Beyond the Classroom
In the movie, Dead Poets Society, the inspirational English teacher, Mr. John Keating, used poetry to open up a whole new world of life lessons for his young charges. Instead of learning how to rate poetry like it was a song on American Bandstand (do any of you remember this show?), he encouraged his students to savor the spoken word, to think for themselves, and to "seize the day."Poetry, he said, celebrates the reasons we stay alive--for passion, love, beauty, and romance. Most of his students "got the message," though some resisted (that's only natural, don't you think).
So in the spirit of the DPS and John Keating, relate how one of your former(or present) teachers taught you some lesson that was important beyond the classroom.
posted by JTF @ 9:50 AM
29 comments
29 Comments:
"Your not the only pebble on the beach," and "Be beyond these walls." These two quotes were said by two amazing women. Both of which I had the priveledge to be taught by.
"Your not the only pebble on the beach," was said by my math and history teacher of 3 years, Mrs.Northop. An amazing teacher through and through. She taught me more than other teacher could besides the other teacher I will be talking about. She made my class come more together than we had in all the years of attending school together. You could go to her for anything. She had snacks, and soda in her room for us after school when we stayed to watch movies for extra credit.
The quote us not being the only pebble aplys to everything because you cant do everything yourself.
The quote tells us to let others in to help, not to take everything on ourselves.
The second quote is from another teacher of mine her name is Mrs.Van. She was great, she also cared for her students. She told us to go beyond the walls of our school basically saying not to listen to what people say about you but to look beyond that and at yourselves. She was telling us to know who we are as a person.
The words from these two wonderful teachers have helped me through many problems in my life. These teachers mean a lot to me and I can never thank them enough for what they have done for me.
Awesome tribute. You're not the first student to praise Mrs. Northrop.
Like bnblue, I had the same two amazing teachers for 3 years of my academic life, and I believe that I was blessed to have them. Some people only have one great teacher in their lifetime, and that's only if they're lucky. I had two wonderful teachers by the names of Mrs. Northrop and Mrs. Van.
Mrs. Northrop would do so much for her eighth graders. She would let us stay after school to watch historical movies for extra credit while we munched on snacks and took us on two amazing field trips. The first was to Antietam and Harpers Ferry during the first week of school. We learned a lot without even knowing it because we were having fun the whole time. The other one was to Washington D.C. towards the end of the school year. We walked around that city all day, going from landmark to monument to government building and back again. We ended the day with the entire class eating dinner together at the "old post office." By the time we got home, we were exhausted and our feet were sore, but we didn't care. We had had so much fun.
But what made Mrs. Northrop such a good teacher was that she challenged us. She encouraged us to strive to do our best in and out of the classroom. One of the things that made her so remarkable was that she just put time into her teaching. On so many occasions you would find her in her classroom grading papers, planning something new, or talking to a former student at 6:00. She really was an amazing teacher.
Mrs. Van was just as awesome. Like Mrs. Northrop, she challenged us to do our best. Her classes were difficult, but if we had a problem, we could come to her. Her main subject was science, and she would assign a project every year that would consist of a 15-minute presentation complete with visual aids, demonstrations, and anything else you can think of. People even brought in animals, speakers, or expert parents to help strengthen the student's main topic. She also made science fun. She would assign fun labs which would involve going outside, partner work, or dissection. I think that my hopeful career choice as a chemist is because of her. I love science now because of her.
These two amazing teachers taught me so many life lessons about doing my best and succeeding in life as well as allowing me to prepare for high school.
I cannot thank them enough.
I have had many amazing teachers that I liked through the years. One of these teachers was Sister Alexander. When I was going into 6th grade I was afraid of having her as a teacher becasue I had heard that she was very mean and that her class' were hard. She was my Religion and Social Studies teacher for three years. When I actually had her for class she ended up being funny and her class' were not that hard if you paid attention. She also was always giving us little bits of information randomly through class about things that she had seen on TV. She was also nicer as you went from 6th grade to 8th because she was the 8th grade homeroom teacher, but her little bit of comical teasing of some of the kids continued throughout all the years. It wasn't mean teasing it was just to get some people to pay attention or to loosen up the class and make it more fun. Another great teacher that I had was Mr. Betz. He was my English teacher for 6th-8th grade. His class was very fun and very relaxed. He was funny and made learning grammar fun and easy. He also always had candy that he would give out for being good or by winning the games that we did for spelling and vocab words. He was always telling us that if we listened to him on how he was teaching us to write that we'd "blow em out of the water" refering to our future teachers. He had to one of my favorite teacher from grade school because he would make English fun which was the most boring subject because we had to have him for two periods in a row for English.
I have had some really good teachers in grade school as well as these past two years of high school. However, I would have to say that none are better than my eighth grade homeroom and grammar/reading teacher Mrs. McNutt. I add reading teacher because there where a select group of eight students that were at a higher level than the rest of the class and would read novels instead of storys out of the text book. Mrs. McNutt taught those eight, one of which was me. She also taught english and grammar, both of which I really didn't like. All of that changed, however, when she started teaching it. She made grammar actually fun, not just for me, but pretty much the entire class. Also, things that I had had trouble with for years I finally understood. We used to play games which helped me understand things better and sometimes they would count for extra credit when you got points. I did well in her classes and if I ever needed help with anything I could go to her. It didn't even have to be about class, it could be about another class or things going on in school in general; in fact, it didn't even have to be about school and she would take the time out to listen to you.
She always pushed me. If I didn't get something and I was just gonna say whatever and give up, she would be right there telling me that I could do it and I could get it if I just worked at it a little bit more. Things that would be going on in school such as people being made fun of or anything like that, she would always talk with us about it. The way she explained situations and how they affect others really made you think about how much you could be hurting someone. This is a lesson that carried over from school as well. She took school sitations and made them apply to the real world, outside of school.
She was an amazing teachers and I so much wish that I would have had her for more than just that one year. Anyone who has her as a teachers now or in the future should be extremely thankful!!
I love her sooo much and I don't think I could ever tell her just how truly greatful I am to have had her.
When I read this I knew exactly who I wanted to write about. I actually have 2 teachers in mind. The first teacher was my 4th grade teacher. Her name was Mrs. Bates.She was new the the school I was attending, and no one had her as a teacher before, so none of us knew what to expect. From the beginning to the end of the year I had learned so much from her. I had never been great in school, and had gone through my hsare of bad teachers. After being in her class I had been more prepared for school and life. She taught me so much about how to be a better student and person. The other teacher was a CCD teacher I had. She taught me a lot about myself. She taught me to respect myself and how to be more personable. She taught me about how to deal with things and on how to work with what I am given. I think these teachers are the 2 best that I have ever had, because they have taught me not just stuff from text books, but what can help me in life.
The one teacher that comes to mind for this sort of thing is Mr. Jonathon Bender from Saint Edmond's. Mr. Bender was and English teacher. People would probably say that most of us liked him just because he was younger and we could realte with him better, bu that wasn't it. Mr. Bender was one of those teachers where you just knew that he knew exactly what he was talking about. The interaction was ausome in his class, we were as much a part of the lesson as he was. He would squeeze every last ounce of knowledge out of our aching heads, but we were rewarded with his much desired praise. Mr. Bender was not only a great teacher of Lit, he also taught us life lessons. This man walked in everyday to St. Ed's, a "prestigious" grade school, just how he wanted to. His beard grew longer and longer throughout my 8th grade year, going down to his neck. He wore clothes within the dress code, but you could tell he looked for as many loopholes as we did. Half of the day he would wear sneakers that looked like they were dress shoes, and never wore a suit. He was also a jokester and always had a smirk on his face. We would knock him for all this because he seemed like a kid to us. Mr. Bender would tell us that as long as he knew Literature (which he did very well) and the kids liked him then his job was done. He would tell us that its never been about appearence or attitude, if if knowledge exudes from you then you will gain respect. The message Mr. B was teaching us was to never become dull or montonous, but rather live life to the fullest and never look back or worry about what people are thinking. Eventually your intelligence will overcome people's judgments and ignorrance towards you. SO I give a grat big thank you to Mr. Bender because he helped form the young man I am today.
MCD GREEEEEEEEEn
Well, in going to a catholic school for eleven years, I've had a lot of pretty good teachers. But, as soon as I was reading the assignment, only one came to mind.
From grades K-8 I went to St. Ann's, an extremely small school in the city of Wilmington. Extremely small meaning about 25 kids in each grade. For sixth, seventh, and eighth grade, we were split into two math classes, one challenging and one average. Mrs. Fetters was my teacher, along with about ten other friends of mine. The class was what I looked forward to almost everyday in school. It was fun, and I learned a lot!
To me, that's what all classes should be, you should be able to have fun and enjoy being there! Even if the course and information is boring, I think it's the job of the teacher to make it interesting and make the students want to learn. If this is what your goal is as a teacher, Mrs. Fetters had it mastered. In her class we learned so much more than math. Some days we wouldn't even talk about math at all! And I know the principal would not have been too happy with that, but I think we all needed days off from it. It's not like we sat there and goofed off, we would have class discussions about whatever was on our minds, like whatever was going on in someone's life at the moment. I can't count the number of times she was there to comfort me or one of my classmates when we needed it. She was just that kind of person who you could be comfotable sharing anything with. We'd get into a discussion and we wouldn't always agree, sometimes the whole class would be argueing!
But in the end, I always felt like I learned something that day. If not about math, about life; something I couldn't have learned any other way. The mother of two kids herself, she could always understand our "disagreements" with our own parents. In return, sometimes she would ask us for advice about her two boys and we would exchange our wisdom of youth with her own wisdom of age.
Other than guiding us through our most vulnerable years of life, she taught us math too! The whole class joined the math league team with her as our coach. It wasn't like a chore or homework of any type either, we enjoyed it! Mrs. Fetters found a way to make it fun, usually with her comics. She was also one of the funniest women I have ever met. She could make you laugh at just about anything.
Mrs. Fetters really touched my life during the three years I had her as a teacher. By teaching me many lessons in the school of life, she has become one of my favorites. We still keep in touch as much as possible through visits back to school and email. I don't think I could ever have another teacher I will enjoy as much!
I know exactly who to write about. I may only ahve had him for half of a school year, but in that amount of time, he taught me so much!
Mr. Schweiger! He was one of the most amazing teachers i had ever had. I remember a few times. One of them was to show our creativity by drawing a tattoo we would want and what it symbolized. I loved that assignment because i really got to show my individuality and he loved my design becasue he thought it had so much depth and meaning. That made me feel real unique.
Another thing he haad us do, was one day he had us play an Xbox game of riding through a town on a chariot. He explained that it was the best way to show you what Israel looked like back then. It was the most fun watching people ride through the town. I also got to actually see what it looke dlike back then. It was wasn't just fun.. it was really educational.
I LOVE teachers like Mr. Schweiger, because they don't only teach you with lectures, but they also make it fun and you still learn what you need to. I alwasy knew the material for tests and it was the one class I always aced my tests in because I could stay awake to pay attention. Even when he did powerpoints or made us take notes, some how he'd make it interesting enough that I'd still get the material.
Mr. Schweiger was, no doubt, the best teacher I've ever had and taught me so much in theology class.
Just like a few others who have commented before me, I believe the best teacher I've ever had was Mrs. Northrop from Immaculate Conception. For three years she not only taught me about math and history, but about life. She was always there to provide words of encouragement. "You're not the only pebble on the beach." This was one of her favorite quotes and she used to say it to our class many times. It taught us that not everything can be about ourselves. There are so many other people in the world and we need to learn how to get along with all of them. It also meant that we need to put others before ourselves. Mrs. Northrop definitely practiced what she preached. Throughout my years at ICS, she was one of the only people that were always there for me if I needed her. She stayed after school so many extra hours to help anyone and everyone. She went above and beyond for her students, and always thought of them before she thought of herself. She knew the great potential we have to do anything we want in life, and was always there to challenge us. She was the most challenging teacher I've ever had, but it made me a better student and a better person. However, if her work ever became too challenging for some, she always gave them an opportunity to make up for bad grades. She showed many extra credit movies for our class after school and provided snacks for us to eat. Sometimes she even ordered us pizza! Mrs. Northrop is one of the most inspiring women I've ever met and I am extremely lucky to be able to say that she was one of my teachers.
Well, I had many encouraging teachers the last few years. But when I saw the assignment, my 7th and 8th grade teacher, Mrs. Veayo, popped in my head. Mrs. Veayo was my science and homeroom teacher in 7th and 8th grade. Not only a teacher, she was an amazing friend and the most energetic women I have ever met. She was very laid-back, but at the same time, got all her teaching in that she needed to. Some days we wouldn't even learn about science. Not saying that we didn't learn, but she would teach us random things or about life. You could have a conversation about anything such as your own personal life, and she knew exactly how to respond. We had this "love/hate relationship" as she put it. We would be best buds one week, but the next day we'd be getting at eachothers throats! As we all know, I am a talkative one, so I understand why we had those "hate" days. If I was having a rough day, she would hang out outside with me and order food from the chinese restaraunt. She was an amazing person and so easy to talk to.
Well, I had many encouraging teachers the last few years. But when I saw the assignment, my 7th and 8th grade teacher, Mrs. Veayo, popped in my head. Mrs. Veayo was my science and homeroom teacher in 7th and 8th grade. Not only a teacher, she was an amazing friend and the most energetic women i have ever met. She was very laid-back, but at the same time, got all her teaching in that she needed to. Some days we wouldn't even learn about science. Not saying that we didn't learn, but she would teach us random things or about life. You could have a conversation about anything such as your own personal life, and she knew exactly how to respond. We had this "love/hate relationship" as she put it. We would be best buds one week, but the next day we'd be getting at eachothers throats! As we all know, I am a talkative one, so I understand why we had those "hate" days. She always told me that I brighten up her day with my presence, but she really made my day. I always looked forward to her class cause it was always so much fun. We still talk and when I go up to Maine, I always make sure to stop in and chat. I don't think I'll ever have another teacher like her.
The most memorable teacher that I have ever had would have to be my elementary school science teacher, Mr. Greene. Mr. Greene was my science teacher from 5th to 8th grade. Not many people liked him very much, because, I have to admit, he wasn’t very interesting. His classes consisted of him droning on, with no expression in his voice at all, about what we were learning that day. I know you’re probably thinking, why did I choose Mr. Greene for this assignment? I chose him because, the thing is, his constant repeating himself and saying the information out-loud actually helped me to learn the material better. I always knew what to expect on tests because he was constantly repeating himself. If a piece of information is that important that a teacher feels the need to say it over and over again, it will probably be on a test. Mr. Greene did not listen to our problems, or help bring our class together in any way; but he was a very good teacher, and I thank him for being so.
One of my favorite teachers of all time was my third grade teacher Mrs. Brown. She taught me for almost all of my classes, but most importantly, math. She would take the time to teach us what we needed to know, but if we were good than we would play a game. They were all math related games so we were learning as we played. I really came to enjoy math, and to this day it is my favorite subject. Mrs. Brown taught us to use more than just our books to learn. She knew that to truly grasp a concept it would help to have some fun with it.
Although i was only in third grade and was just learning times tables, i will never foget the things i learned in that class. Not all of it was about math. She knew how to live life to make the most out of it. She would rarely ever get mad at us. I enjoyed going to school just to see her. She was my role model. Mrs. Brown was more than just a tacher to me. I always felt as if she was my friend. Even though when she taught me I was too young to understand a lot, i knew that if i ever needed her she would be there for me. She definitely was. I have never met a woman more happy to teach. That's what makes good teachers. Not how smart they are and how much money they make, but how much there students enjoy coming to school and how much they learn.
My love for math started the year she became my teahcer. If it weren't for her I would probably not enjoy it, like most people. Maybe if everyone had her their third grade year, everyone would love math.
Well the first teacher that comes to mind is a teacher I had in 8th grade, Mrs. Johnston. She always used to tell us "Live life one step at a time and don't take too many jumps ahead.". She was a very influential teacher. She taught English; and even though it was not one of my best subjects (or favorites), she made it an adventure as soon as she entered the door. Another teacher of mine was another teacher I had in Bayard in 5th Grade. He was mine Guidance counsaler, Mr. Scholtz. He always taught me that I shouldn't take life and people too seriously or I'll get lost along the way. I never really got to get the sying at all until the last year in Bayard, 6th grade, He told me that it had a different meaning for everyone. Like for me it said that I have to slow down and relax a little. So I guess it kinda goes back to Mrs. Williams saying. So I guess great minds think alike.
“You’re not the only person who needs the purple crayon.” This is what my kindergarten teacher told me one day when I refused to let anyone use the purple crayon during our activity time. Being the stubborn child I was, I refused to give up the crayon, purple was my favorite color! After many failed attempts to pry it out of my hands my teacher finally gave up and said to me “how would you feel if someone didn’t want to share the purple crayon with you?” That made me think and I immediately felt bad for not sharing with the other children because I knew I would be upset if I couldn’t use the purple crayon. My teacher taught me that I am not the only person in this universe, that I can’t keep everything to myself. She taught me that I have to share things so everyone will be happy and there will be no hard feelings towards others. So from that day on I shared the purple crayon. I also learned to share other things as well over time. If it weren’t for my kindergarten teacher, I could still be the ‘selfish girl who never gives up her crayons,’ but I am not anymore. I wish I could see her today to tell her thank you for teaching me how to share. I am very grateful for all that she has taught me and I know the people around me are too, they just don’t know it.
"It's just a game," a quote said to me by Mr. Swasey or Coach Swasey. Mr. Swasey was my freshmen basketball coach last year and this year I had him as my gym teacher. Mr. Swasey is one of the best teachers. He is because he just has a way of becoming everyone's friend. "It's just a game!" He said this to me last year when, even though we (St. Mark's) were up by 25, i was getting mad at one of the referees for repeatedly calling fouls on me even though the foul wasn't on me. The hardest thing that I have overcome through all these years of playing basketball was to keep my head in the game. Swasey was the first basketball coach that I ever had, besides my dad. My dad was always my coach until I came to St. Mark's.
There is another teacher that I will always remember. Her name is Mrs. Northrop. She was my 8th grade math and history teacher. She is my all-time favorite teacher. She always told us that we could always do better than where we are at now. She always told us not to listen to what other people say. She said to me that "people only talk about other people because they are jealous of them in some way." I believed her instantly. I only had one real friend in my old school, Immaculate Conception School or ICS.
I will never forget either of these teachers. I will never forget any of my teachers because they all help me in some way when I am in their classroom!
To be honest I really don't think have had many "amazing" teachers, or ones that tought me valuable life lessons for more than just for the class.Though one teacher that comes to mind is my 6th grade science teacher, Mr. G. He was really a good teacher, and his class was really hard, but everyone always did so good because or the way he did things. He was also my homeroom teacher, so i got to see alot of him. He really focused on doing everything to your best ability, even it wasnt that good. He also never wasted time, he was never just sitting around, unless he finished everything he could possibly think of. He could even finish grading all of our tests right after we took them. Just a few minutes after wards he would be giving them back alread graded. He really did talk that much about doing the best you could do, but he really tought by example.
This assignment made me think hard. I probably have thought about every teacher I have had since first grade, but the eacher who stands out the most was my 5th grade teacher Mrs. Pyne. I remember it very clearly. I was at St. Peter's Cathedral in Wilmington. She was a very intriguing woman who challenged us to try and experience new things. Mrs. Pyne didn't not just teach us what had to be taught but she had us really think about the things we learned and use them with other things we were doing. She encouraged us to read and write, and many other things. Sometimes she would talk about her personal life and give us well intentioned life lessons that i still remember. Unfortunately Mrs. Pyne passed towards the end of our 5th grade year. It was a very hard time for my fellow students and I. I remember her class very fondly and all the good memories. I miss her very much.
This was actually a pretty hard assignment for me. I haven't really had many great teachers throughout my life. After a while of thinking about it, I did have one. Her name was Mrs. Hart. She was my third grade teacher at Colwyck Elementary School. And like her name, she had a big heart. You could just tell that she actually cared about her students and what they did. If they didn't understand the material, she would tutor them privately to make sure they did not fall behind the rest of the class. Anyway, I remember that we would always have a "word to live by" every month. Each month there would be a new word posted on the bulletin board. And every time you did that action, you would get a coupon. Then, at the end of the month you could trade your coupons in for a prize. One month the word was respect. For some reason, I remember her stressing how important it is to respect people. She would say that in order to gain respect, you have to give it. So that month I tried to respect people as much as possible because there was this really cool Colwyck Cougars hat that i wanted. Haha. Lame, I know. But when your in third grade you just want to have everything. All that month I tried so hard to show so much respect for everybody, especially my elders. It has carried on with me throughout the rest of my life. I always try to respect people. Just now im not doing it to win a hat, I am doing it just because it is the right thing to do.
It took me pretty much a hundred million years to think of somebody to write about here, but I guess I've got one.
Mr. Batog was my teacher for just about every subject in 8th grade. At age 23, he was the youngest teacher I'd ever had. Because of his age, him being only 10 years older than us, I felt that we as students could really relate to him. He always seemed to make class fun. I don't once recall him ever being boring, even if what he was teaching wasn't the most exciting of topics. Mr. Batog was always full of energy, due to his constant consumption of Red Bull. He really had an in-your-face style of teaching. In order to stress a point on the blackboard, he'd often pick up his stool and begin pounding it on the board. I always got the impression that Mr. Batog believed fun was one of the most important things to have in the classroom. Ever since experiencing Mr. Batog as a teacher (and that's what it was; an experience), I've had higher standards as to what to expect from a teacher.
Although I don't recall Mr. Batog ever saying anything particularly quotable, I don't think that's quite as important as the fact that he took teaching to the next level.
My 8th grade science teacher was a brilliant man. Having only about 30 years or so behind him, Mr. Kenneth Hutchins had more knowledge than anyone I have ever met. Not only was Mr. Hutchins extremely book smarts, he was street smarts as well. He gave these amazing lectures that would involve you and you would get excited and into the conversation. He knew how to make a kid think, he would never do anything for us, he made us think and developed a lot of us into thinkers and not just someone who is going to wait around for somebody else to do the job for them. What I really liked about this guy is that he knew how to get kids to pay attention, he was so intense. He would get all excited and start shouting and the entire lecture would be over something as boring watching paint dry. He had a way of twisting his material into ways that we could understand the concept. Honestly, before I had him I never really paid attention in science class just because it didn’t really pertain to me and I wasn’t really interested in the class. Mr. Hutchins would do amazing things each class like he would take us outside on a windy day and talk about falling objects and the effects of gravity. He would take us into the stairwells with our paper cups and all other supplies and see who could make an egg stay uncracked from a two story drop. Just the way he taught us was amazing, he had a way to get through to us, or at least he did to me. I couldn’t understand why I loved his class so much, he was short, funny looking, and was loud and obnoxious. I finally figured it out, the reason I loved his class so much was simply because he could find out how to get to each and everyone of his students personally. This class was honestly unlike any other class I have ever had, Mr. Hutchins somewhat changed my life. He made me realize that knowledge is so very important and that knowledge is also easily obtainable. He made me into who I am partially today because he put the fight and want back into me when school started to slip away from me. Mr. Hutchins and myself were very close, he helped me decide where to go to high school, and now that I look back on it, if it weren’t for him, I don’t think I would be at St. Mark’s right now, I would probably be at some dumpy boarding school in PA. So, not only did Mr. Hutchins give me the best classes in my life, he also helped develop who I am today and who I am going to be someday.
Throughout my career as a student there are two amazing teachers that taught me about life. One would be my Middle school art teacher, Mr. Conrad. The other is my current history teacher, Sister Mary Ann.
If I had to describe Mr. Conrad in a couple words, it would be as "a laid back 'dude.'" Seriously, Mr. Conrad was a laid back guy. He really didn't min what you did as long as you didn't bother him and still got your work done. This ideology was in great contrast to other teachers at skyline, and for that matter St. Marks (excluding one English teacher) belief's that everything that isn't standard procedure should bother you. Mr. Conrad let people be themselves and have fun. He was also a pretty normal person, unlike most teachers I've met. Many strange things happened at Skyline, for instance there was once a fight there, and all the teachers were angry at the entire class for observing and not stopping the fight, and Mr. Conrad sort of just sat there silently while this all happened, laughing quietly to himself. Mr. Conrad also never really had any quotes that were meant to "inspire" us. Mainly because I think that he believed that teachers who said things like "Be beyond these walls" were really pretentious people who were trying to hard to impress the kids. No, Mr. Conrad was just a laid back dude.
The other teacher is Sister Mary Ann, the greatest History teacher ever. Like Mr. Conrad, Sister doesn't have any "inspiring" quotes, but she makes up for that with a whole lot of heart. Sister is one of the kindest people I've ever met. She would go to great lengths to help any student, no matter what the cost. She is also one of, if not the, funniest women I've met. Everyday she puts on a great one-woman show that impresses the entire class. All I ever see in the halls is students laughing over what happened in Sisters class today. She's also one of the smartest people I've met. Sister knows an unbelievable amount of history on just about everything. She even helped realized things about history that I've never seen before. Plus, she's a Trekkie fanatic, which I guess isn't a bad thing.
Overall, I'd have to say that I've had some pretty awesome teachers. Of course, there are other great teachers that I've had. Of course though, if I listed and talked about all of them then this essay would be around ten times longer. But here's to hoping that I have many more great teachers.
There is a person who constantly makes me step beyond the classroom, even though hes never been my formal teacher. My Uncle Bo used to teach at AI Dupont for many years, and fromt he stories he and so many others have told, i wish he could have been my teacher. As much as i get from him already, no offense Mr. Fio but no one could probably be cooler. He is a wild, wild man. He used to bribe his students. If they were late they were in trouble, but if they ahd a snapple for him they got extra credit. If you needed a shapened pencil, you had to go unscrew another teachers and bring it back to the classroom. He has just taught me so much about living life. He has done so many things: calm and crazy, fun and boring, cool and not so cool. But his entire life, hes lived to its fullest, and he still is. Thats what he has taught me beyond the classroom. Life is black and white and all shades of grey. Try to do all you want, and be what you want as much as you can, because if you dont live how you want, your letting someone else live for you.
When I saw this blog there was only one person that i knew would totally fit. My fifth grade teacher Mrs. Deerey. She wasn't my favorite teacher and she wasn't one of the best. But she did teach me the best lesson I ever learned. She told my english class one day, "Look out for yourself first." Being in fifth grade I didn't understand what she meant by that. What do I have to look out for i would ask myself. But as I got older and I matured I finally understood.
When I entered Saint Mark's as a freshmen last year. I was so excited and ready for new things. But later on in the year I realized... "Wow there is A LOT of unnecessary drama." I have had my fair share of drama out of the two years that I have been hear and I finally fully understand what Mrs. Deerey meant. You shouldn't always depend on your friends and don't do something to look good in front of others. Also don't be with someone that is abusive, physically or verbally. Don't have friends fight your battles worry about yourself and no one else
In my 8th grade year i finally had got a teacher who i truly felt was a amazing. She went by the name of Mrs.Sage. She had taught me many lesson in math and turning in my homework in on time. She had food in her back room and always let me help her with her work. I never got the best grades in her class but she was still my favorite.
Then a day had come when all the eight graders had to choose their course for high school at William Penn, but i had a problem. I was not going to to Penn, i was going to St.Marks, and Mrs. Sage knew this brothered me. So i went around moping for a few days when all my friends were excited to go William Penn. Mrs. Sage pulled me aside and asked me what was wrong. So I told her that I had already missed my friend and since I already had a strong personality i didn't how I was to make new friends. Mrs.Sage had told that i had something very special to give and that i was a very smart kid and that i would do just fine at St.Marks. I have keep this lesson to this day and it still helps me.
The teacher whom i would say has taught me a lesson that was applicable outside of the classroom[and my favorite middleschool teacher] is Miss O'donnell. She was my english teacher in eigth grade. She was my favorite because she was down to earth and taught in a way i could understand. It sounds a bit rediculous, but she taught me that writing poetry didn't have to be about school or science or any of the things i didn't like. It could be fun. It could be free. It could be whatever i wanted it to be. She taught me the different ways to write a poem. I was amazed. Not only could i write about something i enjoyed, but i would write it the way i wanted to! Because of that, i have submitted my poems and I've lost count of the number of the ones that've been published[even on more known websites cuch as poetry.com-i used my full namd-megan elizabeth blackwell-i was surprised at how many people had my name.]. I'm even involved in a writing school now. I credit all of this to her because she is what opened my eyes into what seems an entirely new world. I guess i could also use this in school, but i choose to tak it furher, thanks to Miss O.
[Due to some technical difficulties with my bipolar computer, I couldn't send this to you last night, and therefore, I woke up at the crack of dawn to try to troubleshoot this thing. Technology and I don't gel well]..
So, he wasn't exactly in a teaching profession; he was my basketball coach, but I consider him a teacher. I'll call him "Mr. P." He had been my coach from the time I was in the fourth grade, until my eighth grade year. Although most of the things the team learned in our practices were skills and perfecting fundamentals, the life lesson he taught will stick with me longer than those skills would have. The team had an early morning practice that day. It was the day after a tough loss to a team we should have beaten. Everyone's shot seemed to be off that day, but the players seemed more interested trying to be the hero and shooting everything, than being a team and waiting for the best time to make a good shot. We were waiting to be reamed out and lectured for a good amount of time. However, for once, he was mellowed out when he spoke to us. It was not with a raised voice, and he didn't tell us how terrible we all played. He didn't say harsh things that could be easily tuned out. Instead, he said something that made us feel like we just got hit in the face with a 2x4 of solid guilt. He started to tell us how he put a lot of his time into coaching us for as long as he had, and how he's enjoyed all of it, even through times like the day prior. And softly he just said, "I just want you girls to do me a favor. I just want you to put in and give three times more than you expect to get." Well, at first we were a little in shock, and we were still waiting for Mr. P to grill us, so the impact of his statement never really hit at first. But as practice went on, it was quite apparent that everyone had a little bit more understanding. It might be hard to understand this, without being there, or without knowing Mr. P., but we could see it took a lot for him to be so calm in a time we had could have flipped, and that meant a lot to us. At the time, we thought he just meant to give more in basketball and in our practices, but it came to us that he wanted us to apply that to everything we do. Mr. P. was a good man, and a fatherly figure. He gave up time to be at his house, doing probably more productive things, or to be with his family to help us girls to become better players in a team on and off the court. He showed us respect and we in turn respected him so much. He pushed us to strive for excellence, not perfection, and he just wanted our best out of us. I try to keep what he said in my mind everyday, in small and big ways. In general, I try harder in school, and I really try to push myself in my sports and athletics. But I also try to give more than I anticipate receiving in the little things too - such as lending money without expecting payback, or doing the whole family's laundry instead of mine, or making something for someone to cheer them up without thinking they would do the same. So, beyond the court [or the "classroom"] I still try to live out his words everyday in some way.
I think theone teacher that has taught me the most about life was my seventh grade teacher and is now currently working at St.Marks. Mrs. Alessandrini was the best teacher i have ever had. She always knew how take a joke but was serious when need be. I think what separated her from my other teachers was that she genuinely loved to teach. I dont remember one day that she didnt have a smile on her face. Even through all the stress my friends and i put through, she still kept it cool. I remember one time when me and my friends had to use grocery carts to deliver things to other classes but instead we goin wild. We started having races and screaming through the hallways. We did quite a number on the walls. Then to get upstairs we packed all the shopingcarts intop the elevator and hitting thesides ofthat too. After school that day the someone got trappedin the elevator and the fire department had tocome rescue her. So the next you cant believe how much heat we were under by the principals. All the administrators were pointing fingers at us. Mrs. Alessandrini was the only one who would listen to us. We told her the truth and she convinced the principals that it wasnt us. We found out later that it was some electrical problem. Its examples like this that prove how great a teacher can be and Mrs. Alessandrini surely was.
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