Sunday, February 6, 2011
The One
We have all had that one educator who inspired us to be/do more. Please reflect on this person and share(by name) with us the teacher who influenced you the most as a student. Remember, this influence may be positive or negative. As you share and read, compare(privately) yourself to those great educators who have indirectly made us who we are........Rolling Hills Elementary!!!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My kindergarten teacher, Ms. Jackson was my inspiration. She was one of few Black teachers in Terrell. She was nurturing and beautiful...inside and out. I LOVED Ms. Jackson. She was strong and sweet at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThe teacher that has had the most profound impact on me as far as education was not one of my teachers; but my daughter's kindergarten teacher--Ms. Wells. While I was doing my student teaching I was in awe of Ms. Wells. She made learning in her class an awesome experience. Ms. Wells had a song for every lesson taught in her class that the students loved and learned from and she let the students make hats for everyday of the week to teach them a particular concept. She had so many great activities in her class. Parents would actually get angry with the principal when their children could not get into her kindergarten class because it was full. I am so grateful for the time I spent with Ms. Wells during my student teaching, I learned so much!!!! To this day, I am still striving to be the type of teacher Ms. Wells was (who is now retired).
ReplyDeleteMy first grade teacher. She dared me to dream. She was warm and very friendly. She made be believe I could kick my heels three times and float on air. There was not anything I set my mind to I could not achieve. I still believe that.
ReplyDeleteMy fifth grade teacher Mrs.Davis!! I LOVED Mrs. Davis she was my science teacher while I was attending Lancaster Intermediate (now Beltline Elem). Mrs.Davis was the mother away from home, she was very sweet and knew everything about her students. She always stayed on top of us whether we were in her homeroom or not! I can remember like it was yesterday, the first time I dissected a frog,during Mrs.Davis class. MRS.DAVIS ROCKS!!
ReplyDeleteI had many teachers who made a wonderful impact in my life but the one who stood out the most was Mrs. Anderson, my second grade teacher. She was a beautiful and elegant African-American woman who always had on bright, beautiful colors and wore this huge gold belt that looked like a wrestling championship belt. She never settled for the mediocre or mundance from her students and always challenged us to excel above the status quo. She encouraged us to blossom in our individuality while excelling at the mainstream expectations. I recall talking about how "fresh" something was in class using one of the slang words of the time period and she reprimanded me politely that fresh is a term used to describe vegetables or fruits and their condition. I have never forgotten it to this day! I encourage students to have the same respect for the english language...as well as many other principals that I gained in her classroom.
ReplyDelete"Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6
The teacher that has had the most impact on me has always been my Art teachers. But I will have to say Ms. Jones in particular. She was the 1st African American Art teacher I had and she open my eyes to all the potential I had. I took her class for 3yrs straight while at Townview. Ms. Jones was the BEST!
ReplyDeleteOne teacher who had a profound impact on my learning was one of the physicians at Parkland, "Dr. A.", who was one of the Chief Medical Directors over the Medical floors and ICU. His presence in the room was felt as soon as he entered a clinical area, and many interns and residents were quite intimidated when he evaluated them in front of their peers at the bedside. This was such a sharp contrast to the image he conveyed when standing in front of the classroom teaching whomever he happended to be teaching at the time. He was an integral part of the American Heart Association, and spent many hours teaching classes for ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) held every couple of months. I must have heard his lectures 100's of times, as I also assisted with this courses presentations. The incredible thing is that I never grew tired of hearing him speak. His messages were always clear, relavant, and to the point. He always shared meaningful clinical anecdotes that proved applicable to patient care and ethical issues within the hospital. With all of his extensive knowledge base, he never wasted a minute on trying to toot his own horn. His information was always directed and important, and profoundly interesting and applicable. I remember him discussing the Karen Quinlin case, and how she had lost brain function because she had not received adequate oxygenation during her resusciation efforts, and then lived for years afterwards with minimal brain function. These kind of stories really drove home the point. His ability to zero in on the most important information made learning unforgetable!
ReplyDeleteMr. Terrell my high school music teacher, Mrs. Smith my senior english teacher and my Mother, Mrs. Johnson who was an educator for 41 years before retiring from DISD!
ReplyDeleteMr. Terrell pushed me beyond my comfort zone and made me believe in myself. I thought he was just being mean at times, but he would tell me I can do and be better than any other choir student. He chose me to sing the solo at our baccalaureate and he showed me that hard work and believing in yourself pays off!
Mrs. Smith made words come to life. She made me realize that I am smart and that I could become what ever I decided to become in life and she told me I would be great at it!
My mother always told me "You will not just be a pretty face, but you will be able to back that face up with knowledge!" My mom always took the time to make me understand when my school teachers did not or would not. She has ALWAYS been my cheerleader and I am blessed to still have her still as my teacher!!!!
The teacher that made an impact on my life would be my 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Amos. One day she told us to draw a fish for a homework assignment and I had my father to draw my fish because he was an artist. The next day she asked for the homework, I was proud to turn in my drawing. Mrs. Amos said Angela this is a beautiful fish will you draw another one for me. Because my fish didn't look like the one I drew she popped me in my hand three times. She too was a mean and loving teacher not only being a relative of mine. I am also reminded of when my baby was in kindergarten and she had an assignment to draw an elephant. I became so upset because it looked nothing like an elephant and neither did my fish look like a fish. What I learned from these two teachers is student act and learn to do things differently no one thinks nor acts the same. Everybody is different!
ReplyDeleteWhen I think about the influences that led me to this wonderful world of education, I think of several individuals but particularly Ms. Elsie Jackson. She was a phenomenal 8th grade reading teacher from right here in Lancaster. She taught 8th grade the way all teachers should teach but specifically elementary teachers. Everything revolved about student produced work, projects, and hands-on assignments. Ms. Jackson was charasmatic, dynamic, and demanded nothing less from her students. She required us to present every product and we were proud to because we would never have let her down. In Ms. Jackson's class, everybody worked hard; I don't recollect anyone ever getting into trouble in her class (I guess there was no time with us being so engaged). I looked Ms. Jackson up when I became a teacher actually caught her right before she retired from Lancaster. We talked for an eternity and she made me feel like I was her most memorable student but I bet she made everyone feel like that?!?!?
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have had several teachers that have impacted my life in one way or another, but two really stick out more than the others. One was my 4th grade teacher, Mrs Calloway. She taught my older siblings and so she was no stranger to me. No matter how great I was, Mrs. Calloway always required that I do better. She would stop by and tell my mother if I made anything less than a 90. If I made a 98, she required a 100. She expected nothing but the best and did not care about excuses (period). The other teacher would be my 7th grade math teacher, Mrs. Green. She was stern and left no room for error. She required that everyone give 100% at all times. She always made you work to you full potential and did not allow you to give any less. She would work as long as she could on one problem just to make sure that everyone knew how to work that problem. Both of these teachers and others inspired me to want to teach others as well as they did.
ReplyDeleteMy 5th grade teacher Mrs. G influenced me the most while I was in school. She was the first teacher that showed concern about me and cared about what I did when I was not in her class. She was very positive and when I did not make the elementary basketball team (boys only)she gave me the encouragement to try again and never give up. She was the same way in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteMy 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Devine, was my inspiration. She was also the Gifted Coordinator at my elementary school. She NEVER gave up on me. It took me a couple of times before I passed the gifted examination. She assisted me whenever possible and continuously motivated me daily. When my results came in, she through me a party and gave me the most amazing card. Mrs. Devine NEVER gave up on me and I will forever be grateful to her. This in turn, is why I will NEVER give up on another child!!!!
ReplyDeleteWow....this is a tough question b/c growing up in a small country town, I can remember ALL of my teachers in elementary. I attended the same elementary school from K-6th grade, and each one of them I have a memory about. I can say more POSITIVE than negative. I guess I will have to say my 3rd grade teacher Mrs. Rhodes. She allowed us to create the class bulletin boards every month. She really sparked the creative side in me and my love for drawing which I still use today. Also, after the pledge(I think Mondays) we would have a devotion lesson, like a Sunday school lesson. This to me said she wanted to start our week off on a positive note. We were truly a family within the
ReplyDeleteclassroom. We all knew we were safe and loved!
I loved Dr. Gilbert! He was my speech (public speaking) teacher at Business and Management Center. He required us to speak correct English at all times. If he heard you say something incorrectly, he'd say "demerit". You'd have to write what you said incorrectly one time and then write it correctly 100 times. It took awhile before I felt reasonably comfortable speaking what I call "ghetto fabulous language". To this day, I am always very conscience of my English and encourage my students to use correct grammar. I still cringe at times when I hear incorrect grammar spoken or when I hear myself say something that I would get a "demerit" for in Dr. Gilbert's class.
ReplyDeleteThe "One" for me my high school math and my high school history teacher, both of these men were instrumental in helping me become the person that I am today. Rev. Scott, my history teacher told me that I could become anything that I put my mind to, Mr. Johnson told me that I should go to college to become an inspiration to family members who did not go beyond high school. Now I stand ready to assist any student because of these two men
ReplyDeleteMy high school choir teacher, Nancy Parker, and my AP English teacher, Carolyn Dowd.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Parker continued on our high school's tradition of first place finishes in state. I don't remember her ever having to correct our group in the 4 years I was in there, because when you walked into rehearsal, she was so intense that you knew you were there to work.
Mrs. Dowd made us spend huge portions of class time writing, revising and editing. She never sugar-coated anything she said but somehow, you always knew her critiques were in your best interest. I think everyone in our class scored high on our AP tests that year because of her.
These teachers weren't the 'fun' teachers, or the ones who did a bunch of crazy stuff, but, over a decade later, they are the ones who stick because of how they instilled self-discipline and refused to accept anything less than my best.
I have many teachers I can think of that had a great influence on me and what I do today as a teacher.
ReplyDeleteBut the one I think that their influence is affecting me the most in what I do right now was a high school english teacher I had. Nobody wanted to have him because he was soo "hard" but his education brought everything to life. He would act out Shakespeare and we would do plays and speeches and he brought all of that literature to life that kids in high school do not like. I am learning that now that is my job. My position opens me up to a whole world of that kind of instruction. I can use technology that the kids love to make something they do not care about fun to learn.
What is killing me is I wanted to look him up and I can not remember his name for the life of me. I guess it is time to get the high school year book. But I know we called him Mr. C because his last name was awkard.
My third grade teacher, Mrs. Conway, was the most influential teacher. Everything I wanted to know, I learned in third grade because she embraced all students with a "yes you can" attitude. She was a phenomenal woman of high moral character and demanded academic excellence,respect for each other and good social skills from every student.
ReplyDeleteI have been blessed to have so many teachers to pull from. I am very bad at remembering names, but I remeber them.
ReplyDeleteMy 4th grade teacher-I wanted to be like her, lady-like and respected.
My 5th grade teacher-Taught me my love for music
My 6th grade science teacher-made me love science
My 7th grade math teacher-Used math in ways I didn't know I could use math for.
My9-12th grade Band teacher-Made us work hard.
One thing they had in common....they love their job and it showed.
For me, it would have to be Coach King. Both he and his coaching staff became defacto parents to many of my us. Most of our summers were spent playing basketball at their houses and hanging around the field house. I know that their grocery bills had to be outrageous because we could eat. I just remember them going above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of. In addition to the x's & o's, he indirectly modeled how to be a good father and husband in the way he treated his family. To this day, many of my friends and I still keep in contact with him and that staff. We truly became a family during his tenure Bulldog Country.
ReplyDeleteMr. Holly was the man!!!He always made us feel so unique, the ways he taught with such intensity and excitement.
ReplyDeleteEducation has always been important in my life. I don't think my mother ever had a problem with MAKING me want to learn. I've always thirsted for knowledge and sought to do the best and be the best. (Teacher's Pet/Teacher Pleaser?)
ReplyDeleteThe teacher that stands out the most to me is my 11th/12th grade math teacher Mr. Pringle. He allowed me to have those ah-ha moments in class and praised me for not being afraid to share the connections that I made. It was also Mr. Pringle who encouraged me to take AP Calculus my senior year to ensure that I kept my Top Ten ranking. He let me know that people were watching my every move and that I needed to continue to strive for excellence. Wow!!
A teacher plays a very important role in a child’s scholastic and emotional growth. Great teachers are not different, but they do things differently. One of my favorite teachers is Mrs. Diane Chiack. She was my 2nd grade teacher and always kind and considerate towards me. She was a humorous person who always made me think that I was someone special. She made school fun, interesting and always helped me in sorting out any problems. She always expected the best from us in a supportive, caring environment.
ReplyDeleteMrs. Ward, my 8th grade English teacher made the biggest impact on my life because she constantly encouraged me to be as outspoken in person as I was on paper. That year she started a broadcast journalism club and encouraged me to get in front of the camera and interview others. This opened many doors for me as far as confidence and later on choosing a college major and career path.
ReplyDeleteMy fundest memory is of my 5th grade teacher Mrs. Haynes. She was my music teacher and always had me do the lead parts in Christmas plays at our school. She always said that she knew that I would be a teacher. I still see Mrs. Haynes from time to time when I go home to Texarkana. She was very pretty and dressed sharp everyday. I remember that gold belt that looked like fish scales.
ReplyDeleteThere are 2 educators who had the most influence on me as a student. Mrs. Tuft and Mrs. Judy Guilliams.
ReplyDeleteIn 1st grade I was a struggling reader. Mrs. Tuft was the reading recovery teacher and I was pulled out daily to work with her for most of the 1st grade year. She made me absolutely LOVE reading. I truly believe if it weren't for her I would not have liked school nor would I have been a good student.
Judy Guilliams was my high school 9-12 AP English teacher. She was absolutely awesome! She taught us that learning could be fun and not just book based. She is the reason I am an educator. We still keep in touch to this very day.
The teacher I think influenced me the most was Cecile Johnson. She is the general elementary music teacher I student taught with. I knew I wanted to teach music but she showed me all the different ways I could teach music and which ways worked the best. She encouraged me to get the most out of each activity and song and always make sure the students are enjoying making music. But she also pushed me to do everything better: my transitions, communication, lesson plans, and creativity in instruction.
ReplyDeleteIn my life there were many educators who influenced me to be the person I am today. There were a few bad apples along the way but the good definitely out weighed the bad. As a public school student and a child of a public educator I am grateful to all the people who were a part of "my village". However, the most influential educator is my mother Elizabeth. As a child she would say " I can never win a battle with a teacher. The only way I could win was by proving "them" wrong by being humble and getting a good education.Because regardless of what anyone says about me my character will speak for itself and what's in my head noone can take". To this day I still live by this.
ReplyDeleteI think that there were 2 teachers who influenced me - the first was my third grade teacher, Mrs. Roddy. She realized that I was able to read at a faster than average rate and that after reading an assignment, I would get bored and talk. She would then punish me by isolating me but I would still find ways to distract others. She then decided to send me to the 5th grade whenever I finished early. I could then read and listen to material designed for a higher grade and found it hard to then be bored. Then in the 11th grade, I had a physics teacher, Ms.Puccianno. I had had her the year before for chemistry and for some reason she did not like me. When the first 6 weeks grades came out, I had a C. I had all my tests, papers, etc., which averaged a B and wanted a reason for my C. She would not talk to me about it but told me to see the counselor. I did and she told me that for a girl, I should be happy with a C. I was never happy with a C. I graduated in the top 5% of my class,making ony A's my senior year with a schedule including 2nd year biology, 2nd year chemistry, 2nd year Russian, and advanced algebra and trig. I insisted on being one of the first females to take the military officer's exam given to seniors(male)and scored in the top 5% of the state. What did I learn from these two? One, that there is always something to be learned, mastering one skill leads to more and more, so education is never-ending. And 2, no excuses, girl, boy, whomever can all learn whatever their heart desires. But desire it you must, for we must contribute to our own learning.
ReplyDeleteMy college professors were great educators. They really supported and cared about me. If I ever had a question or needed anything they were there to help. I was not just a number in their class (usually college professors do not take the time to learn your name), but a person. They took the time to help me in anyway that they could. Sometimes, as teachers we miss the opportunity to take a few minutes and show the students that we are here for them. Although, we are strict it is because we care.
ReplyDeleteI've been blessed to have had many teachers who were instrumental in developing my respect for education. My high school English teachers were all a great part of my love for reading and learning. They inspired us to seek knowledge for ourselves or I guess the newest way of saying it is to say that they really inspired us to be "life long learners".
ReplyDelete