It doesn't matter where you stand politically--there is no denying the importance of teachers. I remember my first "favorite" teacher, Mrs. Johnson. She was my second grade teacher, and not only did I think she was pretty, but she was the first teacher to take me seriously as a person. She did give me a couple pink slips though....which I totally deserved.
Then, there was Miss Ketter, my fifth grade teacher. She was young and cool, and I wanted to be just like her when I grew up. I remember her telling the boys in our class that it was time to start wearing deodorant. I agreed. I did my first "speech" in her class. It was about John Naismith inventing basketball. She also made us memorize the capitals of every state.
Mr. Divine, my 7th grade Literature teacher, was hilarious. He made learning so fun and gave us all sorts of creative projects. One of our projects was to bring the stinkiest, most rotten food items from our fridge. I don't remember the purpose, but I do remember it being disgusting.
Mrs. Brennan, my 8th grade English teacher had an awesome low, raspy voice that made it impossible for her to yell, yet we didn't get away with much on her watch. She taught me the difference between there, their and they're. She lived in town, so we always made it a point to stop by her house and say hello when we were nearby.
Mr. Woodford was our band director. He always let us go outside the first day of spring. He made us wear horribly hot polyester uniforms for marching band, in the middle of summer. If nothing else, it sure built character. :)
I made it a point to take one of Mr. Meade's classes every year of High School. He was the most challenging teacher I had back then. He taught us about humanity, social issues, and most importantly, our potential as young learners. I got my first C in one of his classes.
I had amazing professors in College. Gene Hood, Scott Robertson, Tiit Raid, Steve Terwilliger, Steve Katrosits, Mike Weber, Bobby Pitts and many more. Each of them taught me how to be a better artist. They critiqued my work (sometimes gently, sometimes not), challenged my processes, and exposed me to ideas and techniques that I never would have known otherwise. They helped me become who I am today!
Why am I writing all of this stuff about teachers? Two reasons:
Reason #1: I was inspired by author Ken Szymanski's latest article in Volume One.
Reason #2: the mom and dad of these two little boys are both teachers! And one of them happens to have taught both of my sons in Kindergarten.
So I took it as an excuse to say a huge THANK YOU to all of the teachers out there who have had an effect on my life, and now the lives of my kids. You guys rock!!
