Thursday, December 29, 2011

Shhhh!

For the teachers in the room...


     Have you ever felt like you have been set up for trouble or failure?  Well I'm going to share with you the story of my arch-nemesis of second grade.  Of all my years of education, this one teacher still leaves a bad memory in my mind.  I can honestly say I probably tested her more than I should have, lol.
     We moved to Stuttgart right before I started 2nd grade.  I had been in private school until now and this would be my first taste of public school. We had small class sizes back then so the desks were arranged in a semi-circle design.  Well my new best friend, Tina Lee, was on the other side of the circle. I don't remember her ever getting  in trouble for talking. I, on the other hand, could be found touching my toes during recess, out in the hall, or writing ''I will not talk in class'' a hundred times as punishment. Being an only child, I got my 'writing' done without my parents knowing there was any trouble at school. I don't think my teacher liked me and the feeling was mutual. This same year at Halloween, somebody had the bright idea for the teachers to dress up at recess as witches and such and come out on the playground. It scared me so much that I ran home and they had to call my dad to bring me back to school.  My memory of this year and the teacher may be a little biased but she did get fired the next year for her harsh punishment. I bet it was her paddle with holes in it. I had heard about one of the third grade teachers that you needed to pray that you didn't get chosen to be in her room, Ms. Bowen.  Well guess where I ended up?  It turned out that she was great and is one of my favorite teachers to this day. I still have the bald eagle made out of colored rice that I made in her class.
     To be a good teacher takes a special gift and attitude.  I hope you had a special teacher in your life that you have fond memories of.  You can thank a teacher because you could read this blog.