Friday, May 28, 2010

Teachers that Made a Difference to You

So I'm having one of those days when I feel incredibly appreciated and am truly reveling in my vocation. Today, I am a teacher :-)

So what I want you to do is leave a comment about a teacher (or teachers) that made a difference to you. We are, of course, the most underappreciated profession in the world ;-)

6 comments:

  1. Mrs Griffin, in fourth grade, taught us a song with the names of the continents. She was a big, lovely, smiling woman. She ruled her class with an iron fist. She was a model for all grade-school teachers. She took no guff from anyone.

    Jim Harless, a journalism prof, died in hospice of pancreatic cancer after I took a bunch of classes with him. Everyone was afraid of his gruff manner, but I wasn't. He had a beautiful radio voice, and he looked like Fred Gwynne of The Munsters, who also died of pancreatic cancer. I sat with him during his last days. None of his other students would visit him, I remember. I talked to him while he slept. The nurses said he knew I was there. He breathed easier, they said.

    My favorite political science prof, whose name I forget, was very bright and engaging. Imagine my surprise when, for "Dress As Your Politics Day," she came as a brown-shirted, brown-skirted, jackbooted Castroite. I was amazed. She kept her politics completely out of her teaching at all other times. I admired her a lot for that. She was a wonderful teacher.

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  2. MY 5th grade teacher was the first person who encouraged me as a writer. She entered me into a writing contest and I won 3rd place. It gave me so much confidence that I had never had before.

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  3. My friends and I had coffee with one of our high school teachers just today. I think she may be one of the most loved teachers of all time, and she absolutely deserves it.

    But really, a lot of my teachers have had a great effect on me, which is why I think teaching is the greatest profession.

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  4. Mrs. Stevenson, my 6th grade English teacher, helped me to appreciate the written word...and how to spell them correctly. ; )

    She was always hoarse and said it was because she constantly had to yell at her (own) kids. We couldn't picture it because she was no nice. lol!

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  5. My English teacher in high school, Herb Hantz, was as snarky as they come and most people hated him. But somehow I learned to banter back and forth with him and enjoyed the interchange. He expected a lot from his students and didn't suffer fools gladly. Although he was the toughest teacher I had in high school, he's also the one who taught me the most.

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  6. I had a college prof who was also my advisor who was so wonderful--she was a French prof and she'd always make any subject fun, plus we had lots of mini plays that we performed in her classes. Love someone who is never bored with what they do and manages to make everyone around them love it too!

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