AJC.com > Blogs > Get Schooled > Archives > 2005 > June > 13 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USI Don’t Have a Favorite Teacher
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday’s blog post calling for “favorite teacher” stories got me thinking about my own. Funny, I don’t have an inspirational teacher who stands out from the rest, a teacher with whom I shared a special bond or who imparted some wisdom beyond the subject matter.
Yet all my teachers did what they were supposed to do: educate me.
I entered first grade in 1976 at First Presbyterian Day School in Jackson, Mississippi. At First Prez, as we called it, teachers taught. A few of them also proselytized, to my mother’s chagrin. But my teachers didn’t mold my character or steer me toward a particular college or career. My teachers didn’t inspire, but they taught me well. That was enough. My mother took care of the rest.
Today, teachers are supposed to show students how what they’re learning applies in real life. They’re supposed to find a way to make sure every child can experience success. They’re supposed to gear lessons toward each student’s learning style.
My teachers didn’t do that, at least not that I can remember. I learned to read in first grade by sounding out words. In second grade, I learned cursive and wrote an essay about patriotism in which I defined taxes as “a gift we give in a store.” In third grade, I learned my multiplication tables. In fourth grade, I tackled long division. Fifth grade … my only memory is discussing the Iranian hostage crisis.
Mrs. Higginbotham, Miss Hurt, Miss Rawlins, Miss Mangum, Mrs. Meador, Mrs. Dale. They knew what they needed to teach me, and they covered a lot of ground, seeing as we had daily Bible lessons, recess, and weekly music and art instruction. My teachers drilled in the basics. I remember flashcards and worksheets and book reports and spelling tests. We answered endless questions, always in complete sentences, at the end of the chapters in our science and social studies textbooks. We diagrammed sentences.
My teachers didn’t have to deal with a lot of discipline problems. Private schools can act swiftly to get rid of a problem child, though I doubt many kids got expelled from First Prez.
The teachers I had in elementary school gave me a solid foundation, which carried me through junior high and high school when my motivation waned. Mrs. Cooper, Mr. Towery, Mrs. White. My good fortune continued when I switched to the more affluent, football-centric Jackson Prep. Mrs. Patrick, Mrs. Ray, Mr. Forcier. In tenth grade, my mother and I moved to a Philadelphia suburb, where I attended a highly regarded public school.
In my mother’s eyes, my education nose-dived. She says I was smarter when I started at Radnor High School than when I finished. But in all fairness, my Radnor teachers did their jobs. I didn’t do mine. My teachers didn’t drag me to class when I chose to hang out in the cafeteria. They didn’t preach the importance of trying my best and working hard so I could get into a good college and get a good job. But when I showed up for class, they taught.
I still managed to learn a startling amount of chemistry from a teacher who was accused of using drugs by an underground student newspaper. I learned enough algebra and geometry to do okay on the SAT. And the praise I got from English teachers who liked the way I wrote probably played a role in my career choice. Miss Bowes, Dr. Hemminger, Mr. Talone — funny how these names come back to you — they were good teachers back then. But what if they taught in a diverse school, one where half the kids never learned their multiplication tables and parent indifference was the norm? How good would they be if they had to be a social worker and a surrogate parent as well as a teacher?
I feel like someone lucky enough to have the education I had should have a favorite teacher. I barely remember what my teachers looked like. I’ve forgotten many of their names. I guess that’s the way it is for most teachers who do their jobs year in and year out. It’s a thankless profession. I guess some things haven’t changed.
Comments
Commenting is now closed for this entry.
By RC
June 13, 2005 11:59 AM | Link to this
Patti, I had to smile when you mentioned that you had forgotten what some of your teachers looked like or couldn’t remember some of their names. I shared with a teacher on my team that I had been scared of my fourth grade teacher after having committed some “crimes” in her class some 40 years ago.(being mean to a classmate and forging my father’s name on a note) I continued to dread for years the possibility of my mother meeting her and having her tell my mother of the deeds. This teacher and I ended up at a bridal shower recently and my friend shared with the teacher that I had been afraid of her. She seemed upset that I had been afraid of her, but it was also obvious that she had no recollection of who I was. It’s clear she made more of an impression on me than my infractions made on her.
By Swan
June 14, 2005 10:23 AM | Link to this
I have some favorite teachers but I had one substitute teacher in first grade that I will never forget. She was probably in her late 60s and very crotchety, nothing pleased her. We all dreaded when she came to our class.
One day we had her in our class and she took us out for recess. I was minding my own business, playing with the others, when she called me over. I’ve always been short. She said, “Little girl, why don’t you ask your mother to put some fertilizer in your shoes so you’ll grow?” She said it in a mean voice, too. That really hurt my feelings at the time.
Today I can laugh about it but at the time, I felt like telling her to go jump!
By kdw
June 15, 2005 09:22 AM | Link to this
I can remember all of my teachers and though none stand out as a ‘favorite’, I can honestly say that they did their job well. I was educated in Butts County (Georgia) and graduated from Jackson High School in 1983. From 1st grade until graduation, I was blessed to have some very gifted teachers who loved to teach.
By sciteacher
June 15, 2005 02:05 PM | Link to this
Patti just about said it all. Even though I was leaving High School when she was starting, my reflections are about the same. I had excellent teachers throughout High School.
I was in the Honors Program and is seemed as if the teachers treated us different when I go to reunions. The teacher that I admire for drilling Calculus and Trig into my head and phasing the term (that I use today) “Excuses are on reasons for failure.” Seems to have had a lovable personality for the basic Algebra and Geometry classes. Many people also told me that my excellent Physics teacher had a human personality. I also heard that my “You’ll Know this Book Backwards,” history teacher had time to tell jokes and stories in other classes. I do not look at it as having favorite teachers but rather excellent teachers that cared like - Mrs. Hicks, Mrs Franklin, Mrs. Stocks, Mr. Smith, Mr. Edward Johnson, Ms. V. Williams, Ms Cathcart, Mrs. Caruthers, Mrs Respress and Ms. Norton. And this is a list without opening a year book. They all taught as Southwest H. S. in Atlanta in the 70’s.