How right teacher can shape your future

How a Good Teacher Can Change Your Path

Today, I want to share how a teacher can spark a flame in a person and how that influence can determine the trajectory of someone’s life. It doesn’t matter if it’s a teacher in primary school, high school, or university—the impact of a good educator can be life-changing. In my own experience, it’s hard to say whether it was the subject or the teacher who changed my path. But when I look back, there are some clues that help me see why the teacher played such a significant role.

A Rough Start with Informatics

When I was in primary school, around the eighth or ninth grade, we had a subject called informatics. It was 2013-2015, and technology wasn’t as widespread, especially in Slovakia. Our informatics teacher wasn’t very good at the subject. In fact, she primarily taught art and had to teach informatics because no one else was available. While she was a nice person, she wasn’t very knowledgeable about computers.

I remember how boring the lessons were. We were learning basic website creation through W3Schools, but she would just tell us to type in code without explaining why or how things worked. At times, she didn’t even know the answers herself and would have to look them up online. It was frustrating and made me hate programming. We also used a simple program called Imagine, designed for kids to learn basic programming, but it just didn’t click for me.

Deciding My Future: Programming or Not?

When I finished primary school and moved on to high school, I had two options. The first was a technical school focused on programming, and the second was a general studies school where you studied a bit of everything before choosing your university path. My gut feeling at the time was, “I hate programming.” I had experienced it in primary school and decided it wasn’t for me.

I didn’t pass the entrance exams for the general studies school, but I appealed to the head of the school, explaining how I didn’t want to go into programming. Luckily, they accepted me. However, life has a way of challenging you. In my first year of high school, we had to study informatics again, and this time, the experience was different.

A Change in Perspective: The Teacher Who Sparked My Passion

Our high school informatics teacher was much more knowledgeable and engaging than my primary school teacher. She explained things clearly, and for the first time, I felt excited about programming. We were still learning about websites, but this time I wanted to do more. I went back to W3Schools on my own, learning new techniques and even competing with my classmates to create the best websites.

This drive to compete and improve ignited a passion in me. I started learning more than what was required for the class, pushing myself to experiment and be more creative. It was this curiosity and excitement that sparked a flame in me to pursue programming seriously.

The Turning Point: From Student to Programmer

That passion carried me through high school, and by the time I graduated, I was programming non-stop. I even managed to land a job while still in school, building up experience that would later shape my career. After four years, I had a choice: continue studying at university or focus entirely on work. I already had over a year and a half of real-world experience, and I realized that staying in school would just repeat what I was already doing.

So, I made the decision to quit university after just two months and focus on my career. Looking back, it was the right choice for me. It’s funny how things turned out—something I once hated became my passion, and it all started with the right teacher and a shift in mindset.

Lessons Learned: Keep an Open Mind

The key lesson I’ve learned from this experience is not to close yourself off from possibilities. For years, I thought I hated programming because of one bad experience. But when I gave it another chance, it became something I loved. The same can apply to any aspect of life. You might say, “I don’t like running” or “I’m not interested in art,” but who knows what the future holds?

The point is, never be too certain about anything. Instead of saying, “I don’t like programming,” it would have been better to say, “I think I don’t like programming, but I’ll keep an open mind.” This way, you leave room for growth, and you avoid locking yourself into a fixed mindset. People evolve, and so do your interests.

Takeaway

In the end, a good teacher can do much more than just teach a subject. They can inspire you to see the world differently, push you to learn more, and even change the entire course of your life. If it hadn’t been for that high school teacher who reignited my interest in programming, I wouldn’t be where I am today.