Friday, May 15, 2009

an apple for the teacher

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Today was my last day working as the school year is coming to an end. Needless to say, it was bittersweet. It will be nice to have the summer off, to enjoy these three short months with family and friends. But it was hard saying good bye to the students, especially knowing I won't see most of them again as they are going on to high school. Even though I've had plenty of experience over the years with kids in youth groups moving on, it's always hard for me to say good bye.

So, in the spirit of school, the end of school, and saying good bye, my Aloha Friday question is...

Who was your favorite teacher and why? Did he/she impact your life in any way?


One of my favorite teachers was Mr. Wall. He was my typing teacher in high school. [**note: this was typing on typewriters]. He was funny and always making his students laugh. He had a connection with teenagers that most teachers didn't.

I was his star pupil since I could type faster than everyone else in the class. I remember receiving certain privileges because he liked me. But I also remember having some really good conversations with him about all kinds of subjects, including school, boys, parents, and friends. He was always encouraging and made me think at a deeper level than I was prone to at that age.

It was nice, at that age, to have an adult take an interest in me and seem to care about who I was and what I was going through. I think this did have an impact on me and my eventual work with youth. I want students to know that they are special and that there is at least one (hopefully a lot more) adult in their life that care about them. I want to give them perspective, guidance, and hope... just like Mr. Wall did for me.

Aloha Friday can be found over at Kailani's place, An Island Life.

21 comments:

Unknown said...

I would have to say Mrs. Fran she was my first grade teacher and I worked with her for four years when I worked at school.

Heather said...

Mrs. Cole was my senior year AP English teacher. She was just so nice and supportive. But, she was strict all at the same time. She seemed to really understand our teen angst and reached out to us. I think she stood out from the other teachers because she just seemed to care.

sues2u2 said...

I loved Mrs Johnson. She was my kindergarten teacher back in the days of half day kindergarten, allowable hugs & kisses, snacks & lots of play time. She was such an amazing woman who made every single one of us feel like we were the most important people alive.

Michelle @Flying Giggles said...

My favorite teacher was Mrs. Grey. She was my third grade teacher. She was so sweet and always so cheerful! She made our lessons fun. Everyone loved her! She is the teacher that influenced me to work in education!

Tara said...

Mrs Carson in 6th Grade. She really built me up and encouraged me in my strengths. I remember I was so unsure of myself then.. we had just returned from the Philippines from living there for 12 years as missionaries..and I was scared, and my english was meshed with several different dialects from the Philippines..she was always so patient with me.

Danielle! said...

no "thank you" for giving you this question! you're welcome =D

Susan said...

Mine was an algebra teacher, Mr. Thomas, in the 9th grade & a nusic teacher, Mrs. Hamilton, in high school.
Susan

Rob said...

I would say my 1st yr finance professor in college.

Momma Roar said...

The end of the school year was always hard, but I knew many of the kids would return to "check in" as they picked up younger brothers or sisters on their way home from school - or during conferences!

I had so many fav teachers. High school PE teacher let me teach a class and that is how I knew I wanted to teach (she was hurt and knew that I had the aerobics routine memorized). Spanish teacher pushed us and I still remember a lot from that class. And a college professor/advisor that was very encouraging in every way.

I try to take what I loved from each of those teachers and teach my children with the same passion and drive.

Oh, I graduated HS in '93, and I learned to type on a typewriter too in high school!!

bcriminger said...

My favorite teacher is a toss up, but I do have something to say about teachers as a whole. The one's I really hated because we always had homework and huge projects to do eventually came out for the better. Looking back, two of the teachers that made me grow the most as a student and as a writer were high school teachers who expected the most out of me. I hated it at the time, but fully appreciate it at present. There were those teachers who can motivate and encourage through relating to the students and there are those who push to to the max, but I find I learned and grew the most from those teachers. In retrospect, they were not terrible teachers at all.

Karen said...

My high school English teacher, Mrs. Babb. Throughout h.s. I had three classes with her -- Women's Lit, grammar, and Shakespeare, and she made everything so interesting. She fostered my love for lit and the English language. Her husband was my photography teacher and I loved him, too! What a great couple.

Jennifer said...

I have been out of college and grad school for quite some time and grade school even longer. I have no real recollection of any of my teachers.

I am Harriet said...

Probably an art teacher- Mrs. Smith, that I had in elementary school. She inspired me.

Unknown said...

OH gosh I have no idea. The one that sticks out in my mind is Coach brandon but I think it's because I had a crush on him LOL

Nabeel said...

My favorite teacher is of English Literature in B.A. Mr. Mirza Ghulam Ali

He always teach his students about moral things more than our course. His one quote, which he tells most of the time, changed my life thoroughly.

Quote was "Education is useless if you don't put it in action"

AudreyO said...

I've often thought of this question and truly I don't have a favorite teacher. I was not a student that teachers loved. I talked way too much and so I was always in trouble. No one teacher ever made an impression on me.

Anonymous said...

My 3rd grade teacher definately. Mrs.Covert. She has a son with downs syndrome and my sister has downs syndrome. They were boyfriend and girlfriend. We used to talk about them all the time. She always told me great things about her son, and never to let people put her down. My sister is my world!

Heather said...

I had a few favorite teachers. But 2 really stand out among the rest. The first was my 4th grade teacher, Miss Cook. She was so awesome. She let us be who we were, and really encouraged me in my writing. She was fun, and you just wanted to learn because she made everything interesting!

The second was Mr. Vaught. He taught 11th grade history, and sociology. You could tell he really loved what he was teaching, and he really tried to make history fun for the students who didn't like it. He also let me get away with all my talking to other people without getting into too much trouble!

Becca said...

My favorite teacher was Mr. Holmes for math. He was just a fun man!

PMKU said...

Ms. Broomerhop! I was in the 6th grade and she was my art teacher. She was just so positive and nice. :)

Short Stop said...

My high school typing class was on typewriters, too! :)

I loved my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Bemis. She was a first year teacher, and she was the kindest, sweetest teacher. We were learning multiplication tables, and I remember how patient she was as we learned them.

I should try to find her on FB. LOL!