Get Schooled

By Larry

May 26, 2008 6:02 PM | Link to this

Four decades ago we didn’t have gifted classes, but were grouped by ability, probably based on IQ tests.

Our biology teacher did a review every Thursday, prior to the weekly Friday test. Since we were the “smart” class, it didn’t take us long to realize the Thursday review was the next day’s test reversed. The questions weren’t identical, but they always dealt specifically with the individual review question’s area.

A small group of us started taking detailed notes during the review to find out what we missed while girl watching or sleeping during the week. We met every Friday morning before biology class, reviewed our notes, and made sure we knew everything that would be on that day’s test.

Our cheating worked. We aced the class. We outsmarted the teacher.

About 20 years after we graduated, a lifelong friend mentioned this situation and I was ready for a laugh. It was only then, after my friend explained what really happened, I realized our teacher had tricked us into studying.

Although this man knew we would eventually appreciate his teaching skill, I’m not sure he knew the extent to which it would propagate. My daughter, who will likely enter the teaching profession, is quite familiar with what he did and his idea will live on for generations.

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By jim d

May 27, 2008 8:17 AM | Link to this

Ken Burger

Taught me the best way to get ahead was through hard work.

Mrs. Eddy,

Had this lady for 3 years in a one room school k-12. Taught me that consequences (Leather strap) goes hand in hand with actions.

Mr. Cheney,

Helped me to discover I wouldn’t be a Chemist.

Rebecca,

Taught me——-oh my, NEVER MIND

By SG

May 27, 2008 8:22 AM | Link to this

First of all, what’s up with the “teen webcam” spam… good grief.

I’ve had some good teachers over the years, going back to high school. Dr. Luck (RIP) was my senior English teacher and he took special interest in my education after he caught me reading “Journey to the End of the Night” in class; he gave me a reading list that matched my level and helped prepare me for college. Henry Wideman was my high school drama teacher and director and saw potential in me I didn’t see in myself.

My first semester in college I accidently enrolled in a poli-sci class meant for advanced students. The prof (and I can’t remember her full name, we called her Anne) talked it over with me and said, “You should stay, just be prepared for hard work.” She wasn’t kidding, but I did make the grade. Sadly, she was hit by a car while biking to school and as far as I know, never recovered from the coma.

At TCC, Pat McMahon (an unoffically his brother Bucky, too) took me under his wing and worked with me through lit and writing classes and on TCC’s literary magazine.

Dr. Gontarski (Stan the Man) at FSU was very helpful to me both as an undergrad and grad student. Just don’t pour a pint of Guinness on his boots!

I was a teacher as well, at least for a couple of years. And while I strove to make a difference for my students similiar to how the above teachers had impacted me, I’m not sure if I ever had it. Who knows, I might leave this goofy world of contract IT work and go back to teaching.

By Jeff

May 27, 2008 9:06 AM | Link to this

This one is going to identify me to anyone who thought they knew my off-line identity but wasn’t sure:

Tommy Harris.

Quite simply, the man gave me my life back at a time when I could have gone either way. He put me on the path that led me to where I am now, and I will never be able to thank him enough nor repay him all that I owe.

It was pretty amazing this weekend to go to where he now preaches (he was the principal at the alternative school I went to, now he is the headmaster at the local Christian school) and here him deliver a sermon on the very ideas that he reached out to me with all those years ago - though when he was in school he NEVER brought in Christian words/phrases unless the student brought them up first.

He knew I was coming, and he knew I was bringing T, though I don’t know if he intentionally gave that sermon because of it. Even though we only got to speak to him for a couple of seconds as we were leaving, that sermon alone was the PERFECT introduction to him and why he was so influential in my life.

Other teachers that have had an influence (though none anywhere NEAR the level of Mr. Harris, the fact that these have still be heavily influential should only give you an idea as to exactly how high I hold him):

Tom Gooch. My Programming 1 instructor and the model for how I tried to relate to my students, particularly at the HS level. While I learned the hard way that his style doesn’t work so well with non-adults, it is still my ideal. Of course, he also introduced me to programming, which is something I became pretty dang good at over the years.

Joe DiMaio: The instructor of my very last class at KSU - so far. Also a friend of Tom’s and another model for how I tried to relate to my students. This was a man who would give some of the most brilliant mathematical lectures I’ve ever heard. He would take some rather complex topics (the multiple infinities, isomorphisms, other elements of group theory) and make them decently easy to understand, and if you didn’t understand it in the lecture he had no problems hanging out at the local watering hole and talking isomorphic structure over a few brews.

Jose Garrido. Prof I worked with on multiple levels, including as both a student and assistant. Another brilliant mind, this one more CS-oriented, and also one of the most laid back profs I ever met.

By b white

May 27, 2008 9:25 AM | Link to this

I have been in the teaching field a long time. Only once did I connect with a student and witness a miracle. This student was very bright, but couldn’t read. She had made it to high school somehow and did not know phonics enough to read well. After some questioning I realized she had gone to around nine different schools in the 2nd and 3rd grades. She simply had not been in a school long enough to be consistently taught. After learning about phonics she conquered reading and has done well.

By Old School

May 27, 2008 11:46 AM | Link to this

Dess Oliver. He was teaching Industrial Arts to all male classes yet was willing to let me into the class my senior year. After being forced by school policy into Home Ec because girls were required to take 2 years of it, Dess gave me a chance and I think I might have proven myself to him. I had 2 years of Drafting and 1 of Industrial Arts (our school’s first female shop student) under Dess and went on to major in Industrial Arts Education at Southern and later teach it at my old high school.

Dess, and later on Harold Quinn, were two of the greatest influences on my teaching methods and my entire career. They believed in me and my ability at a time when women had limited choices and courses were gender specific (home ec for girls, shop for boys). They helped me break through the barriers.

I think Dess is still teaching but Harold is with us no longer.

Thank you, Dess. You’ll never know how much your belief in me shaped and enriched my life!

By meme

May 27, 2008 3:09 PM | Link to this

June Dove, may she rest in peace. The first papers that the ‘gifted’ students wrote were all scored a zero. Mrs. Dove got to the first error and failed us. We all learned to proofread and proofread. She didn’t count the zero, but boy did we learn grammar.

By catlady

May 27, 2008 5:31 PM | Link to this

Michael Capitano, 4th grade, Tampa . Blanche Holt, 8th grade, Alabama. Barbara Mann, FSU. Jim Hearn, UGa. These are some of the educators who made a big difference for me. Thanks to them all!

By Hmm

May 28, 2008 10:09 AM | Link to this

Jim Perotta, Stone Mountain High. Now, he’s teaching at Lakeside High in Dekalb. AP Psychology. He made the class enjoyable and educational.

By Old School

May 28, 2008 10:34 AM | Link to this

Just found out that Dess Oliver’s teaching career spanned 51 years with evidently no decline in quality! Way to go, Mr. Oliver!!!