With teaching, I really do think that it was the times and place that you were in that dictated on rather or not you had a favorable experience.
My grandmother (who just passed on fall of last year at 101.5 yrs old) love her students and they loved here. They wrote to her (letters not emails) long after they graduated. Ironically she outlived the majority of them by a long shot.
Alicia on the other had, hated her experience with it and she went elsewhere. For her it was a combination of students and the politics (both of which go hand in hand in my opinion). She couldn't get out of it quick enough. She is having to stay over for end of year stuff now, but she would rather this, then stay over for teaching.