Our “Voices on Teaching” series features diverse perspectives about the importance of the teaching profession and personal stories about teachers who helped give rise to the future.

Everyone had a teacher — whether they realized it or not — who changed their life. John Merrow is an accomplished broadcast journalist who has spent over 40 years covering education for PBS and NPR. And he still credits his high school English teacher, Mr. Sullivan, for his success today. 

“Every one of us got here on the backs and with the help of someone — and invariably that someone is a teacher,” says Merrow. He asks that you, too, take some time to think about the teacher that changed your life. And if you never thanked that person, he says, it’s not too late.