Merry Death

School Teachers

Someone on one of the boards I frequent asked everyone if they had a teacher that influenced their lives. It got me thinking about my experiences. Although there was ever one teacher that brought the best out in me and was my mentor - a la "to Sir with Love" -, there were several incidents that I remember well that obviously left a mark on who I am:

*Mrs. Hayes, 4th grade teacher, was an old, grey large woman. I don't remember her smiling much. One day, she came in and wrote on the board. Mrs. Hayes is sad today. When everyone was seated and the bell rang, she proceeded to tell us that her car was stolen that morning. She looked out her window to see her car pulling away. I am not sure why that sticks with me, but it does. About 10 yrs ago I saw her at a store I worked at. I stopped, talked to her for a moment and recounted this memory. She couldn't believe someone remembered it. She still lives in the same condo complex as she did then.

*Mrs. DeCair, 10th grade English, was a hard lady. I remember her as being serious and not welcoming. She was the first teacher I had who read Shakespeare to us aloud, allowing me for the first time to really get the words as phrases. I finally understood what all the weird words meant. She would say "Its not meant to be read, its meant to be heard". She was right.
One day, Mrs. DeCair came into class with something specific to tell us. It was her own life lesson. She had a huge gap between her two front teeth. I remember noticing it as a character trait, as one would make a mental note of a scar or mole, nothing more. She tells us that she had a dental procedure to fix this, she had done it a week ago. No one noticed. Her lesson was that this was something that always bothered her, held her back, caused her not to smile as much. It had always affected who she was. When she finally, in anguish, decided to fix it, no one noticed. It didn't bother anyone but her. This is a lesson I think of to this day.

*Mrs Robertson, 11th grade English was just a bitchen woman. She dyed her hair blonde with these very prominent roots. It wasn't even supposed to look real. She wore red lipstick and often wore jeans, which was against the rules for teachers. She has a red, VW Rabbit named "bun bun". It was a convertible. She embodied fun. She cussed all through class, using the gentler of words like damn and hell, I think I heard shit only once or twice. (the way to make a room full of high schoolers take notice? say shit) I don't remember much about her class or what she taught. I do remember her messing with students when they pretended to read the book, asking questions that were obviously not pertinent had you read the material. I learned not to make things up right at that exact moment. I would have died had that been me. I am still looking for this teacher so I can tell her what an impact she made. She very much taught to be is to be unapologetically and unabashedly who I am.

posted by Metalmeredith @ 10:37 PM