No matter what we all are, no matter what we all became "when we grew up", no matter where our lives have taken us, we all have one thing in common: we spent about sixteen years doing the same thing, going to school.

From kindergarten to college, we all endured homework and classes and bullies and dioramas and glee clubs and all the other things that went along with being a student.

As we all know, school can be a very traumatizing experience. In addition to trying to learn who the thirteenth president of the United States was, while trying to remember what pi equals, while at the same time having to remember the latest Spanish you just learned, we also had to keep up on the latest fashions, stay alert of the school bully, and try to become one of the "cool kids" that everyone wanted to hang out with.

I am proud to say that I received an entirely Brooklyn education. I attended P.S. 193, Cunningham Junior High School, Sheepshead Bay High School and Kingsborough Community College, respectively.

I was an average student. I did my homework, albeit sometimes at three o’ clock in the morning or on the way to school, I was never late, but absent a few times, and I was even a volunteer for some of my teachers. Yes, I made it through school okay, just with a few scars from the school bully.

What made me think about school so much lately was my plunge into the world of teaching. As Editor-in-Chief of The Brooklyn Baron, I have been approached by both Mark Twain Intermediate School for the Gifted and Talented as well as John Dewey High School and I now teach journalism to the students of both schools.

I must confess that I had not been inside a school since my days as a student, and going back to school has made all of my old memories of my school days return.

As I walk down the hallways of both Twain and Dewey, I can hear my old teachers telling me the "Do Now". I recalled the feeling that my right shoulder would get by the end of a school day due to the weight of all of those many schoolbooks. I felt the stress of getting those darn homework assignments done while still finding time to watch television. Yes becoming a teacher, or, as I am officially called, an "adjunct faculty member" has really dug up some old memories.

Now that I am on the other side of the desk and I am the one writing my name on the blackboard, I am seeing teachers in a whole new light. The reason I am teaching these students is to hopefully make a difference in their lives. I hope that the lessons I teach, the homework I assign and the articles and examples I bring them will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Maybe the lesson I teach, "Making Contacts In

The Business World," will make the student sitting in the third row, four seats back, start thinking about what he wants to be when he grows up. Maybe the video of some interviews I conducted will show the girl who sat three seats back from him that anything is possible, as long as you believe in yourself.

That is my goal as an "Adjunct Faculty Member". I have a chance to make an impact, make a difference, and hopefully add to the life of a girl or boy at a very young age. When I sat down to think about my new role, I realized the role of my old teachers.

From Mrs. Torres, my first grade teacher in P.S. 193 to Mr. Castellano my radio professor at Kingsborough, that’s what they were there for; to make a difference, to add knowledge and information to my life, so hopefully I would amount to something. As a student, I never knew just how important a teacher can be.

Do we remember all of our teachers? Maybe not. But I’m sure that we all have one or two that we will remember with fond memories.

My favorite teacher was Mr. Michael Wotypka. He was my English teacher at Sheepshead. Sometimes he would make us laugh, and sometimes he would yell at the top of his lungs, but all in all, he made us think and, most importantly, he made us learn.

That’s what a teacher is there for.

So to all the teachers that are reading this, thank you. Thank you for your guidance, your patience, your tolerance, and your persistence. Your work may not be easy at times, you may have students that do not want to listen or do not want to learn, but from one sort-of-teacher to another, keep trying and keep making a difference.

And for the students that are reading this, remember that when you go to school, the man or woman standing in front of you holding a piece of chalk is not there to make your life miserable, but to make an impact and hopefully, make you learn.

Remember, you learn something new every day. What did you learn today?