Everyone remembers their favorite teachers. What we often can’t remember are the exact moments that left such a fond impression on us. And while good teachers help us understand their subject, the absolute best of them help us think differently about the world. Author taught a first-year college course and noticed some strange student behavior Years ago, Joseph Fasano, a poet, writer, and author, was teaching an introductory college course on composition, writing, and critical thinking. By all appearances, he was crushing it. “One semester I thought [my students] were just really focused on taking notes,” he wrote in a recent Instagram post, noticing that the students were spending an awful lot of time scrawling in their notebooks. He wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t the material in his lectures they were paying attention to. They weren’t diligently taking notes just to pass an exam. “Turns out they were compiling a book of all the slightly unhinged things I’d said. It’s 152 pages long,” he wrote. As an author and poet, Fasano has more than a way with words. He has a way of capturing essential truths and reflecting them in ways that are incisive and memorable. His students were eager not to let those nuggets escape them. Once the book was completed, they gifted it to him, and he calls it “the best thing my students ever gave me. … I love these kids.” The first page reads, “You once said in class that you wanted to be sure that what you were saying was being heard and absorbed. Well… here ya go.” A few of the most memorable quotes from those 2016 lectures, as handwritten by Fasano’s students: “Who taught you wonder, love, and learning were supposed to be easy?” “Your assignment is to read a writer someone told you not to.” “Every day of your life is a rough draft.” “Another day, another chance to make the mistake that will save you.” “The only thing more painful than becoming yourself is not becoming yourself.” Fasano may call the quotes “unhinged,” but the rest of us just see wisdom. View this post on Instagram The post went viral, and people are wishing they could have taken Fasano’s course The post racked up 179,000 likes and 1,300 comments in just two days, and the response has been nothing short of overwhelming. A few standouts: “This is the best thing I’ve ever seen. You can actually see how you’ve positively influenced your students. What more could we want as teachers?” “This book needs to be published.” “Do you teach classes for 23 year old girls preferably for free” “And evidently they love you. What an accomplishment. I hope this book gives you the peaceful sleep you have earned. Please do not stop.” “This is the most thoughtful, touching thing ever. What great kids. What a great teacher. Thank you for your passion, for inspiring them and for making the best kind of impression on them. What a gift!” View this post on Instagram Calm wisdom like this lands hardest when times are tough A few sentences scribbled in a notebook. A couple of motivational quotes. Why are Fasano’s words landing and resonating so deeply with hundreds of thousands of social media users? “I have a feeling it is resonating with people because we’re all looking for a teacher, a guide, an adult in the room,” Fasano told Upworthy. “Especially when those seem to hard to find right now.” View this post on Instagram The words are beautiful and memorable, but they wouldn’t have quite the same impact if we didn’t have physical proof that they touched his students. They were compelled to write them down, and it’s easy to imagine that taking that introductory course with him may truly have changed the way some of them viewed the world. Though Fasano only teaches occasionally, he continues his work as a poet and author. Fellow poet Dorothea Lasky described him as “A poet brave enough to return poetry to its troubled and eternal origins…This is the poet I trust to see the world as it is, quietly writhing around us.” Fasano was able to pass on some of his gift to his students. But what’s even cooler is what they were able to give back to him—and so did thousands on social media. “This is clearly the good side of social media,” he wrote on Instagram regarding the flood of appreciative and heartfelt messages. “I can’t (but can) believe people are this beautiful.” The post A professor’s students gave him 152 pages of wisdom they’d learned from him. It’s a must-read. appeared first on Upworthy.