Bill Gates
The chairman of Microsoft Corp was greatly inspired by his mother, grand mom and Melinda. However Blanche Caffiere, ‘a very kindly librarian and teacher’ had a huge influence on Gates.
“Before she (Caffiere) passed, I had an opportunity to thank her for the important role she played in my life, stoking my passion for learning at a time when I easily could have gotten turned off by school,” Gates wrote on Gatesnotes.com.
In the blog, Gates further wrote, “when I first met Mrs. Caffiere, she was the elegant and engaging school librarian at Seattle’s View Ridge Elementary, and I was a timid fourth grader. I was desperately trying to go unnoticed, because I had some big deficits, like atrocious handwriting (experts now call it dysgraphia) and a comically messy desk. And I was trying to hide the fact that I liked to read—something that was cool for girls but not for boys.”
Mrs. Caffiere took Gates under her wing and helped make it okay for him to be a messy, nerdy boy who was reading lots of books.
“She pulled me out of my shell by sharing her love of books. She started by asking questions like, “What do you like to read?” and “What are you interested in?” Then she found me a lot of books—ones that were more complex and challenging than the Tom Swift Jr. science fiction books I was reading at the time. For example, she gave me great biographies she had read,” wrote Gates.
“Before she (Caffiere) passed, I had an opportunity to thank her for the important role she played in my life, stoking my passion for learning at a time when I easily could have gotten turned off by school,” Gates wrote on Gatesnotes.com.
In the blog, Gates further wrote, “when I first met Mrs. Caffiere, she was the elegant and engaging school librarian at Seattle’s View Ridge Elementary, and I was a timid fourth grader. I was desperately trying to go unnoticed, because I had some big deficits, like atrocious handwriting (experts now call it dysgraphia) and a comically messy desk. And I was trying to hide the fact that I liked to read—something that was cool for girls but not for boys.”
Mrs. Caffiere took Gates under her wing and helped make it okay for him to be a messy, nerdy boy who was reading lots of books.
“She pulled me out of my shell by sharing her love of books. She started by asking questions like, “What do you like to read?” and “What are you interested in?” Then she found me a lot of books—ones that were more complex and challenging than the Tom Swift Jr. science fiction books I was reading at the time. For example, she gave me great biographies she had read,” wrote Gates.
Steve Jobs
The man who revolutionized technology, Steve Jobs has been a mentor to many. However, we often wonder who it was that inspired and taught him to realise the kind of success he saw. The Apple Co-founder was not very attentive at class. During his fourth grade, Imogene Teddy Hill made Steve develop an interest in learning.
“She was one of the saints of my life. She taught an advanced fourth grade class, and it took her about a month to get hip to my situation. She bribed me into learning,” said Jobs as quoted on allaboutstevejobs.com.
Jobs used to be lured with candy and $5 by Hill to pay attention in class.
“She was one of the saints of my life. She taught an advanced fourth grade class, and it took her about a month to get hip to my situation. She bribed me into learning,” said Jobs as quoted on allaboutstevejobs.com.
Jobs used to be lured with candy and $5 by Hill to pay attention in class.
Sachin Tendulkar
Master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar, one of the rarest gems in cricket, was greatly inspired by his coach and mentor Ramakant Achrekar. He is most famous for coaching young cricketers at Shivaji Park in Dadar in Mumbai. He has been a selector for the Mumbai cricket team as well. On Twitter, Sachin posted a photo of him being taught by Achrekar and wrote, “Dream begins with a teacher, who believes in you, who hugs and pushes you and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called ‘truth’.”
Oprah Winfrey
The American media proprietor, talk show host of the famed ‘The Oprah Winfrey Show’ was inspired by her fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Duncan. "I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Duncan,” said Winfrey in an interview. The reason for this is, Duncan believed in her and made her embrace a love of learning.
Barrack Obama
The president of the USA has been a teacher himself in the initial phase of his life. He spent 12 years as a lecturer at the University of Chicago Law School, where he taught constitutional law and race theory. And as a great leader, he didn’t forget to thank his teachers enough for being the man that he is today. On Twitter, Obama had thanked his fifth grade teacher, Ms Mabel Hefty for inspiring him.
“The first time she called on me, I wished she hadn't. In fact, I wished I were just about anywhere else but at that desk, in that room of children staring at me. But over the course of that year, Ms. Hefty taught me that I had something to say -- not in spite of my differences, but because of them. She made every single student in that class feel special,” Obama detailed about Ms Hefty.
“The first time she called on me, I wished she hadn't. In fact, I wished I were just about anywhere else but at that desk, in that room of children staring at me. But over the course of that year, Ms. Hefty taught me that I had something to say -- not in spite of my differences, but because of them. She made every single student in that class feel special,” Obama detailed about Ms Hefty.