Who was your favorite teacher and why ?

[whomper]

Strictly academic teachers here. Not looking for parents etc. Teachers are losing jobs all over the Country and in NJ Christie is looking to cut teachers pensions. Just got me thinking. What says the huddle ?

Edited March 27, 2010 by whomper

[matt770]

Miss Toth, 8th grade. Oh, those rides in her green Jeep Cherokee.

[Duchess Jack]

Mrs. Drazanokas. Contemporary World Problems.

 

Great teacher who encouraged conversations and debates. She had a good sense of humor, cared about what we said and thought and challanged us to think outside of the box by having us debate the 'other' side of issues.

 

I gained a lot of confidence in this class that has carried through in life.

[SLAYER]

Strictly academic teachers here. Not looking for parents etc. Teachers are losing jobs all over the Country and in NJ Christie is looking to cut teachers pensions. Just got me thinking. What says the huddle ?

My two favs were a Brother(don't remember his name) who taught a Utopia Lit class that was great & Mr. Favalora who taught a religion course(went to a catholic hs) that explored Far Eastern Philosophies- Buddhism and such- and practiced meditation, yoga, etc. pretty advanced for a catholic hs in the 70's to allow this.

For purely educational was my Physics teacher. A nerdy guy with glasses and a pocket holder. He was an excelent teacher and I learned more in that class about a subject I really couldn't care less about and needed it to graduate to being a class I looked forward to.

[SheikYerbuti]

My current favorite song lyric:

 

Raise a toast to St. Joe Strummer. I think he might have been our only decent teacher.

[Seahawks21]

I had an English professor who to this day I am very close to, somewhat of a mentor, but I believe this thread is built more towards "teachers", meaning high school and younger. I had a 4th grade teacher name Mr. Allie. He was hard and mean. Everybody hated him, I loved him. He was the type to make you raise to the challenge. I got a lot out of him and discovered my passion for mathematics.

 

My next favorite wasn't necessarily a great teacher for me, but when I thought I wanted to be a teacher myself, he was my blueprint. Mr. Fountain. He had the ability to reach the unreachable, the outcasts, the shy, and the not so bright. He would bring the "bad kids" into his world. He would have inside jokes with him. For instance, he told me that he had a signal for the hard to reach kids. Whenever he would see them in the hall, he would simply touch his finger to his nose, and the kid would then pull their earlobe in response. Nobody else in the school ever noticed, but it made those particular students feel like they were important and involved. Every test day, he would walk around with a bag of popcorn and place one "test tablet" on every student's desk. Just a little piece of popcorn, but for some reason everybody loved it. His classes were always a fun environment, and he did a lot of group activity and got everybody involved. In this format, the more elite minds were a little bit held back by his desire to pull the bottom end of the class up, but I ran with a crowd of D and below students, and I never saw them even grasp basic concepts like they did in his classes. They learned without even knowing it.

[Jimmy Neutron]

Eleanor Olson - 12th grade English - just a great teacher and person. She managed to give solid, individual attention to every one of the 31 students in that class. Her effort and ability to reach kids using different methods amazes me to this day.

 

She also introduced me to literature on a level I had never previosly appreciated or understood - something that also has stuck with me in the 20 years since that class.

 

I saw her on a local college campus a few years ago - she's a professor now. I smiled at her and ran up and gave her a hugh hug - kinda scaring her to death until I told her who I was - then she bawled. What a lady. I will always to Ms. Olson and pray each of my kids has a school teacher like her - they can make all the difference.

[polksalet]

Joe Loon - 50 page math monograph, nuff said

[darin3]

Mr. Amble, 5th grade... easiest answer ever.

 

The core of the 5th grade curriculum, at least in my school system, was geography and history (my favorites). He made learning fun. Probably the man I am today because of him.

 

When he retired, maybe 8-9 years ago, they had a hugh party for him at the school and hundreds of parents and ex-students (some well into their 40's) came to wish him well.

 

Great question; always jump at the chance to think/talk about this subject.

[millerx]

Interesting question. I have all the respect in the world for good teachers, yet I never had one that jumped out as a signature teacher for me. I hear and read about them from others, but none for me (since we are excluding parents even though both of mine had been teachers). I was always viewed as a good kid that was respectful and well liked by my teachers, but never had one reach out to me as a mentor or anything. I just went merrily along my way in school... am I the exception or the rule?

[CaP'N GRuNGe]

Az or H8, no explanation necessary.

[T_bone65]

Mr Hicks, 10th grade Photography. We used to smoke dope in the dark room and he couldn't smell a thing

[Savage Beatings]

Interesting question. I have all the respect in the world for good teachers, yet I never had one that jumped out as a signature teacher for me. I hear and read about them from others, but none for me (since we are excluding parents even though both of mine had been teachers). I was always viewed as a good kid that was respectful and well liked by my teachers, but never had one reach out to me as a mentor or anything. I just went merrily along my way in school... am I the exception or the rule?

 

I feel the same way. I had one or two in College that were pretty awesome, but nobody really stands out in my K-12 experience. That's not to say I didn't have good teachers. I think most of them were fine. Just didn't really have a favorite, or someone that really "reached me".

[Perchoutofwater]

Mrs. Armstrong - 6th grade math teacher. She was a hard as nails old coot that would slap you with a ruler if you so much as chewed gum in her class. She was a big time disciplinarian at a time that I really needed to learn discipline. I couldn't stand her for the first half of the year, but by the end of the year I really appreciated her, and as time passed my esteem for her grew. She was the last of old school teachers that didn't baby kids or out source her discipline to the office, but took control of the class.

 

Mrs. Hardee - Algebra I teacher in high school. Another strict disciplinarian. She was the first to really show me the practical uses of math, which sparked my love for it. Most people hated her class, but I looked forward to it.

 

Mr. Maxwell - My first physics teacher. Again someone that showed me more practical uses for math. His classes were always fun and made me think about all the possibilities out there. He really made me love math and physics. He is the main reason I ended up taking 3 physics classes in college even though only one was required for my degree.

 

Dr. Jack Roberts - he taught several of my core classes for my construction degree including estimating, construction law, simplified engineering for building structures. He was the buddy teacher you drank beer with. He was a retired business man that had made it int he real world, and was teaching just to pass the time. He had a great distrust for government as well as a hate for insurance companies. In the "for" blank on every check he wrote for insurance premiums he would write "extortion". He was the first real libertarian I spent any real time with.

 

Dr. Dale Truitt - One of the best men I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. He taught drafting and electrical theory, but was also the faculty sponsor of Sigma Tau Epsilon which was the honors fraternity for the construction program. He really was just a great role model who would do anything within his power to help anyone. He was like a second father to me at a time when me and my father weren't seeing eye to eye. Aside from family he is the one person I can think of that if he asked me to do something I'd do everything I could to do it without ever questioning why.

[Azazello1313]

Az or H8, no explanation necessary.

 

how to think, and how to drink :highfive:

 

for me, it was my high school band teacher, bill kohut. I wasn't really even very good at music, many of my friends were genuinely talented, but I never practiced outside of school and just kind of did it because it was fun. but this guy was just phenomenally good at his job. I probably wouldn't even have continued with the trumpet beyond middle school, except that this guy made a trip to all of the surrounding middle schools and talked to each band student individually about coming to his school and how they could be involved, made me feel like it was a good idea to continue. now keep in mind, this is at a public hich school in denver, pretty crappy overall academically, only 1200-ish students, and with not much music budget. all of the other denver schools had pretty garbage music programs, but the groups at our school were consistently among the best in the state. he somehow got most of the best students in the school to love and be involved in music, which is no easy feat at ANY school. between jazz band, wind ensemble, concert band, AP music theory, and all the concerts, festivals, trips, football games, etc., I spent at least 2 hours a day every day for four years around the guy, and he was always just a great influence. he was positive, cheerful, ambitious (for his kids), helpful, encouraging, patient....literally everything you could expect from a great teacher. turns out he's now the principal of the same school.

[Big John]

Mrs. Hardee - Algebra I teacher in high school. Another strict disciplinarian. She was the first to really show me the practical uses of math, which sparked my love for it. Most people hated her class, but I looked forward to it.

Like the future Mrs Perch?

[BeeR]

1st grade teacher (in those days you just had one teacher for everything up until about 5th grade) - younger but very tall/big (not really overweight) and about as sweet of a lady as you'd ever meet.

 

2d grade teacher - kind of the opposite, in every way - short little fireplug, looked and acted very stern - not popular because she did NOT play around. Tough - but fair. In fact looking back she was great, and even in those days we needed a lot more like her - today she'd probably be in jail for "abusive behavior"

 

8th grade science teacher - for reasons very common for liking a teacher; funny, clowned around a lot, personable, pretty generous grader. A "cool" teacher.

 

10th grade history teacher - real character. Nice guy in a dorky way and unashamedly so - told really bad jokes/puns and admitted it...somehow you liked it anyway, ie sort of a running joke that he told them itself. Also he had a great great love of history and was great about making it interesting....he didn't just make you memorize dates and events, he talked about what was going on, the motivations behind this or that etc.

 

11th grade physics teacher - also a character but in a diff way, very quirky. But really nice and a very smart guy.

 

11th grade English lit teacher - very down to Earth lady and smart but "kept it real." Not what I necessarily expected in a Shakespeare class either. In fact I got into him largely because of her. Also a great pair of legs.

 

College - only one comes to mind, also taught history. So nerdy he made the 10th grade guy look like Elvis. We're talking cliched Poindexter guy, skinny, balding, the horn rimmed glasses, squeaky voice etc. But very funny and like the other guy a great love and knowledge of history and made it interesting. Tough tests (mostly essay - puke) but fair.

Edited March 29, 2010 by BeeR

[Perchoutofwater]

Like the future Mrs Perch?

 

That was Algebra II and that was one of the worst teachers I've ever had.

Edited March 29, 2010 by Perchoutofwater

[SteelBunz]

I had lots of great teachers over the years. But the one who probably had the most impact on my education was my 6th grade teacher, Mrs. Latham. My mom yanked me out of Catholic school after 4th grade, insisting I needed to go to public school.....lol. Not as convoluted as it sounds....our public school system was pretty darn good. But they had implemented a "new, progressive experiment" in teaching that year. Sort of a 'work at your own pace' class, thinking smarter students could move ahead as they needed.

 

The results were disasterous. A whole year of basically doing nothing. Come on.....what 5th grader motivates themselves? They basically gave me the 6th grade math book, assigned me all the odd numbered questions.....so I copied the answers from the back of the book. LOL

 

So when I got back into a traditional class in 6th grade.....I was about a year behind in math. Mrs. Latham recognized what happened almost immediately. On her own time, she took me back through 5th grade math, then through 6th grade math, and by the time I left her class that year for middle school, I was ahead of the game. Passed out of 7th grade math the beginning of the next year and was accepted into the accelerated math program. I don't know how it works these days, but back then, that was the ONLY way you could qualify to take Calculus, 5 years later, in your senior year.

 

Taking Calc in HS made it 1000 times easier to fly through it in College. As a matter of fact.....my HS Calc teacher was 10 times harder than my College prof. She was famous for her "10 question-10 minute" quizzes. On one of those, she'd inadvertently given us a VERY tough problem. The next day she started on solving the problem. Took her 3 days to teach it to us......lol. 10 minute quiz my ass.....lol. BTW.....one guy DID get it right during the quiz.....he was later accepted into MIT.

[Big John]

Passed out of 7th grade math the beginning of the next year and was accepted into the accelerated math program. I don't know how it works these days, but back then, that was the ONLY way you could qualify to take Calculus, 5 years later, in your senior year.

 

Taking Calc in HS made it 1000 times easier to fly through it in College. As a matter of fact.....my HS Calc teacher was 10 times harder than my College prof.

I had a 7th-grade math teacher who was the opposite. He favored the clique system and needed his approval to get into the accerated program. There was a qualifying test to get in also. I did qualify based on that test, but the teached refused to let me advance as I was now one of his favorites.

 

So it was on a regular track wher I was acing everything through 11th grade. There was only the 2nd chance to get into calculus as a senior and only a couple students including me were allowed to advance based on performance in the math class.

 

That did perform a good basis for college where it was a lot harder to get a good grade. I had a B in first-semester college calculus, the the professor wrote a letter to my high school saying what a good job I did and their preparation.. So I am not sure if he even gave out any As.

[Double Agent]

Miss Carter...2nd grade. She was an ex-Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. Enough said.

[millerx]

Miss Carter...2nd grade. She was an ex-Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. Enough said.

pics please.

[Big John]

pics please.

http://www.dallascowboyscheerleaders.com/h...A7916F8808CEB77 ?

[millerx]

http://www.dallascowboyscheerleaders.com/h...A7916F8808CEB77 ?

 

thanks Big John.