What is your legacy? When you are no longer here, what do you want people to say about you? Are you
someone that we will still be talking about in ten or twenty years? Will your legacy be positive or negative?
These are questions I ask students every year. I am always fascinated by the various answers I get from them.
They are usually geared around what they believe are their greatest accomplishments to-date, like winning the
state title or graduating as the valedictorian. One student several years ago turned the tables and asked me the
same questions. I had to stop and think for a minute… Our legacy is created through the impact of the
relationships we have today. The experiences we create through repetitive interactions eventually establish
patterns of opinions. Once an opinion has been steadily in place with little deviation a legacy is formed. So…
what is my legacy as an educator? That is a great question for all of us to consider since we all serve as teachers
and mentors to someone in our lives.

George Couros wrote, “Your legacy as an educator is determined by what your students do.” I love this notion
of the educator’s legacy. It is not something we think about on a regular basis, but maybe we should take a
minute to explore this concept. Our student’s actions are a direct reflection of our actions as educators. What we
say and what we do matters. Not just when they are in front of us, but also when we think they are not paying
attention. How we behave at a sporting event when the referee makes a bad call tells our students how to
respond to someone when we feel we have been treated unfairly. What we post on our personal social media
account from Saturday night’s great adventure sets a goal for student aspiration. Our communication style with
fellow educators can sometimes reveal how we feel personally about that individual giving our students
direction on how they should feel about that individual. Self-awareness is the key if we buy-in to the notion that
our student’s actions are a direct reflection of our actions as educators. Once I was aware of the magnifying
glass hovering over me with students studying my every move, I became extremely intentional about my
responses and interactions as an educator.

Twelve years ago, standing in front of a group of young women at an all-girls academy in Kensington,
Maryland, one student changed the direction of my life forever. She did so by asking me that one question that
made me stop and think. She asked, “Mr. Yuran, what do you want your legacy to be?” I had to pause…I
didn’t know how to respond to her question and I knew that my answer would make an impact on her, for the
good or the bad. It was at that moment that I fully understood the meaning of being a “role model” and it
changed the direction of my legacy forever. The legacy I want to have as an educator stems directly from that
seemingly innocent question twelve years ago. If it wasn’t for her, I would not be the kind of teacher I am
today. So, I thank you, Maddy. Thank you for being one of the greatest educators in my life and helping me to
think intentionally about the legacy I hope to have as an educator.

My hope for all of you reading this article today is that you will receive the same gift I received so many years
ago. The gift of someone posing these life-changing questions about your legacy as an educator, as a mentor, as
a friend. So… here are a few questions for you to consider. What is your legacy? When you are no longer here,
what do you want people to say about you? Are you someone that we will still be talking about in ten or twenty
years? Will your legacy be positive or negative? You only have one chance to create your legacy – I hope you
will make it a good one!