Your most influential teacher

[alison]

It's really sad, but I can't say that one teacher or the other really stood out for me. Maybe my 4th grade teacher because she was really into getting us interested in science (and I don't mean the soda pop that we were making in chemistry in 10th grade )

My worst teacher. There are lots. Like the history teacher who had us "write our own history" and didn't teach us anything about anything really...

[alison]

Annie, sorry that I was such a downer on this one. I hope we get some good ones!

MY biology teacher was my most influential, she still stops to chat to me in the supermarket and asks about my career and my ds

My english was my worst and not very tolerant of my dyslexia. I changed english teachers in my last 2 years who turned all my bad experiences wih the other teacher around and she was lovely.

One of my most influential teachers was my second (and later 7th) grade teacher. She taught second grade when I was in that grade, and then later moved to teach middle school so I also had her when I was in 7th grade. She really taught me a love of learning--she taught me how to learn. She also instilled in me a lifelong appreciation of the Japanese culture--ever since second grade when we did a unit on Japan I have loved everything about Japan and the language, and later in college took Japanese all the way through and studied abroad in Japan, among other Japanese related activities. Then, in 7th grade, she had us do the most imaginative projects--projects that later made me realize I excel most at open-ended, creative type projects. She helped hone that quality in me.

In college, my sociology professor, who I had for several sociology classes, really inspired me. I remember one day I went to class, and there was a note on the door saying class had been canceled because the prof was out sick and I remember audibly sighing. Someone nearby said, "you're actually sad that class is canceled?" And I was. I loved going to that class and being inspired about sociology. I still love sociology and read about it on my own for personal knowledge.

[DCJenn]

My most influential teachers:

4th and 5th grade- Mrs. Jeffries. She was the one who realized that I needed to stay with her for 5th grade after being with her for fourth grade (remember I was part of that failed "open classroom" experiment of the late 1970s)

10th, 11th and 12th grade journalism and english- Mr. Malless (now Dr. Malless and teaching at a small college in Iowa) First, the man was drop-dead gorgeous and second because he encouraged thinking outside of the box AND made me editor of the school newspaper for my senior year.

The worst? The substitute teacher who replaced my English teacher (who had a nervous breakdown) in 9th grade who didn't speak English. or one could barely understand the English she did speak. (she was a recent immigrant from an Asian country...)

Jenn

Let's see ....

My 2nd grade teacher was awesome and really made me love learning ... until she slept with my father.

My 7th grade honors math / science teacher was fantastic! Mr. Daugherty. He was goofy, loud, and a lot of his antics would not be allowed anymore (he used us chase us around w/a plastic bat to beat us on our birthday). He constantly called us on our annoying "lemming like" behavior. He had a darkroom set up for us. He is simply a very neat man. He had me so excited about subjects that I normally hated. Sadly this enthusiasm was quashed by the 2 morons who followed in 8th grade ....

[rainbabies]

7th grade english teacher, mrs. redding. if she saw the way i typed, spelled or used (or didnt use) grammar and puncuation, she would flip her lid.

i loved her. im not really sure why. i loved lit and writing, creative essays. because of her i took an AP english class and pretty much sucked at it. she made it fun. the thing that stands out most about her, which has nothing to do with her teaching...that woman could sniff out a gum chewer from MILES away. guess who was always chewing on gum? i wrote THOUSANDS of sentences that year, "i will not chew gum in mrs. reddings class. i will not chew gum because it is NOT allowed in school. i will not chew gum because mrs. redding has told me hundreds of times not too!" her sentences were not simple. she would change them up and make them almost a paragraph long! you know what? i still chewed gum everyday in her class. i think of her often.

the other teacher that had a HUGE impact on me was mrs. winslow...now my very best friend. she is not much older than me. she was the animal science/plant science and (dont laugh) agricultural business teacher in my high school. she took me under her wing when my mom was married to THE BIGGEST asshole ever. the one who locked us out in the middle of winter with just p.j's on and took the car keys away. (yeah, i lovingly refer to him as the f**ker) i would sleep at her house, shower there, worked on her and her dh's strawberry farm and pumpkin farm. she is the one who helped me fill out my college apps. took me to orientation 5 hours away to see the school, pretty much made sure i graduated high school. when my mother married asshole, i started to miss alot of school. she went to bat for me with the admins. and helped me catch up on projects and homework and we got my GPA up.
her husband used to pick me up every morning to go to work in the summer, i babysat all four of her kids from birth on. they are now 13,12,11, and 9. i lived with them for months at a time, she took me to get my drivers license...everything. even tho she is not much older than me, was a fresh new grad when i met her, she turned into a mother figure to me, and her dh, a strong male role model. after i graduated high school, and we hung out more...she insisted i call her by her first name, which was really hard! there is so much that her and her dh did for me, i could go on and on. they are both special to me...and their kids too.
now, we refer to each other as best friends. her and her dh are our kids legal guardians if something happens to dh and i.

[Flynn]

I've tried to think hard about this question and not forget anybody!

I have had some great teachers...amazing in the classroom and fantastic people.

Two who stick out:

Mr. Carl Spears
He was my Honors English teacher in 9th grade and he was new to my school when I had him in class. He was very into rewriting and never truly being "done" with a paper/poem/etc. He stressed the "process" of writing and not just the product. He shaped how I write and not just what I write.

He also was incredibly smart and quick witted. Our class had been together for two years when he had us. We were good kids but wanted to put this new guy through his paces and of course we thought we had it all figured out. Mr. Spears dealt with us perfectly and even called me out on a few of my "dramatic" moments -- not letting me be a bratty teenage girl. He was great. He also had my sister and brother later in his career and he "reached" them as well despite us being very different from each other. Some parents thought he was "too hard" and actually went to the administration about him. It was one of my first experiences where I was shocked that grow ups would be what I considered "so narrow minded."


The other "teacher" I had was Floss Drach:
She was a junior high Math teacher but I never had her in class. She was my coach in basketball and volleyball. She was fair, passionate, and competitive. She could talk to the kids with natural talent as well as the kids who worked hard to make the team. Kids LOVED her. I learned as much about being a good person as I did the actual sport she coached. We stayed in touch and she eventually became a good friend of my parents. She was always a mentor of mine but when I graduated from college I was able to call her by her first name -- and we began an adult friendship A rite of passage for us.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was about 27. She died about 18 months later. I felt her loss as much as if a family memeber had died. We kept in touch until the end and she even made it to my wedding. I spoke at her funeral and it was one of the most difficult things I've ever done -- speaking emotionally but not crying so people could understand what you were saying.

She did as much for my self-esteem and values as anyone in my life outside my parents. I miss her still. I wish she could have met my kids.



One of my worst teachers I had my Junior year for Trig. I struggled in Math and I was having a hard time with Trig. I was much better at Algebra and Geometry! This teacher was very much into helping the kids who missed one or two points on a test but everyone else just "didn't study." He was in the twilight of his career and tired of helping kids who struggled. I was frustrated in his class so I'm sure I had an edge at times however, one particular instance he decided to make an example of me. He peppered me with questions I couldn't answer and really picked on me. I wasn't talking or acting out that I remember so it especially stung. I went in for help that morning and really "understood" something for the first time so I was happy when I walked into class.

After it was clear I didn't know the right answer and he was just going to try and humiliate me, I got pretty hot but was so shocked I didn't do anything. He went over the line when he yelled in front of the whole class, "Maybe if you spent more time on your Math homework and less time in front of the mirror you would earn more than a C+ on your tests!!" To say I was mortified doesn't really cut it.

I got up completely PISSED and shouted at him, "YOU'LL be speaking to my lawyer by the end of the day!!!!! I don't care if I'm the slowest student you've every taught, you are WAY out of line here asshole!" and stormed off to the counselling office. To this day I can't believe I said that. I was 17. Who the hell did I think I was??? This was before Anita Hill and any understanding of how his words were SO inapropriate. I knew they were, I just wasn't sure why.

He got in big trouble -- the administration was very scared of the story going public -- and I was transfered out of the class.

I've really enjoyed reading all the stories here!

On a side note, DH and I were talking about teachers recently and I encouraged him to write one of his favorites who is STILL teaching at the same school. DH did write him and the teacher was SO pleased DH got in touch with him! The teacher was touched at what DH wrote and said it "made his year." As a former teacher I completely understand where he is coming from. Positive words from a former student is SO powerful. If you've ever meant to say "thanks" to a teacher, DO IT!!!! (shameless plug -- sorry)

[ides]

Most of my teachers sucked, but there was one professor who made me feel good about myself and if I had talent. This was a creative writing professor in college at SUNY buffalo, who was originally from france. He was a little different and very alive. We had to turn in a short story to be accepted to the class and he saw my potential and encouraged my creativity. He liked my off beat style and humor. It really boosted my self esteem and I still remember him.

[houseelf]

Wow, there have been so many great teachers in my life. I truly feel blessed.

Mr. Roger Bauser, Spanish teacher. Not only was he a fabulous teacher, he was an exemplary human being. He walked the walk and talked the talk. His family was very involved in community service projects and volunteered for everything. He was a devout man, but he didn't wear it on his sleeve. He walked to school everyday to lead a healthier life and to do his part for the environment.

Doctor DeCarvalho. She passionately taught Latin American Literature in several college courses. She showed me how to make the leap from translating every word to reading more fluently.

Mrs. Green, my third grade teacher who appreciated my "spunk". I felt like I was her favorite.

Kelly

[Vishenka69]

In high school, my favorite teacher was Mrs. Hanley who taught European History. She took us on field trips to museums and really made sure we learned a lot more than a set of dates. I did more homework for her class than for all other classes combined but it was so interesting I really didn't mind.

My least favorite was a physics teacher. He was a PhD with no teaching experience and no clue how to talk to kids or explain anything. There were a couple of OTB kids with years of physics behind them and we all copied shamelessly from them. The guy was so clueless, he gave same test to all of his classes and didn't even notice when someone from the first class took the scantron sheet to the hallway (in the middle of the test), so the rest of us can copy down the answers.

In college I had both a favorite and a least favorite in each of my major departments. In Russian Lit department we had a great young gay professor who taught 20th century stuff. It was so refreshing to read and discuss books that are outside of the usual Tolstoy/Dostoyevsky routine. He also really pushed out imagination and creativity when it came to essay topics. The worst would constantly pick at my grammar and his favorite phrase was "You have a wrong understanding of this work."

In Econ, I really loved my statistics professor. She actually made statistics fun and I breezed through both semesters. She was a great teacher but was unfortunately not given tenure track because she didn't do enough research and so she left for another institution right before I wanted to ask her to be my advisor. The worst was a visiting professor from Colgate, who tought everything in relationship to Rao Bank and Rao shoe store (his name is Rao). Every lecture was about Rao Bank lending money to the Rao shoe store or something similar. He was so full of himself that the concepts at hand were irrelevant.

[MrsC]

I've had a few excellent teachers too. Mr O'Sullivan was my art teacher in secondary school (like high school here). He came to the school when I was in 4th year. Most people hated him because he was cocky, loved himself and didn't allow any messing in class. This was an all girls school. He was a great motivator and would push anyone who had real artistic talent. He singled out me and J, a good friend of mine as two who had a lot of potential and gave us all these little projects to do. It's crazy to think of what we came up with. I had the imagination and was good at abstract, she was a fantastic sketch artist. She went on to art college and when I met Mr O'S last year he was disappointed that I hadn't done so too. It's something that I'm thinking about doing now. He told me I'd make a great photographer and that's what I'm doing right now. I can't wait to back and pick up some of my old artwork when I go to Ireland, he keeps it for three years so we'll go back and visit. I'm sure he'll be surprised that I'm living here permanently. He lived in in the States for a few years and his wife is American.

It's amazing how some people just have a great influence. I think a lot of it is just when they see a talent or gift that you didn't even know you had.

[kaseymarie]

These are great to hear. I am starting my first job as a teacher in 4 days! Thank you all for posting! I only hope I can inspire my students in the same way your teachers inspired you.

[Rapunzel]

My debate coach (the first one of two total) was definitely the teacher that most influenced my life long ago up until today.

I was encouraged to think logically, to follow through, and to be very, very critical of everything around me. He taught me to punch holes in everything.

Because of him I learned how to defend what I believe - by understanding all of the arguments against what I believe. To this day I believe you cannot really stand for something and defend it unless you understand the criticisms against it.

I learned that, like chess, you must plan out in your mind several steps ahead and try to know the end from the beginning as much as possible.

He also pushed me hard. I would leave for debate tournaments in the afternoon on Fridays from school and not get home until after 1pm those nights. And, then I would have to be up and ready to go by 6am the next morning for the next rounds! I wouldn't get home until 9pm those Saturdays when I did really well.... It was a gruelling schedule and forced me to my physical limits. But, at the same time, it dramatically expanded my mental limits.

He was a very good debate coach!

Of my other teachers?

About 95% of them get all of an "Eh" in their performance. In other words, I don't think very many of them were more than subpar.

[quote="Genivieve"]Let's see ....

My 2nd grade teacher was awesome and really made me love learning ... until she slept with my father.


WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you are kidding right