Tell me about your favorite teacher.
What role did your favorite teacher have in your own decision to become a teacher? In choosing the grade level or subject matter you teach?
What made your favorite teacher special? Why was he/she your favorite?
In what ways are you like or do you try to be like your favorite teacher?
photo credit: George Eastman House
My favorite teacher taught me kindergarten. Her name was Nan Salisbury.
She had the ability to teach us things using very revolutionary methods for the last 60's.
We learned about sounds from Soundie the Elf. We learned math from counting m and m's.
We learned the rules of life by riding on the wooden train outside on the playground. You have to push if you want to ride. No one gets a free ride.
Lastly, she taught us diversity by having us pick cotton one day. Throughout that year, we learned lessons I still use today.
How wonderful! Reminds me of the Fulghum All I Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.
My Favorite Teacher was Mr. Pierce.He was quiet and soft spoken,and many people thought he was strange,so noone payed attention to him.I didn't either,until when I got a B instead of an A in the class,and boy was I disappointed with myself.When spoke to him about it,instead of scolding me for not working like I should have,he told me that he wanted me to be happy with my grade at the end of the year.I listened to him after that,and we got to know eachother pretty well.I found out he was actually a pretty cool guy.I noticed he never yelled at anyone,but instead taught by example and stopped disruption in a polite and suttle manner.Simply put,he was and is very wise.To this day I still remember and appreciate him and how he influenced my life.Thank you,Mr. Pierce.
My favorite teacher was Mary Flack, seventh grade English. Everyone was scared of her. She looked like a more-feminine version of Miss Ballbricker from Porky's. She wore hard contact lenses and would periodically pop one out, put it it her mouth to wet it, and put back in without missing a beat in whatever she was saying. She kept her own class set of old Warriner's grammar books for us to use, taught us how to diagram compound-complex sentences, and read novels to us. She introduced me to Narnia and pointed out that if I was going to read a book a day, there were better things out there than Sweet Valley High.
Hope you had a chance to tell her. I love Warriner's. My own English teacher in high school told me she did the same thing with contacts, but she never did it in front of us.
Mr. Niceswanger–how would like to teach high school speech and drama with a name like that? He was also my contest speech coach. He asked me to try out for a play as a sophomore and never let me quit after that–not that I wanted to. His famous phrase was, "Can't never did anything." anytime anyone tried to say they couldn't do something. And that is what I try to teach my students–to always try new things and to do their best as they try.
My favorite teacher, and one who influenced the choices I made in becoming an English teacher is Mrs. Carr.
Mrs. Carr taught 7th and 8th grade English at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic School in Miami (1972 or so). She didn't seem to toe the administrative party line. She encouraged her students to read and write and think.
Mrs. Carr smoked and was divorced, so she had the aura of rebelliousness. I loved her.
Senora Groves was my favorite teacher. Although I chose to teach English and not Spanish, she still influenced me to be the teacher that I am. She taught me Spanish I and then retired, but she was the only teacher who took an interest in me personally, the only one who seemed to care about ME. She encouraged me to go to college even when that seemed to be an impossible dream financially. I remember being invited to her house for homemade ice cream and cookies. I wrote to her from time to time from college (in Spanish, of course!), but I haven't been in touch for a long time. I try very hard to let my students know that I really do care about them personally and to let them know that I really do believe in them, just as Senora Groves believed in me.
Second graders are usually hopeful and open; I was not. My first grade teacher had been cruel and thankfully fired at the end of that school year. I did not trust teachers when I entered Mrs. A's classroom. She had the most transformational impact on me that year because she made me believe I could learn anything, even math. She showed me honesty, humility, humor, and how I could make a difference in the lives of children. She is my favorite teacher and the reason I teach today. Thank you for asking us about our favorite teacher.
Oh, I still remember Mrs. Geuting's deep voice and very large front teeth. My 6th grade English teacher read aloud to us often and it was wonderful. I had started to consider myself a bookworm, so it added a real dimension to appreciate someone who could read aloud. I remember she asked questions, instead of telling us facts, and that also stuck with me. She also laughed, very loud and long, which made me realize that a teacher might also be a person. She did not really have anything to do with me becoming a teacher–but she tipped the scales in favor of book love. Once I got to college, it was a quick journey to "hey, I could talk about books all day long." Though she never touched or hugged me, I felt as if we shared something mystical and sacred. Even a 6th grader realizes when to go with it.
My favorite teacher was Mrs. Carolyn Jones. She was my 2nd grade teacher. I peed my pants during her class (in the class's private bathroom). I came out, told her what happened, and she told me not to worry. She said that I could sit next to her desk until the end of the day (15 more minutes).
Just then, another girl came out of the bathroom screaming, "MRS. JONES!!! Someone PEED all over the floor."
I was frantic. But Mrs. Jones simply said, "Now, Molly, no one peed. There is a leak in the ceiling, and I've already called maintenance about it."
I'd never felt so relieved. She made me want to be a teacher so that I could save kids from their oh-my-gosh-what-do-I-do? moments too.
What a sweet teacher! No wonder you remember her so fondly. I would, too.
I was lucky enough that I had several teachers I enjoyed throughout my education. However, two stick out. The first was Mr. Soronsen (Soro) who was my high school band teacher. He took an interest in me and really pushed me to succeed at the flute (and to practice) and was one of the reasons I majored in music in college. He was funny, well-liked, an excellent musician and grew the band program at my school to over 200 students by the time I graduated (my grad class was 150). Sadly, Soro died unexpectedly of a heart attack at age 32 just before my senior year of college. Our small town was devastated. The other is my high school English teacher, Ricki Wulf. Ricki is a family friend (which is partly why she makes the list) but she seems to know everything about English and teaching English. I had her for 7th grade and 10th grade English. She taught me so much and is one reason why I wanted to be a teacher. I just hope that some day I will know everything like she does.
I had a Mary Flack that was my favorite teacher and I have been searching for her for over 20 years now. She taught me in Memphis TN… is this the same Mary Flack? Do you know where she is now? Is she still alive? This HAS to be here… the contact lens thing is a ringer. she taught me at Ross Road elementary then moved on to Kirby High – where she'd call my parents if I was ever wandering the hallways, cutting class. Need to find this woman and thank her so much for giving a damned. She changed my life.