| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Aug 01 2006 : 7:38:32 PM
i'm so much enjoying your 'best friends' stories .. would be fun to hear of a favorite teacher you had in school .. one who made an important impact on your life. xo, frannie
True Friends, Frannie
CABIN CREEK FARM
KENTUCKY
|
| 7 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Aug 06 2006 : 10:50:18 PM
What wonderful stories!!
I feel like I have been blessed with many wonderful teachers. My family moved quite a bit up until I was in the 6th grade and I hated being the new kid at school. We moved to Victor Idaho when I was 9 and in the 4th grade. It was at the end of March or beginning of April so toward the end of the school year..plus..this was a town of only 250 people who really knew each other!! So...I felt very very alone. My teacher, Mrs. Woolstenhume, who lived down the road from us (we were wenting a house about 4 miles outside of town) made a special point to be nice and good to me and sort of brought me out. It helped so much to have her. She encouraged me to join 4H and was my leader too! (cooking mostly) and I even went to 4H camp that summer..my first camp experience like that! She lived on a farm and had a big family. Her daughter was our babysitter the summer after 4th grade when my mom was working as a waitress in town and my dad was gone on a grew doing work in the woods..spraying trees if I remember right. She helped me to get so ready that by the time 5th grade started I fit right in, had friends and felt like one of the gang. I will never forget her. We moved back to Calif the summer after 5th grade.
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
| abbasgurl |
Posted - Aug 06 2006 : 10:35:53 PM
My favorite teacher was Lucille Powell. She taught my first grade class. She was round & white haired and very kind. I remember her being so gentle with a boy who wet his pants in class, telling us not to tease, and helping him take care of things. I remember her playing board games with us on rainy days-making sure everyone got a turn. I remember her leading us "two by two" from school to the grocery in town and treating everyone to ice cream. This was a class of 24 six year olds and she was alone! I remember her patiently helping us into and out of our snow pants, boots & mittens on winter days. Mostly though, I remember sitting in reading circle, bent over our readers, and how she would encourage each child, regardless of his or her ability. And every day we would each read a little better, with a little more confidence.
About 16 years ago I was working in my little gift shop during a Christmas open house. Two women stepped up to the counter. The younger woman was guiding a very old, very frail woman gently by the elbow. She asked if I was Rhonda, then inquired if I knew who she was. She introduced herself-or I should say reintroduced herself...it was my beloved Mrs Powell! Well, at that point I BURST into tears! It had been THIRTY years since I'd seen her! After I recovered sufficiently, I explained to her that she had gifted me with such a precious gift...She taught me to READ! And she also instilled a love for learning & books that has been a lifelong joy! We stood there holding hands & beaming-teacher & student...not a dry eye in the place! What a true blessing to be able to see her again & tell her how much she had meant to me! Thanks for reinding me of that Frannie!
Blessings, Rhonda
...and I will sing at the top of my lungs, and I will dance, even if I'm the only one! |
| Horseyrider |
Posted - Aug 04 2006 : 08:48:56 AM
Frannie, I just have to tell you a story about a teacher that my mom told me, many years ago.
When mom was a child, she lived in the rural south. Her father was a sharecropper, and worked part time whenever he could in the cotton mills. It was the Great Depression, and there was a big difference between the lives of the town kids and the country kids.
Many kids bought their lunch, but quite a few carried theirs. The town kids had store bought sliced white bread. Being a country kid, my mom's family could not afford such luxuries. So each day, her lunch consisted of a homemade biscuit with butter and sugar inside. That was all.
Mom was embarrassed and saddened by the differences, and no doubt she got some teasing. She hated that biscuit! She knew where the teacher kept the dimes for lunch, and one day she stole one.
There she was strutting and being all full of herself because she had a dime for lunch. Her teacher knew full well that there was absolutely no way that her family could afford such an extravagance, and her drawer was light by ten cents. So as the school day closed, she dismissed the class but said that mom had to stay after.
The teacher asked her if she had taken the dime. At first mom said no, but soon dissolved into tears of shame. Rather than get angry, her kindly teacher pulled mom onto her lap, petted her and cuddled her, and told her that if she ever needed a dime, to come to her and ask for one, and she would give it to her.
Mom said she never stole anything again, nor did she ever ask for a dime.
I think about how that teacher had a choice on how to handle that situation, and how her gentle kindness made such a difference for a little girl who felt so alone and poor. I don't know the teacher's name, and I'm sure she's long dead.
But isn't it nice that her actions live on?
|
| santa_gertrudis_gal |
Posted - Aug 03 2006 : 06:49:34 AM
Frannie,
Of course I still stay in touch with Dr. Casey as most of his students do who were freshman with me. We were a very close knit group. Dr. Casey retired from California State Fresno where he was Chair and Professor of the Department of Agriculture Economics. His family has a ranch in Madisonville, Texas. He is currently teaching at University of Louisiana Monroe.
I occasionally see Bill at the Houston Livestock Show when he is there with his students.
The others I don't know where they are. Last I heard which was about 15 years ago, Mr. Blandy had become a principal.
Kim
Heaven is a day at the ranch with my Santa Gertrudis! |
| Mumof3 |
Posted - Aug 02 2006 : 8:36:54 PM
I would probably have to start with the worst teacher I had because she rather set my opinion of myself for a very long time. Her name was Mrs. Murphy and she was my second grade teacher. We had just moved from a small town, where I had walked to a 5 room school through my neighbor's back yard, to a little larger town with a larger school. This teacher hated me. I didn't do anything right. Ever. The memory that stands out the most is when she tipped my desk out in front of the class and told everyone that I was the messiest student she had. Nice.
From then on anything I did was colored by that event. Until I went into the 5th grade and met Mrs. Frazee, my science teacher. She was a dream for this girl!! She had the patience of Job- she had to because I was so stuck in my shell by then I did not participate in very much at all. But she encouraged me and helped me and got me involved in doing things that I was good at. This woman recognized my developing talents and did all she could to bring them out in the most positive way. She was my angel of mercy for that year and I will never forget her.
Karin |
| CabinCreek-Kentucky |
Posted - Aug 02 2006 : 7:51:47 PM
kim .. sweet stories .. are you still in contact with any of your teachers?
True Friends, Frannie
CABIN CREEK FARM
KENTUCKY
|
| santa_gertrudis_gal |
Posted - Aug 02 2006 : 08:47:34 AM
Teachers, they are a treasure when they are really good. I had several that made huge impacts on my life. I will always feel indebted to them. I thought I would list five as each holds a very special place in my heart.
Grade School - my fourth grade teacher Mr. Glennon. What an incredible man. Every day after lunch he would read poetry to us for 15 minutes. My favorite was the "Legend of the Yongy Bongy Boe." He demanded respect and gave it in kind no matter what you did. His favorite disapline and most of you would just shutter, but it worked. He always carried a ruler underneath his arm. If you were talking or not paying attention he would take that ruler and smash it on the desk. Talk about the whole room jumping. I can't even imagine how many rulers he broke. Mr. Glennon was the one individual who gave me a love of history. When we studied WW2 during the year he gave us a personal insight into it. He would tell us of his tales of Flying the Hump. I really didn't realize how dangerous flying from India to China and back was until I was an adult.
High School - three very special teachers.
Mr. Blandy was my sophmore English Teacher. Everyone in the school adored him. In my high school we were allowed to what we called "run for classes" (choosing your teachers). He only taught one regular class and the rest were AP classes. I was in the group that ran first and I was 6th in line to enter the building and I headed straight for his classroom. I was second to sign up for his only regular class. English was so tough for me and he was the only English teacher I ever had that didn't directly or indirectly put me down for my struggles with English. In fact because of his encouragement I actually did better in his class then with any other English teacher in Intermediate or High School. He truly made learning fun.
Mrs. Bryant - my Geometry and Alegbra II teacher. I had a tough time with Algebra I and I was very good at math. I think it was because I had a coach for a teacher. When I entered Mrs. Bryant Geometry class she had an incrediable teaching style. I immediately went back to making A's. At one point I got stumped in class, she recognized it, and completely stopped the class. She ended up explaining it again, and then two more times since I still didn't get it. On that last explaination the light bulb came on. The next year I took Algebra II with her. Her care and concern for her students was beyond measure.
Mr. Treptoe - My FFA teacher. I was only able to take Agriculture in High School one year, and the reason why is a whole other story. He started teaching right after Christmas as our other teacher quit. Oh and did I have a crush on him. He was only four years older then me at the time. Bill as I now call him when I see him had just graduated from Sam Houston State. Because he gave to me in a way I can not describe in words, I choose to go to Sam Houston State and major in Ag. Ed. Obviously I changed that to Agriculture Economics. I think the greatest compliment I gave him was to work on my Masters. The first summer session in my Masters work, I did my normal stunt and walked into my first Masters class three minutes late. Dr. Jowell asked me if this was still my normal routine, I just smiled. When the class turned around, there was Bill....oh my gosh was I in a state of shock. I was now a fellow student with my high school FFA teacher. I'll never forget the compliment he gave me on the project we had to do for the class. I know if I was a teacher it would be such a compliment to have one of my first students go on to major in my area, and get their masters. Thank you, Bill for your inspiration!
College - one very special professor. Dr. James Casey my advisor and mentor. Wow, there aren't enough words to describe what a wonderful individual Dr. Casey is. He inspired me beyond measure. He started is academic career with us the same semester I began my college career. Only seven years older then those of us who were freshman, the Agriculture Economics students loved him to death. He guided, taught, mentored and encourged us in a way I never had another professor or teacher do. I still keep in touch with him on a regular basis to see what he is up to and to let him know how I'm doing. I can't say enough about this fantastic individual. I wouldn't have gotten my Masters had it not been for him.
For those of you on Mary Jane's Forum who are teachers, you truly can make a difference!
Kim
Heaven is a day at the ranch with my Santa Gertrudis! |
|
|
