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Canadian swimmer Penny Oleksiak is "Canada's most decorated Olympian." That's what she saw after Googling herself. And hey, it makes perfect sense.
Oleksiak recently won silver in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay and bronze in the 200-meter freestyle and 4x100-meter medley relay at the Tokyo Olympics. Previously, she won gold in the 100-meter freestyle, silver in the 100-meter butterfly and bronze in the 4x100-meter and 4x200-meter freestyle relays at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Shortly after adding these latest prizes to her mantel, Oleksiak wrote a message to her former high school teacher. But it wasn't full of praise, as one might expect.
She wrote:
"I want to thank that teacher in high school who told me to stop swimming to focus on school bc swimming wouldn't get me anywhere. This is what dreams are made of."
I just googled \u201cCanada\u2019s most decorated Olympian\u201d and my name came up. I want to thank that teacher in high school who told me to stop swimming to focus on school bc swimming wouldn\u2019t get me anywhere. This is what dreams are made of.— Penny Oleksiak (@Penny Oleksiak) 1628006774
Oleksiak was quick to point out that she wasn't disparaging teachers in general—just that one. She referred to the mystery teacher as the "WOAT," an acronym for "The Worst of All Time":
Many praised Oleksiak for her accomplishments. They pointed out that while there are bad teachers out there, it's evident that she did not allow that one teacher to crush her athletic dreams.
There are A LOT of bad teachers out there. And a lot who think that only education is good and that extra curriculars are a waste of time. Good for you for sticking to your guns! You have a lot to be proud of! Does that teacher have the same?— heather \u2600\ufe0f (@heather \u2600\ufe0f) 1628021633
Some teachers have trouble with high achievers. Speaks volumes about you that you ignored the \u201cadvice\u201d and pursued your dreams. You are our hero!— Sue-Ann Levy (@Sue-Ann Levy) 1628015453
The first tweet was ON POINT!\n\nSpeaking as a teacher, almost everyone can point to a teacher that\u2019s inspired, and one that\u2019s tried to drag us down. It speaks to the power of a teacher on not just young people, but all people.\n\nCongratulations on your success and keep it going!— Jason To (@Jason To) 1628032269
We all had at least one teacher that either hated us or their job and wanted to keep others down to their level. It's good you didn't listen to that particular teacher, at least in regards to your dream.— Bill: At Home\ud83d\ude37\ud83d\udc89 (@Bill: At Home\ud83d\ude37\ud83d\udc89) 1628014521
Shoot I\u2019m a teacher and I thought \u201cCrap I\u2019ve had colleagues like that - might even have some right now\u2026\u201d when I read that tweet. \n\nIt was an excellent reminder to remain true to my own teacher\u2019s heart and never become THAT one. \n\nSo many congratulations to you!!— KB (@KB) 1628027973
Sadly, not every teacher is cut out for the job. But don't think that bad teachers are the majority. According to a 2013 Washington Post analysis of ineffective teachers, "only about 1.5 percent of teachers are unsatisfactory, and another two or three percent receive a rating of "needs improvement." A 2014 report from the non-profit Hechinger Report, which covers inequality and innovation in education, found that the overwhelming majority of teachers—that's 96.9 percent—are good at their jobs.
Bravo, Penny Oleksiak. You proved that one teacher wrong and are sure to continue to inspire us all.