Do You Remember Your Middle School Teachers? These High-Profile People Sure Do

Theatre teacher on stage teaching students.

By Ethan M. Gregory

Middle school teachers can have a profound impact on their students for the rest of their lives.

Middle school, being the bridge between elementary and high school, is a critical period of growth and change for students as they transition from childhood to adolescence and experience rapid changes socially, academically and cognitively. It is during this time that a student may find an interest or skill that truly excites them. A teacher who takes the time to understand and support a student’s interests can leave a significant, lasting impact that inspires them to pursue their passions and goals.

A supportive middle school teacher can recognize a student’s potential, then encourage and guide them toward opportunities that align with their talents and interests. There have been many notable examples of this, ranging from actors, authors, singers and scientists, who may have never found their career path if it wasn’t for a teacher that saw their talent and helped them during these years when they were exposed to new subjects and experiences.

Actors Crediting Middle School Teachers

Middle school is the time when many actors first get their start due to opportunities like drama clubs, school plays and theater classes.

Al Pacino mentioned in a memoir that his junior high teacher Blanche Rothstein selected him to read passages from the Bible at student assemblies, which would lead him to performing in the school’s “The Melting Pot” play, where he represented Italy. He would go onto perform in “The King and I” and “Home Sweet Homicide.” Pacino said this is how he “somehow became the guy that you simply had to have in these school productions” and that he “felt at home onstage.” This experience in junior high would lead to Pacino’s now legendary acting career.

Tony Hale, of Arrested Development fame, brought his former middle school teacher, Tina, with him on the red carpet of the 2018 SAG Awards. “It’s because of [Tina] that I’ve had this path, and I’m grateful to her,” he said.

Morgan Freeman credited his sixth grade teacher Connie Taylor for teaching him the importance of reading and expanding his imagination. “She ignited my love for storytelling, which ultimately led me to pursue a career in acting,” he said.

Jenna Ortega, star of the television series, Wednesday, said “I had an incredible teacher in middle school, Mrs. Thompson, who truly changed my life. She saw potential in me and encouraged me to express myself through acting. Mrs. Thompson nurtured my creativity and taught me the importance of storytelling. She believed in me and gave me the confidence to pursue my dreams.”

Quinta Brunson’s sixth grade teacher Joyce Abbott inspired her Emmy-award winning ABC show "Abbott Elementary” that she created, stars in and writes. The character Janine Teagues is modeled after her middle grade teacher.

Rafael L. Silva, TV actor, was born in Brazil and moved to the United States, but didn’t know English as a second language. That changed with the help of Ms. Gronnet, his seventh grade teacher. “Moving to a new country, new culture, it’s very scary” he said. “But she was a beacon of light for me, and hope.”

Noah Centineo’s teacher Sue Redan at BAK Middle School of the Arts helped guide The Fosters actor. “I was pretty hyperactive as a kid. I had a pretty wild imagination, as a lot of us do, and I didn’t really have a good way to control it,” said Centineo. “She took that, and she said, ‘Okay, you like to move around a lot. Here’s a djembe. Start playing a djembe. Come to drum club after school. You talk a lot during class and you’re funny. Okay, join the theater program.’ She coached and taught me how to do a monologue. Without that teacher, Sue Redan, I had no one to be like ‘You should be doing this.’ My teacher was that reason.”

NASA Astronauts Acknowledge Middle School Teachers

Middle school teachers have even inspired the next generation of NASA astronauts.

Shane Kimbrough said, “Even starting in my middle school days, I had a group of teachers that were just phenomenal in sixth grade.”

Megan McArthur said that teachers have an immeasurable impact, and went onto say “You are laying the foundation for us here at NASA to welcome the next generation of explorers who will follow us into space. The young people you are teaching today will be the ones to travel to distant destinations in our solar system. Believe me, they will remember you.”

Scientists Appreciating Middle School Teachers

Middle school science teachers are also important for inspiring the next generation of scientists.

Nima Arkani-Hamed, a theoretical physicist, gives thanks to his eighth grade teacher: “Mr. Ledger’s classroom was an amazing atmosphere ... at a very truly fundamental level, it started me off in the sort of frame of mind that I keep and carry with me today.”

William Randolph Woodson, an American plant physiologist and university administrator, was inspired by his middle school science teacher. “Science was my favorite subject in middle school. I had a teacher who helped inspire me ... being able to use examples that young people can connect to is important to help make it real for them.”

Joan Meiners, a bee scientist who earned a Ph.D. in ecology, thanked her eighth grade teacher Dr. Sikora for getting her interested in the field. “I just got so excited about bees and then this woman, who I totally looked up to and thought she was amazing, and she was small and spunky, and I was small and spunky, and she actually wanted to spend time after school with me to do more science,” Meiners said. “I think I liked biology, but I didn’t really think I was good at it. Then, doing the science fair project and getting third place in state and then I felt like maybe I can be a small, spunky real scientist, too.”

Musicians Singing the Praises of Middle School Teachers

Many musicians have been positively influenced by their middle school music teachers, who changed the course of their lives and sparked their future professions.

Adele credited her year eight English teacher as a source of inspiration and support. “I had a teacher at Chestnut Grove who taught me English. That was Ms. McDonald … she really got me into English literature. Like, I’ve always been obsessed with English and obviously now I write lyrics,” Adele said. She went on to say, “She was so bloody cool, so engaging. She really made us care, and we knew that she cared about us and stuff like that. She used to have all these gold bracelets on and gold, like, sequins. I don’t know, she was just bloody cool, and so relatable and likeable that I really looked forward to my English lessons.”

Chris Martin, Coldplay’s lead singer and songwriter, attributes much of his success to his teacher, Stephen William Tanner, who purchased instruments for students who showed promise but didn’t have a means to express themselves musically. Tanner’s musical teaching and guidance became a strong influence on Martin’s musicianship, and Tanner received the Love Button Super Soul Award with this statement from Martin inscribed on it: “To my powerful music teacher: When I was 11, you purchased 11 electronic keyboards that opened up new possibilities in my life. I am forever grateful."

Film Directors Thanking Their Middle School Teachers

Film directors are creative people who draw inspiration from the people around them, and often their own experiences.

George Lucas gave a famous acceptance speech at the Oscars where he thanked all of his teachers “from kindergarten through college, their struggle — and it was a struggle — to help me learn to grow and learn was not in vain, and it is greatly appreciated,” said Lucas, the creator of the “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones” franchises. “I’ve always tried to be aware of what I say in my films because all of us who make motion pictures are teachers, teachers with very loud voices. But we will never match the power of the teacher who is able to whisper in a student’s ear.”

Darren Aronofsky cast his seventh grade teacher, Vera Fried, in two small roles in his 2014 film, "Noah." The earliest ideas for the film emerged during his time in Fried’s classroom when she assigned students to write a poem about peace. “She inspired me in seventh grade to become a writer. She said, ‘When you write your first book, dedicate it to me.’” Aronofsky ended up dedicating the novelization of "Noah" to his teacher, which was released 10 days before the film.

Politician Remembers Middle School Teacher

Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State, said her junior high teacher Elisabeth King (who taught her for three years) left an impact on her. “One I’ve never forgotten is my sixth grade teacher, Mrs. King,” Clinton said. “Every child should have someone in their life who helps them see, from the very beginning, that they have something of value to offer the world. That’s what Mrs. King did for me. She was so encouraging, and it meant the world.”