We've all presumably gone to school and had teachers that were memorable. Some of them for not so great reasons, and others because they actually helped shape our young minds. And for some reason I've been thinking a lot about the teachers I had in school and what they meant to me. How some of them could make even the most boring subjects come to life, while others failed miserably at their jobs. I had a mixture of both kinds and we shall walk down memory lane now as I discuss the good ones.
The first teacher that really stood out in my memory was my fifth grade teacher. He looked like Superman to me. Not only was he as good looking, but he was my hero too. I was a kid no one
wanted to be friends with, and he felt sorry for me I think. Plus I was a huge nerd and the smartest of the class, so I was definitely a teachers pet. I remember there was a contest to see who could make the most creative cover art for their state report, and the winner would get to have pizza with him as a treat. I WANTED to win. So bad. Like extra bad. So I made my cover the most amazing thing ever. It was perfection and I spent longer on the cover than the actual report itself. Which meant, I WON! So we had pizza together and talked about life and for the first time ever, I felt like a teacher cared about me and I wasn't just a nameless drone in a classroom. He noticed me. He cared if I was alright. And despite being a terrible year for me, it was better because of Mr. Superman. He taught me it was okay to be smart and that nerdy was cool. He was the only one who thought that, but at the time, his opinion was the only one who mattered. I'll never forget it.
My second memory of an amazing teacher was my junior high English teacher. He was tall and bald and smoked a pipe that sat on his desk all the time unlit. He was completely eccentric and an ex-hippie who had his classroom decorated with Grateful Dead paintings (he also taught art) and he was the first English teacher to tell me I should be a writer someday. In fact, he sat me down one day and told me that I had sheer talent for words and my essays were a joy to read. He urged me to pursue writing even though I was only 13 years old. He was my idol then and I wanted to please him, so every word I wrote, I wrote with him in mind as my reader. He gave me confidence. And he told me to follow my dreams and never stop writing. And I haven't. I have him to thank for that.
My next teacher was much more of a puzzle and a challenge. He was a HUGE nerd. Like a mega nerd. And he hated children. It showed. He was not nice and he graded ridiculously harshly and he tried to squash my dreams of being a writer, but at 15, I had a bit of a temper on me. I remember him giving me a bad grade on a paper simply because he didn't like the story I told. My grammar and punctuation, etc. were on point, but he didn't enjoy the subject matter. I took him to task about it and demanded he give me a better grade. I had never gotten less than an A in English and he wasn't going to ruin my streak. He actually was shocked I'd dare question his grade, and simply read it again and gave me an A-. And then he never, ever bothered me again. I felt triumphant because no one else ever stood up to him and won. He was like Professor Snape only nerdier, but just as unforgiving.
But one day he was late to class (I had him first period) and we all stood outside the room making jokes about him and why he might be late and none of the things we said were kind. But it turned out he had been attacked and mugged and beaten just because he was a nerd and an easy target of some thugs. His head was all wrapped in bandages and some kids still made fun of him, but I felt horrible. From that day forward, I treated him with the respect I felt he deserved and in kind, I became his favorite student in the class. There was no more arguing over grades. I'd shown him compassion when no one else would, and in turn we made peace. And he told me at the end of school, "you're a wonderful writer, even if I don't enjoy your subject material." I think it was the only compliment he ever gave a student, even if it was a bit backhanded. I still felt honored.
Another teacher I had in school was my US History teacher and he looked like Steve Martin. And acted like him too. He was a clown and a goof, but an incredibly engaging teacher. I didn't much give a crap about history back then, and he made it fun. Or as fun as it could be to a 16 year old. I remember he used to sometimes make us watch movies that I found boring so I'd sleep through them. He'd never say anything to me while I was doing it, and then when I got an A on my tests, he'd ask me how I managed to absorb the knowledge while I was asleep. Don't ask me. I just knew the stuff. It seeped into my subconscious. But he was inspiring to me because despite my distaste for the class, I wanted to be there just to listen to him joke and try and make history fun. He'll always be my favorite history teacher, unlike the other one I had who routinely read the newspaper during the entire class and never taught us anything. By the time the bell rang, most of the students had snuck out the door and left and he never saw them. Myself included. No, I preferred Steve Martin.
My last memorable teacher was my 11th grade chemistry teacher. I really, really hate chemistry. Like a lot. And I struggled to understand any of it. But this one day he thought it'd be really fun to make fireballs in class. So he proceeded to get a jar of bubbles, turn on the methane gas and blow bubbles with it, then light them on fire. This was like the coolest shit ever and actually had me paying attention. Especially when one of the fireballs got huge and caught the curtains on fire. Needless to say he stopped making them after that. And I'll be damned if I know what I learned that day, except fireballs are not really very safe to do unless you want to burn down your classroom. But I managed a B in that class, when normally I probably would have failed. He went the extra mile to keep us entertained by science and it actually worked. Let's hope the principal never found out.
So that is my ode to teachers. The good ones. I had several bad ones to varying degrees too. Wanna hear about them? Comment and maybe I'll write about it! Hell I know no one will comment, so I'll probably write it anyway. But yeah, comments would be nice. Do you have favorite teacher stories? Share them with me!
Until next time...
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