Every little kid has dreams when he or she is younger.

They have aspirations to be the next rock star, the next man to walk on the moon or a doctor that will save hundreds of lives each day. Some kids want to be racecar drivers or professional baseball players. Some even have dreams to go on and star on the big screen.

For me, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher.

I loved playing school with my little sister, making up assignments and planning out our lessons.

I loved every minute of playing teacher.

Throughout my years in the Olathe School District, I had a number of teachers that impacted me. There was that teacher that taught me to hate fractions and there was that teacher my senior year that taught me to fall in love with poetry.

Along the way, I had a number of teachers that inspired me to pursue a degree in education, and others that taught me what not to do.

Take for instance, Mrs. Ansay.

My second and third grade teacher was just wonderful. She was an older teacher, one that had been around the block a time or two, but she knew how to make school fun. Looking back, it was a good year in school because she made each student in our class feel like they were the most important person in the world.

Then there was my English teacher in seventh grade. In Mrs. Krusen’s class, I made more friends than I ever thought I could, and they were all characters in books. Mrs. Krusen would pick out special books for me and have them sitting on my desk when I came into her fifth-hour English class.

I think once I hit high school, my love for learning and education really took off. It was there that my high school journalism teacher really inspired me to pursue a degree in education. It was through observing him and how much he taught me in that class that really made me want to teach future high school journalism students.

Today marks the last day of teacher appreciation week. A week set aside just for teachers to be appreciated, because we all know they don’t get near enough credit they deserve.

So, today I would encourage you to send your favorite teacher a note, an email or even a Facebook message just letting them know just how much of an impact they had on you.

It’s the least they deserve, right?