10 of the Most Famous Teachers Ever

Image Credit Flickr User timdifford

It is sometimes said that those who can, do: those who cannot, teach - something to which I have never adhered as I was lucky enough to have some brilliant teachers.  They echo subconsciously every day, from each time I see my handwriting to my ability (still strong after all these years) to do fairly complex math in my head.

So, it was great to see Neatorama's riposte to this faux idiom.  They have created a list of 10 of the most teachers ever.  It is a list which may well surprise you - a number of people on the list went on to create public personas for themselves far removed from that of the gentle school teacher.  Catch the full post here and find out for yourself.

My own favourite is William Golding - one of my personal writing heroes from childhood. I was introduced to his work as a teenager by my English teacher, Dr Sally Carr, who also pointed me in the direction of Camus, Gide, Grass, Brecht and many others. I devoured his work and assumed, I supposed, that he was dead already.  When I realised he was still alive I was joyous. It meant I would get to read new stuff by him.

Golding received the Nobel Prize for Literature for his To The Ends of the Earth trilogy, which he wrote while he was approaching his eighties.  He began his professional life as a teacher - and if he was the exception that proved a rule then enough said.  However, the list over at Neatorama may surprise you.