Editor’s note: This column has been updated to correct the first name of retired Union Local High School teacher Donna Griffin. Her first name was inadvertently listed incorrectly in the original version.

On Feb. 1, The Times Leader reported it was Ohio Township Day — an occasion set aside to recognize the importance of the township form of government, as well as the people who serve as trustees and employees of townships.

That article, as well as the accompanying one that outlined the history of townships in Ohio, were a couple of my favorites so far this year. In compiling that information for publication, I thought back to the days when I first learned many of those facts.

Until I was studying Ohio history in the seventh grade at what is now the former Belmont Elementary School, I was only vaguely aware that townships were a thing — let alone that I lived within one. But that all changed thanks to my teacher, Joanne Fitzgerald.

Mrs. Fitzgerald could be a tough taskmaster. She had high expectations of her students, but I think that was because she knew we were capable of doing anything we set our minds to. She insisted that we know and understand the history of the Buckeye State and our local region, including how and why townships were formed even before Ohio became a state.

Remembering those lessons got me to thinking about the many teachers I had over the years and the important lessons I learned from them.

When I was in the third grade, for example, Mrs. Linda Steffl operated her classroom on a “contract” system. Students were given some assignments that they were allowed to complete rather independently — so long as they met the terms of their contracts with her.

I had always been a good student and often didn’t need to try very hard to complete my work. But working under a contract was a new experience for me. Nobody was looking over my shoulder all the time and, as a result, I began to allow my work to slide. Soon I had fallen behind my classmates in some areas, simply because I wasn’t living up to my contract. A meeting between Mrs. Steffl and my dad quickly corrected that!

I learned a similar lesson from Donna Griffin, my high school English teacher. Being a bit of a natural writer, I had never really followed a “process” when assigned an essay or other writing work.

I believe it was a senior project that Mrs. Griffin assigned that brought that to an end. I remember writing on the topics of science and religion and how they were not mutually exclusive. I did my research, was able to cite several examples and sources, and I quickly whipped up what I believed to be a fantastic essay.

Perhaps it was; however, I had not completed the required outline nor the rough draft that was assigned. Mrs. Griffin did not stand for that. She insisted that I complete all the steps as assigned. Otherwise, I believe she would have given me a failing grade.

That lesson served me very well in college, where most of my instructors demanded a draft or outline prior to submission of the completed project. I don’t write drafts of news articles or these weekly columns today, but I have the skills to outline larger pieces and make sure that they are going to come together the way I envision them.

I could probably cite something important that I learned or gained from every single teacher whose path I crossed.

In the first grade, I gained a real love of reading, thanks to the encouragement of Mrs. Janie Bartlett.

In the sixth grade, I learned from Mr. B. Leon Wilson that many teachers have eyes in the backs of their heads — or at least they are onto the mischievous behavior of their more ornery students.

In junior high, I had multiple teachers who had very different approaches to their lessons and to classroom discipline. From Mr. Bruce Kibby, who often allowed us a little time to just be creative and who loved to show us the movie “Star Wars” when we had the time, to Ms. Jolene Hoffman, who shared tons of frank, important information in our science and health classes even though her demeanor seemed gruff, I had a lot of very smart adults to learn from. Mrs. Sharon Doty, for instance, introduced us all to computers for the first time. Not only did she have some in her classroom that she used to teach us programming in the Basic language, but she also took us on a field trip to Ohio University in Athens, where we got to see a “super computer” that filled an entire room.

And when it came to music, several teachers and band directors, including Ms. Marian Martin, Mr. Jim Ellis, the late Lynn Schafer and others, showed me that you could love your career and share a love of something like music with others, perhaps changing the course of their lives forever.

I know I wasn’t always a model student, and I’m sure I didn’t appreciate their wisdom and commitment to us as I should have at the time, but that has changed over the years. I now know just how much influence they had on my knowledge, skills and determination to succeed.

So, today I thank all of those teachers who put up with me, saw my potential and urged me to reach it, and truly cared about each and every one of the kids in their classrooms.