I've had plenty of detractors. For all the students who have told me how much I have inspired them, I have also had parents and students tell me that I made their student or them hate school, or writing, or reading, or history. For the students who have claimed I have lifted them up, I have students who feel that I tore them down.
I know that this is part of the profession, and I try to shrug it off. I would like to think that the people who don't like me as a person or a teacher do so because they are small minded, mean-spirited, or some other trait that makes their opinion not my fault. However, I went into education to enlighten minds, and I cannot help but remember that my presence in some people's lives has had the opposite effect.
Still, I know I have had a positive role in the lives and learning of others. Even if they may not have received a high letter grade from my class, I know that I still had a positive impact on them. How then is my value measured?
I suppose that depends on who is looking and when they happen to see me.