First Child, Requested To Work From Home To Minimize His Covid Risk
His school district said no. So Reed's teaching remotely - from right outside his school.
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#45 A College Professor Carries His Student's Child So She Can Sit Her Exams
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#46 A Teacher's Message To Her Students
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#47 A Professor In Afghanistan Is Taking Care Of A Baby While The Mother Is Busy In Her Exam
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#48 Missed Grad School Graduation Due To Hospitalization But My Awesome Professor Brought Graduation To Me
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#49 My Spouse Is A School Teacher. She Spent This Weekend Making Hand Made Awards For School Administrators
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#50 Hugs And Kisses
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#51 What A Kind Human
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#52 We Are In Lockdown In Australia. My Daughter Got Some Mail From Her Teacher
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#53 I Tutor A 6-Year-Old In Reading Who Prefers Math. This Is How I Keep His Attention, I Am The Reading Tooter
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#54 My Daughter’s Art Teacher Sent Her A Care Package. Self-Explanatory
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#55 Teacher Picks On Student, Wholesome Edition
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#56 His Smile Makes My Heart Happy
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#57 This Japanese High School Teacher Left A Message To His Graduating Class. It Says “Make Sure You Guys Graduate!” And “This Is Just The Beginning, Enjoy Your Own Path!”
#58 College Advice My Professor Gave Us
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#59 Professor Handed This Around With All Of The Class Literature On It
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#60 We Need More Teachers Like Her
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#61 Not All Heroes Wear Capes
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#62 My Statistics Professor Has Been Periodically Sending Out Extremely Wholesome Emails To All Of His Students Ever Since The College Went To Online
He's reminding us all of how we can make this situation better for everyone
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#63 I Told My College Professor That I've Had To Skip Meals Throughout The Semester Since Money Has Been Super Tight. She Held Me After Class And Handed Me This Note. I Nearly Cried
"I know what it's like to live on a tight budget. I know this isn't much. But please use it toward your lunch money. Prof"
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#64 For The Past 5 Years I Have Hosted A Back To School BBQ For Faculty, Staff, And Graduate Students In Our Department At My House. Not Letting Covid-19 Stop It This Year
I have transitioned it to a curbside pickup.
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#65 Professor Inviting Students Over For Thanksgiving
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#66 My Teacher Left In The Middle Of 5th Period To Grab Coffee And Hot Chocolate For The Entire Class
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#67 An Email From My Computer Science Teacher, Who I’m Not Even Taking A Class With This Semester. Genuinely Want To Cry Right Now
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#68 I Just Wanted To Say Thank You To My Gym Teacher For The Shoes. My Old Shoes Had A Big Hole In Them. And My New Shoe Savings Were Stolen. I'm So Grateful For These Shoes
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#69 Our Homeroom Teacher Brought Back Candies From Her Trip To Australia And I Swear She Is The Most Precious Person Right Now
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#70 Teachers Are The Best
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#71 You Don't See This Everyday
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#72 My 72-Year-Old Grandma Not Only Cleans Schools, But Cleans Schools Better Than Everyone She Works With. Her Teachers Always Make Sure She Knows
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#73 Every Week My Engineering Professor Comes In During Her Own Time (Aside From Lecture) To Answer All Our Questions And Help Us With The Homework
Instead of canceling her recitation because her sitter canceled, she brought in her kids to teach us.
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#74 My Professor
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#75 My Math Teacher Has A Stamp Of His Face That He Uses On People’s Tests If They Do Well
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#76 Asked My Chem Professor If I Could Miss A Test And Take It A Day Or Two Late Because I Had To Drive Home, He Told Me Not To Worry About It And Made My Life Infinitely Easier
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#77 My Friend's Physics Teacher During A Zoom Lecture
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#78 My History Teacher Rick-Rolled Everyone On The First Day Of School
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#79 One Of My Old Teachers/Coaches Messaged Me Today. Genuinely Made Me Smile
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#80 So We're Doing A Self Help Unit And Our Teacher Gave Us All Notes That Had One Thing She Liked About Us To Get Us Started On Writing What We Like About Ourselves
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#81 So My Professor Reached Out To Me Few Times Before To Check On Me Because I Haven't Been Attending Classes Since I Dropped Out This Fall Semester And Look What She Said And Did
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#82 My Heart Is Melting
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#83 My Friend's Teacher Emailed Her Because She Looked Sad (She Was Just Trying Not To Fall Asleep)
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#84 My 7-Year-Old Son Gets Frustrated At School. His Caring Teacher Gave Him These. I Almost Cried When I Saw The Amount Of Personal Attention And Care They Give
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#85 My Vote For Teacher Of The Year
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#86 In September I Let My Professor Know That My Mom Was Diagnosed With Pancreatic Cancer. Every Time I Saw My Professor She Would Always Ask How I Was Doing
She brought so much love and support. Today she gifted me this, the note is worth the read.
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#87 Teacher Sent This To Me After Class. There Were Some Technical Difficulties With My Video
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#88 A Kid Fell Asleep Under The Counter In My Study Hall. Instead Of Waking Him Up, The Teacher Got Out A Blanket To Block The Light. She Is Amazing
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#89 While I Would Be Upset That Students Are Illegally Sharing PDFs Of A $300 Textbook, As An Educator I Have To Consider That They May Not Know What They Are Doing Is Wrong
This is how I would try to inform them
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