I feel, if nothing else, my favorite teachers taught me that even if I wasn’t willing to do anything for a grade, I should do it for myself. I actually would feel ashamed to walk in seeking validation.

Given my feelings on contacting past teachers — and to an extent, professors — I had mixed feelings about a New York Times article about former students and teachers reuniting via Facebook. The story goes a little something like this: “Darci Hemleb Thompson had been on the lookout for Alice D’Addario for many years. From her home in Hampton, Va., Ms. Thompson, 49, who is married and has a 12-year-old daughter, was determined to find Ms. D’Addario on the Internet. She tried every search engine and networking site she could find.
About 18 months ago she hit the jackpot.
“Nice to see one of the greatest teachers of all time on Facebook!” Ms. Thompson wrote on Ms. D’Addario’s wall. “I love to go to your page just to see your smiling face. Even your eyes still smile. You are an amazing person!””

It made me think my pride gets in the way of me telling my teachers something they need to hear. In the past, it was my teachers who saw enough of something in me to give me an extra aside. In eighth grade, my math teacher told me to stay after class so he could talk to me.

The first part of the conversation I don’t remember, but the last part is crystal clear: “Someday, you and the real David Barker are going to meet, and he is going to kick your butt.” This wasn’t out of character for this particular teacher. One of his favorite things to do when kids acted up in class was to point at the offender then slowly make a fist while saying, “I will reach out and touch you.”
That might seem like an action unbecoming of a teacher, but he never would, and never did, strike anyone.

The point is, he got through to us, and on that one particular day, he got through to me. Was it crude? Sure. Was it effective? Certainly. It was what I needed then; and it has stuck with me ever since. That Times article made me realize teachers could need the same kind of reinforcement. Not the “butt-kicking” type, but something that gets through to them in the correct way.

On a human level, I think I can understand what it means for a student to walk through the door and confirm everything good about what one has done. I understand teachers sometimes can see how their students have progressed, but it is a far cry from actually hearing the praise from the student. It’s like a student getting an “A” on a paper and then the professor telling him or her after class that the sky is the limit. It’s as much affirmation as it is endorsement. That is what teachers need.

I have heard stories from friends and acquaintances across the educational spectrum about unruly students. Occasionally, those stories are accompanied by something about a career change. Whether they are truly considering it or not, the decision not to leave almost always hinges on a kid who is in need of guidance and encouragement to keep moving forward.

Now that I am older, I think I could give back a little of what was given to me.

David Barker is the State News opinion editor. Reach him at barkerd@msu.edu.