Lulu sang her heart out in praise of teacher Mark Thackery whom she respectfully called " Sir". Yes, it was a movie, but it reflected a time when teachers were honored, even revered. Though I missed the exact date, Teacher Appreciation Day should have no expiration date and as such I wish to pay tribute to the teachers who shaped my life.
I wish I could say that elementary teachers stand out for me. Sadly I have nothing but negative memories and that said, I will not dwell here. I will say that I am so glad my son has had nothing but wonderful Early Childhood experiences and so have we as parents. I will just say Bravo to the Cantilacian Center.
The first teacher who always stands out for me from high school is my Home Ec. Teacher Cynthia Fredricks. She had a way of embracing ( literally anf figuratively) her students. She loved them all and taught life lessons along with life skills. She was the embodimemt of everything I have come to believe a teacher should be and I have tried to pay tribute and honor to her all my professional life.
I was lucky to go to a HS that had a great English dept and because I loved reading so much, it made it easy to enjoy these teachers skills. John Scott, Kathryn Chesley and Bernadette Lewis. Oh Miss Lewis. She started every class with an S.A.T. word and I still remember the first word she taught us, gauche.
I also had an amazing math teacher, Paul Schweigerling. He taught a class in applied mathmatics that also taught daily life skills. It was an elective for non regents students, but he challenged us, loved us, taught us to play paperwad volleyball using statistics and prodded us to be our best self.
I also had a Social studies teacher who let me explore social issues outside the boundaries of suburbia. Thank you Linda Willard!
College brought some awesome teachers, Joeclyn Hughes, Sr.Alberta, Dr. Stein, but the greatest of all was Sr. Adrian. She was a devout Polish nun from Pennsylania dutch country, with an accent to boot. She would admonish us to stand " side by each children , side by each" on the field trips she would arrange for us. She was a fascinating teacher who was equally fascinated by the sociology of the world. And she loved us. She really did. We were her children. Until the day she died, if you asked her about any sociolgy class she had taught, she could rattle off the year, semester and alphabetical listing of her class. And she kept track of us too.
Grad school had a few standouts. H. ( we never knew what the " H" stood for..we thought Hell On Wheels) Jayne Vogan, Dr. Stevic and probably the most thought shaping, challenger to my way of looking at the world, words, law and the human condition Dr. Wade Newhouse, professor emeritus at UB Law. He pushed me like no other teacher had or could and I am a better person today for all he taught me.
There are also teachers who show up in other forms; colleagues, friends, advisors and advisaries. I am constantly amazed at the gift of learning that comes from these sources and people such as Margaret, Mary Jo, Bridgette, Beth, Ann, Joel, Jan, Josephine, Jim, Rick, Maureen, and ...well this tribute would never end if I listed everyone I have eer known, so we will just end with a sigh, a smile and...just a little prick
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