Last Tuesday was Bring a Parent To School Day at Manteo High School. I attended in the morning and Steve in the afternoon.
The morning’s line up included Advanced Placement English which made me exceedingly happy since as you probably know by now, I’m a big time word gal. It was fascinating to listen to the teacher talk about all manner of literary devices like anthropomorphism, metonymy, and portmanteau as she prepared the students for their upcoming AP exams. I was in heaven!
Unfortunately for me, the morning also included math class. Me in a math class? Not a good thing. I was sure that any moment they were going to discover that I was a fraud and throw me out of the classroom.
I huddled in my chair and stared at the teacher in amazement as she spoke Math-ese with fluency and ease. How does a person ever get to the point where they understand all that stuff?
I’ll never know.
Here is Sarah with two classmates, solving impossible looking problems on the board. I was in awe.
Fortunately, my overloaded brain got a little break when we went to the computer lab for a 30-minute study hall. Sarah did some home work and I happily perused a text-book on graphic design.
I hate to be a wimp here but by the time I had attended school for 4 1/2 hours, I was wiped out. I definitely had a new appreciation for the whole learning process, and especially the teachers who are so committed to their work and to their students.
After I got home, I emailed all the teachers whose classes I had attended to thank them for teaching and to point out things from their class that I had especially appreciated.
One teacher wrote back and among other things simply said, “I love what I do.”
It is her love of what she does that makes book knowledge turn into life knowledge that will transform young lives.
So. If you’re a teacher? Thank you.
What about you? Were you a person who loved school? Or are you someone who couldn’t wait to get out? Is there a particular teacher you remember? Why?
I was just reading about bring-your-parent-day on Manteo’s website earlier this week – I am looking for a teaching job again this summer and am focusing my search on the coast. I had not heard of a school doing this before, but I love the idea! I can’t imagine fitting all 32 of my freshman English students’ parents into the room with the 32 kids, but it would be so nice for the parents to see what their child’s day is like. People tell me all the time that I must be crazy to teach high school, and I tell them it’s the least boring job in the world on a daily basis, and (at least one of) the most rewarding frequently enough that I’ve never considered anything else.
Lauren,
I love your perspective about your job; it’s wonderful!
Actually (unfortunately) a lot of the parents do not come. The most I saw in any one class was four; usually there were just one or two.
I absolutely hate math and I feel physically uncomfortable when I have to try to do it because it’s so frustrating. I feel like my brain just isn’t “wired” to understand it. One of our good friends is a professor of mathematics and I asked him recently if he thinks that that is truly the case for stereotypical females like me, or if he thinks math education just wasn’t focused adequately on girls. I also mentioned that doing math is almost literally painful for me. He wrote back a thoughtful reply to my questions, and in it mentioned that a recent study found that when people who are anxious about math try to DO math, the pain centers in their brain light up just as if they were feeling real physical pain. Kinda funny, huh? 🙂
(Here’s an article about said study, should any of your fellow math-despising readers be curious: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/11/painful-math/)
Ellen,
How interesting is that? I’m in the same category as you as far as being stressed out about having to do math so I found the info especially interesting.
Who knows? Maybe one day we’ll have Life Change and become math lovers. Wouldn’t that be fun?
I didn’t love or hate school, although given the chance again I’d definitely apply myself more and enjoy the whole school environment more – you don’t realise how easy school days are until you have to grow up and hold down a job, a house and all that goes with it.
My favourite subject was/is English and the teacher I remember most is my year 4 teacher, Mr Ingle, who was also the school’s music teacher. He was a little eccentric and, amongst other things, collected plastic Tesco bags in a cupboard in the back of the room. We were in a mobile classroom as the school was having major renovation works at the time (old Victorian building with a lot of leaks) and i remember him getting in a major rage one day because a boy in the class who was well known as the school bully and general thug (sounds harsh but he was), wee’d on purpose in his chair because Mr Ingle was holding a 5 minute quiet time and wouldn’t let him do something (can’t remember what), and stamped his foot through the floor of the classroom. He was quite stern and rarely smiled except when making music, although he had a soft spot for me and my friend i think as he always gave us well done stamps on our work. He used to lead the class in singing and told us to sing through our foreheads instead of our mouths….He had a piano in the room and when we were having reading time used to play a musical accompaniment – he was definitely skilled in that department. Sadly, I heard that he had to retire early due to depression and stress issues, and I wouldn’t know if he is still alive today; I hope so, he was a real character.
Rebecca,
I think it sounds delightful to have school in an old Victorian building–leaks and all!
Your teacher does sound like a real character; it’s the eccentric people that make our world so interesting, isn’t it?
And congrats for getting “well done” stickers on your work! 🙂 I loved reading your story.
I loved school. My favorite subject in high school was Latin! I love to read. 🙂
Kristi,
Sarah loved Latin too, the couple years she took it. And it always nice to meet another reader!
Oh my! I loved school! My mom and MIL are both a first grade teachers who are very, very, passionate about their job. When I was young, I used to go to my mom’s school to “work” with her (yes, the principal allowed it 😉 ). I was involved at lot as a student, from elementary school (being the president of my class every other year, because we couldn’t be 2 yrs in a row 😉 ) to high school where I was organizing activities, playing the sax in the stage band, was helping students in remedial work at lunch time. Same in college/university. My favorite subjects were French, English, biology, chemistry and philosophy. I hated math with great passion, as well as physics. I used to go over my friend’s english homework while she was taking notes for me in physics class… hehehe! I also spent a lot of time out of school because I was sick, which was a torture for me. Many times I went knowing I would just sleep on my desk, but my teachers knew about my illness and they let me sleep. I just wanted to be at school no matter what.
I got along very well with pretty much every teacher I had. I consider some of them friends and we eat together when I go back home, even though they are my parents’ age. Yep, I keep good memories of my school years 🙂
Renee,
Wow–you truly have some tales to tale about happy school memories. I love that you got to go to work with your mom and “help” her. Times have sure changed, haven’t they? I’m sorry to hear that illness kept you away from a place you loved so much but it’s great to hear that you still keep up with your old teachers. I know that must mean the world to them and to you1
I loved different pieces of school at different points of life. I’m still taking the occasional college course because I like learning so much, but I’d be a terrible teacher, as patience is not one of my virtues. I was always a fan of language, and English was routinely the subject I most enjoyed. However, I’ve found that I can love any subject if the teacher is good — I’ve had language classes that I detested due to the poor quality of instruction. On the other hand, I loved geology (a science, of all things!) in college because the professor did such an excellent job, and I took a policy course last year that was incredible for the same reason.
Kristina, you are absolutely correct. The right teacher can make the worst of subjects fascinating; that is the mark of a great teacher. Glad to hear you love English too!
I loved going to school-hated it when I was sick and had to miss a day. Did not love it enough to teach though. Wise enough to know that me and that many kids for that long of period just do not mix! Truly have always thought that teachers are a true gift and have always been thankful for them and what they do. Not just saying this because my daughter is finishing up her last month of student teaching and will graduate in May with her teaching certificate-have thought this for long before she did this. I am very proud to be a parent of a teacher though and have told her many times how proud I am of her and that it truely is a gift from God to be a teacher.
Nicole,
Bravo to your daughter for entering the ranks of teachers! They need all the support and high fives and kudos they can get; I can’t begin to express how much I admire and appreciate them.
You must have had some good teachers growing up since you enjoyed school so much!
I’m not a teacher although both my brother and sister-in-law are musica teachers. One of my favorite teachers was my second grade teacher. She also was my dad’s cousin. She just recently passed away, having turned 103 last October.
Phyllis,
I think music teachers must need a very large dose of patience since not everyone they teach really wants to do music. But I think it would be very rewarding to have someone in class who didn’t think they liked music and help it to catch on fire for them. And 103! That’s a long, good life!
I loved school so much that I now teach middle school. I, too love what I do and can’t imagine doing anything else. I’m glad you enjoyed your day in academia.
Lisa,
THANK YOU for teaching. Thank you for making a difference.
As a retired teacher, I am sure the teachers you thanked were most appreciative of your words. They don’t hear that often enough. Looks like Sarah is getting a great education!
Ditto! And while I don’t miss the paperwork evenings and weekends, I miss the interaction with students. Now I am content working part-time at university level tutoring students for their Praxis tests (needed for license).
Jan,
Tutoring university-level students? Wow–you must be one smart lady. (And one great teacher!)
Liz,
That’s what I figure–most teachers probably only hear from parents if there’s a complaint. Everyone likes to hear a compliment every now and then, especially those who put their hearts into their jobs, like teachers do.
Will we also hear from Steve on how his half day at school went?
I wish they had that available to parents in the 70’s….lololol….
Love you guys… Fran in Texas
Fran,
I doubt he will write anything but he did say that he had fun in Physical Science because they had to look at diagrams and figure out how to replicate them using pulleys and string. In Sarah’s words, “Dad was like a kid in a candy shop.” Sarah and Steve’s team (along with a few more) were the only ones to accomplish the task!