We all have had at least one teacher we remember. The one who stood out above all of the others. Since I transitioned to the other side of the desk I noticed how my list has changed for many but there some that seem to stay as stand outs in my life, and who I try to make proud in my own classroom. Most of our early childhood/teen years are spent wishing we had the teachers we saw on television. Here are my top five teachers from television.

5. The faceless voice from Charlie Brown. Why is this here? Why pick a teacher who has no real understandable dialogue? Because this where we all start. This is what we all hear as we progress through school. I still joke about this in my classroom. As I am lecturing about the war of 1812 and I know I have lost them, even the good ones have given up; I will simply hit them with the “wah wah wah” and see who laughs. The number of laughs has decreased drastically in the past few years, but I am sticking with my reference.

4. Rupert Giles. Another choice that might be questionable, but hear me out on this one. What other teacher is shown going the extra mile for his students? Giles is always in the library and always available for these students, who clearly have little to no parental involvement. He is there to not only watch over buffy but to help the others on campus. He is commonly seen going the extra mile. He stays late and shows up early sometimes he is there all night; usually fighting vampires or researching demons but he is there. How many of your teachers would actually put in the time to not only listen to you but help you save the world; or even believe you when you say the world is going to end due some demon? That is a short list my friends.

3. Gabe Kotter. This is one of my favorite shows and definitely one of my favorite teachers. The man is always joking with his students and sharing personal stories of his family that usually go to the lesson on hand. He has chosen to return home and teach the very classes he was in as a student. This one is close to my heart. I do teach in the same town I grew up in, different school. I also teach the kids in the classes I was in as a student. I get them, sometimes more than others, but overall I understand where most of them are coming from and where they are heading. I have those days where I reflect and think I could be as good as Mr. Kotter, especially if class was only five minute and I only had six students.

2. George Feeny. This one is good he starts off as the principal of the middle school and ends up a teacher in high school he understands where the kids are coming from and tries his best to guide, GUIDE, them towards the right thing. He knows they will not always follow but seems to try to his best to always lead. He has the wisdom of years, in life and education. He also puts in the extra time, as most on this list do. He is always going above and beyond to help out.

1. Charles Moore. Head of the class was one of my favorites. I was in middle school when this one came along and it was how I dreamt high school would be. I would kill to have had a cool teacher like Mr. Moore, and I kind of got one. Here is an average substitute teacher who is thrown in with the highest level genius kids, who can be hard to relate to under best circumstances, but he makes it work. He actually gets them to look at it from another point of view. This is how you need to view history sometimes; remember correlation is not causality, but it is a way to captivate a room of kids who find the subject boring.

Those are my top five television teachers. Did I miss yours? Let me know in the comments. Also remember to vote for your favorite in the poll.