School is starting, making it the perfect time for you to reminisce about and celebrate the best teachers in your life. Please do so with me and the Make It Better Media Group team, and earn money for your favorite educational organization in the process.
I can’t possibly talk about just one teacher. Different teachers arose to be important in my life at different times. Some taught me. Some taught my children. Some taught the world — including me.
I am more certain than ever that “teaching” as a profession needs to be elevated substantially higher in our American culture in order for our country to move itself forward with less turmoil and violence.
When every person feels empowered to earn a living using their God-given skillset, we can potentially solve many of society’s problems. Proactively investing in youth education and support services rather than reactively having to fund costly welfare and penal systems benefits society as a whole.
Teachers are at the heart of this equation. We don’t attract, retain and give strong, long-term career motivation to enough talented individuals because our culture does not sufficiently value them. Teachers need to be considered, treated and compensated as professionals of the same caliber as doctors, lawyers, engineers and scientists. After several decades of experience in education policy and philanthropy, I believe this more than ever.
While I do not have sufficient wealth or political muscle to orchestrate this change on my own, our Make It Better Media Group team proudly will use our powerful platform to raise attention and money for outstanding nonprofits in the education space doing the most impactful work. And I will fuel the effort with my personal philanthropy, too.
For every comment or story shared about a favorite teacher that also tags a nonprofit in the education space, I will donate $10 to that organization.
You can help and make a big impact, too.
I’m sharing my stories below. Please comment, tag and encourage your friends to do the same in this Instagram post. You will be credited with the donation and in a future “You Said It” article on Better.
My Favorite Teachers:
Delbert A. Snider, Professor of Economics Emeritus at Miami University, because he was the first teacher to truly pique my intellect and teach me about the importance of an economics perspective when analyzing any social or political problem during my year studying at MUDEC.
Charles Whitaker, Dean of Northwestern University Medill School Of Journalism because he taught me about great magazine writing and has helped me on my Make It Better journey whenever he had the power to do so.
Patricia Albjerg Graham — first female Dean of Harvard University and President of the Spencer Foundation — because she mentored and empowered me as an education venture philanthropist, which led the establishment of Chicago Public Education Fund and the Doctor of Education Leadership program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, which also uses our Make It Better publishing strategy with its Usable Knowledge blog too.
Olympia Paluch, 2nd Grade Teacher at Central School, Wilmette School District 39 because she understood and nurtured my diverse children, as she did for all of her students, holding them so close for the rest of their lives that they still visit with her as adults.
Betsy Blankenbaker Murphy, Writing Coach Extraordinaire and my sister who leans into truth and heals others during the hardest, most painful or end of life experiences. Sadly, however, my donations will go to the Education Experience Fund her family set up for her grandchildren as a memorial to her son, my nephew Charlie.
More from Better:
- Kids Deserve a Clean Ride to School — Donate Today and Help Make it Happen!
- Mental Health Matters: Why Your College Student Should Get to Know the Campus Counselor
- Philanthropy Award Winner Chicago Fire Foundation Creates Safe Space for Students to Prioritize Academics, Learn Life Skills and Play Soccer
Susan B. Noyes is the Founder & Chief Visionary Officer of Make It Better Media Group, as well as the Founder of Make It Better Foundation’s Philanthropy Awards. A mother of six, former Sidley Austin labor lawyer and U.S. Congressional Aide, passionate philanthropist, and intuitive connector, she has served on boards for the Poetry Foundation, Harvard University Graduate School of Education Visiting Committee, American Red Cross, Lurie Children’s Hospital, Annenberg Challenge, Chicago Public Education Fund, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, New Trier High School District 203, and her beloved Kenilworth Union Church. But most of all, she enjoys writing and serving others by creating virtuous circles that amplify social impact.
