Memorable Teachers

Several teachers made a lasting impression on me—although not always a positive one!

Physical education was not my favorite class! But in my junior year, my PE teacher was my favorite teacher. I remember there were several students who called her “mom.” I don’t remember why...likely it was because we felt she cared about us, not just as students but as young women.

I wasn’t particularly interested in American history, but my 8^th grade teacher tried to make it as palatable as possible. He would start each class  by reading a passage from It All Started with Columbus by Richard Armour. If you are not familiar with Armour’s works, this passage will give you an idea of how much fun this added to our history class:

In an attempt to take Baltimore, the British attacked Fort McHenry, which protected the harbor. Bombs were soon bursting in air, rockets were glaring, and all in all it was a moment of great historical interest. During the bombardment, a young lawyer named Francis "Off" Key wrote The Star-Spangled Banner, and when, by the dawn's early light, the British heard it sung, they fled in terror!

Another 8^th teacher is memorable for his irreverent description of Forest Lawn Memorial Park as the “Disneyland of Death.” He seemed to be obsessed with the dark side. The one story that I remember reading for his literature class was “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce.

And finally, my 9^th grade geometry teacher. I was good at math and I was also precocious enough to correct my elders! On a couple of occasions, I dared to point out (probably not too diplomatically) that he had missed steps in solving a problem. Then I “aced” an exam. It came back with the notation “Do you want to be the teacher?” For many years, I would not venture a comment in any class that I felt was contradictory to the instructor’s view.

Teachers impact their students in ways they probably never imagine!

© 2011 Denise Spurlock