Here are my favorite teachers, in no particular order.
- Mr. Rosenthal, 6th grade. He was a funny, awesome science teacher who could put Bill Nye to shame. I had a massive crush on him.
- Mrs. Averett, 1st grade - the first teacher who suggested that I should keep writing.
- Mrs. Pfeil, 4th grade - she was a sweet old lady, but didn't hesitate to open up a can of whoopass when she caught me reading under my desk. She was hard on me because she believed in me.
- Ms. McCoy, 11th grade honors English - that unique combination of making boring literature interesting and engaging, while at the same time cutting you a new asshole for not finishing your essay on time.
Ms. Richart, 8th grade history - really stuck up for me during a troubled year. She was funny and weird and cared about her students.
And here are my least favorites:
- Mrs. Simerly, 5th grade - decided that because I spaced off in class a lot, I was a little bit stupid.
- Ms. Neighbors, 9th grade geometry - scary as all hell. Was not above public humiliation as a disciplinary tactic.
- Mrs. Dutton, elementary school gifted program - didn't believe me when I told her that the copper wires on the battery got really hot and burned me. Also, she was just kind of a bitch overall.
- Ms. Bang, 9th grade biology - believed that all 14-year-olds are snotty little punks and should all be treated as such. (To be fair, many are.) Acted condescending towards me because I didn't understand that I needed a pass to get back into class after coming back from the dentist.
- Mrs. Muchlinski, 12th grade art - told me that I should keep art as a hobby, and pick something else for a career.
2 comments:
This was really amusing! Probably because I remember most of them.
Teaching is hard, and I'm sure being a good teacher is even harder. I bet there's a lot of hit-and-miss involved with the students you put the effort into or the ones you write off. Scary when you think about how important a teacher's impact can make on you in the future.
I understand now how thankless and frustrating a teacher's job can be. Looking across my list, I think the teachers who didn't do it for me were the ones who saw all kids as the same and treated and disciplined them the same, versus the ones who dealt with each student as an individual.
Post a Comment