Adele's Reunion With Her English Teacher Has Us All Remembering The Teachers Who Changed Our Lives

It's been years since I stepped out of Ms. Grandchamp's classroom for the last time, but there's hardly a day that goes by that I (someone whose profession involves a lot of writing) don't remember my high school English teacher with gratitude.

English teachers in general seem to elicit that universal sentiment, which is maybe why so many people also had emotional reactions to Adele's surprise reunion with her former teacher.

During ITV's recent concert special, An Audience with Adele, the Grammy winning-singer fondly recalled the impact Ms. McDonald, her secondary school English teacher, had on her life.

'When you were younger, was there someone who kind of supported you and inspired you or sort of, you know, protected you from all the trials and tribulations of life and inspired you to sort of go on,' actress Emma Thompson asked.

'I had a teacher at Chestnut Grove [Academy] who taught me English,' Adele replied. 'That was Ms. McDonald.'

When asked if they ever kept in touch, Adele said, 'No, she left when I was in year eight. … It was just one year, but she was, like, she got me really into literature. Like, I've always been obsessed with English, and, obviously, now I write lyrics.'

The singer added that there were other parts of Ms. McDonald's personality that made her so memorable. 'She also did street dance,' she said. 'In the canteen, they used to do these dances and stuff like that. But, yeah, she was so bloody cool. So engaging. She really made us care, and we knew that she cared about us. … She used to have all these gold bracelets on and gold sequins. I dunno, she was bloody cool and so relatable and likeable that I really looked forward to my English lessons.'

Thompson replied ominously, 'Cause it's odd, actually, funny enough.'

As the band behind Adele began to play the opening instrumental of 'Make You Feel My Love,' Ms. McDonald emerged from the crowd, walked onstage, and embraced a crying Adele.

'Hello, my darling,' Ms. McDonald greeted Adele. 'Oh, my god, I'm so proud of you.'

'Oh, you look exactly the same,' Adele said, crying. 'Now I've got to get my whole face redone.'

The sweet moment resonated with viewers on Twitter, many of whom reiterated their appreciation of their own life-changing English teachers. 'Having an emotional attachment to your English teacher is multigenerational,' one user wrote.

Anyway, if you haven't already, thank an English teacher for their service today. (And, Ms. Grandchamp, if you're reading this, thank you for being my Ms. McDonald!)

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