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By Jack Beresford
Senior Reporter
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An English teacher has shared an amusing tale about why educators should be mindful about what they leave on their desks.
A good teacher's influence is felt far beyond the confines of the classroom. In 2021, a study was published in the journal Society. Education. Integration. highlighted the role good educators can have in influencing not just academic achievement but also behavioral tendencies, career decisions and even perspectives on life.
Teachers like this leave an indelible impact on those they come into contact with. You don't need to look far for evidence of that impact in Megan Davidhizar's classroom. It is all around her, but not in the way you would ever in a million years have guessed.
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For the past 16 years, she told Newsweek she has taught English to high school and junior high kids. She has been busy promoting her first novel, a young adult thriller called Silent Sister. Right now, though, Davidhizar's dealing with the fallout from having achieved viral fame for the most unexpected of reasons.
It's a fame that came about thanks to a heartwarming story she shared on her TikTok, @megan.davidhizar, jokily explaining why it is necessary for teachers to "be careful" about what they put on their desks. At the time of writing, it has been watched more than 4.3 million times.
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It all started during her first year as a high school teacher when two of her students gifted her matching bride and groom rubber ducks. Davidhizar had recently got married, and it was their cute way of acknowledging her special day.
"The two students who gave me the rubber ducks, Carrie and Kelsey, were both silly freshmen girls that made me laugh on a regular basis," Davidhizar said. "Every time I saw the ducks, I thought of them again and laughed, so I set them on my desk."
Davidhizar's classes had clearly struck a chord with Carrie and Kelsey. It is not all that common for teachers to receive gifts from their pupils, save for the occasional Christmas present.
It could have all ended there, but the sight of the ducks on her desk sparked the imagination of some of Davidhizar's other students and some of her colleagues. "Within the same year, I'd been given multiple rubber ducks, so it didn't take long for the trend to catch on," she said.
Today, Davidhizar has "too many to count" as shown by her tongue-in-cheek TikTok video "warning" fellow educators about what they put on their desks.
"I have always thought rubber ducks were cute, but I truly never anticipated the avalanche of them appearing in my room," Davidhizar said. "A lot of people think my video was made to complain about them, but really it was a joke for new teachers to be careful about what their students might give them hundreds of."
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Ultimately, though, each one serves as a treasured reminder of someone impacted enough by Davidhizar's teaching that they felt the need to provide her with a lasting reminder of that. Whatever happens with her fledgling literary career, Davidhizar will hold onto those ducks and cherish the meaning of every one.
"Every duck has been given to me from a student or colleague, and I write their name and year on the bottom," Davidhizar said. "Many people have suggested I give them away, but I treasure the reminder of my former students."
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