There has been so much talk of teachers in the media these days, I've been thinking about some of my favorites over the years. Here's a hearty thank you to the bestest (*snicker*) teachers I ever had!
Mr. & Mrs. Marshall: A husband and wife teaching duo extraordinaire. She was an advanced reading teacher in grade school who introduced us to the stock market, Greek mythology, Old English, computers and logic puzzles. These were subjects that most would consider far too advanced for 2nd - 4th graders, but we soaked it up and loved every minute of it. He was a middle school social studies teacher who introduced us to politics, the judicial system and history. Wow - we really went through a lot that year. The most memorable moments were our classroom court trial and "The Big Lie" which was an amazing exercise showing us how easy it can be for people to believe something that is not true at all (when discussing Germany under the Nazi regime). Not to mention he gave every single student a special nickname and he always used Chucky Chuck Chalk on the chalkboard every day. Don't ask me to explain...
Mr. Kahl: He was a math teacher in middle school. I hated math. I still hate math. But somehow he made me enjoy it for one year. We did the most awesome projects in his class - yes, projects in math class. In one, we designed our dream house and filled it with everything we could imagine, but we had to track how much everything would cost. Maybe we had some sort of budget - I don't remember. Actually, I kind of doubt it now looking back - I had a pyramid house with 5 levels, tons of exotic animals, and an elevator connecting the whole thing. I don't see where any budget would work with that... The other project that I remember was having to build a bridge out of balsa wood to hold a decent amount of weight. Much better than sitting there doing math problems on a piece of paper.
Mrs. Lindloff: Middle school art teacher. She had a knack of making every student feel special and talented. Her projects were unique and it's amazing how many of us still remember them. Every year brought the 8th Grade art show and we lived for it. We each had our own space in the cafeteria, library or hallway and we all got to feel special for the week or two that our exhibits were up. It was a great way to make us feel proud of ourselves and our friends.
Mr. Severing: Our high school choir director. He treated us like adults even when we didn't act like it. We sang pieces of music that expanded our horizons and gave us opportunities that we never would have imagined. Not to mention he'd let us hang out in the choir room for study hall and we would either play piano in one of the practice rooms or sit there and talk about anything and everything. I still have the pleasure of singing with Sev every year when he directs our community choir.
Monsieur Kinnunen: Hmmm...guess what he taught. He had ways of getting things stuck in our heads that we still have stuck there yet today. "Conjugate, conjugate. Ooh! Ah!" Yeah, you had to be there. He was one of the most animated teachers I ever had. It was a great way to get us to understand what the heck he was trying to tell us. His class was never boring and we usually had a good laugh.
Thanks to these wonderful people, I considered becoming a teacher at one point. Unfortunately because I knew I wouldn't want to deal with the bureaucracy, I didn't pursue it. I just hope my son has teachers that are just as memorable for him.
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