Every great teacher is a bit of a renegade.

Each week for a year, I’m going to be designing a shirt and releasing it on my Threadless store. This is the eighth design of fifty-two.

School is starting back.

I’ve been lucky to have some amazing teachers through the years in a wide range of subjects and at pretty much every level from elementary school through college. Without exception, every impactful teacher I’ve had was a little unconventional in their teaching methods. They looked for the most powerful way to reach their students, even it meant pouring an absurd amount of time and energy into kids who — let’s be honest — probably didn’t appreciate it at that time.

That was a simpler time. Before constant testing and obsessive parents.* It occurs to me that those great teachers — the ones who were just a little unconventional when I was in school — would be downright renegades in today’s education world.

So to salute those great teachers, this week’s shirt is all about being a renegade in the classroom. A pirate flag for teachers that aren’t afraid to do whatever it takes to teach their students.

You can purchase “Rogue Teacher” from my Threadless store in a wide variety of colors and styles. (You can even buy some Rogue Teacher lounge pants if you want them.)

* Yes, I know parents have always been obsessive, but today's parents seem worse by historic standards.

Bob Wertz writes about design, technology and pop culture at Sketchbook B. Bob is a Columbia, South Carolina-based designer, creative director, college instructor, husband and dad. He’s particularly obsessed with typography, the creative process and the tools we use to create. He's currently in the middle of a project to design a new shirt a week for an entire year. Follow Bob on Twitter, Instagram and Micro.Blog.