We don't need no education...
Jun. 24th, 2005 03:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
charliesmumWell my gym class poll got the most responses ever! I feel so loved. Plus it proves my point that like attracts like, and proves another thing as well - even people we consider polar opposites at one point can wind up being friends if we just find common ground.
Anyway, while I'm on the subject - a few people brought up their worst teachers, and I thought it might be fun to find out who everyone's worst teacher was, and why, and also who their best teacher was.
You can break it down by schools, too, if you want - best and worst grade school, etc. Maybe we can even vote for the worst and best overall.
So - I'll start.
My worst teacher hands down was my 4th grade teacher. Her name was Mrs Wood and she was horrible. She hated kids, and, probably because I was shy and quiet, she picked on me more than once. I don't remember much about that year, the woman quite literally drove me to a nervous breakdown at 9 years old. I do remember her teaching methods consisted of writing copious amounts of things on the black boards and having us copy it, and she would reward the kids who got A's and B's by letting them have candy, and telling them they could eat it in front of the rest of us because 'they deserve it'. I also remember her yelling at me in front of the class because I'd lost a work book.
Anyway, she was horrible, and though I probably ought to find some compassion for her, I don't think she deserves it. She was married to a doctor, I don't think she 'needed' to work, so why she did I'll never know.
Fortunately I had more good teachers in the end, I think. My best grade school teacher was probably my third grade teacher, Mrs Adler. She was awesome. She did fun things - we had all this food when we did this bit on colonial times, including homemade bread. We had to take these aptitude tests not long after, and there was food left over, so in between tests we were allowed to eat. It was hard the next year taking those tests and not having yummy homemade bread to break up the monotony. She was also married to a doctor, but it was obvious she taught because she liked to. She encouraged my creative writing, and just made learning fun.
The runner up, and probably tie, for best grade school teacher would be my first grade teacher, Ms Jerome. She was the first Ms I'd ever met, it was 1972, and the whole feminist thing was in its infancy, and she was probably a bit of a hippie as well as we were not allowed to even use the word 'gun' in her classroom.
I'm skipping Junior High School. Not a happy time for me.
High School - worst teacher was probably my sophomore math teacher because, even though it was the 'tart' class, she would rush through the lessons and had no patience for those of us who didn't get it the first time.
Best teacher is hard to narrow down, I had quite a few. For sake of clarity, I'm going to pick Mrs Larson who taught Latin. She looked like your stereotypical school marm, but she was really kind and, while strict, had a great sense of humor. She had one of my friends, Jay, in one of her English classes and would pass notes for us. I'd leave it with her, and she'd give it to him later in the day. She was married to one of the English teachers, who was the kindest guy ever. Rumor was he was an ex-priest, and she was an ex-nun, and I always wanted to know the story behind their meeting.
Worst college professor was Dr Laville. He was my English Literature professor, and disappointed me most bitterly. I'd looked forward to college literature since watching Educating Rita and he had no interest in the subject, and tended to test us on stupid facts alone, and never got into the discussion of literature, which is what I really wanted to do. I wound up reading ahead in the book and memorizing poems instead of listening to him.
I mean come on - we did Coolridge and you know what he asked on the test? Who interrupted him when he was writing Kubla Khan?* I mean, despite the fact it is really more myth than anything - it was a footnote! What about the poem itself?
You've heard me speak of the best teacher - Professor Rich, who is retiring this year. Another good teacher, Dr Rechnitz, was my first English professor and he was everything I'd hoped for in an English Professor - he challenged us, made us think. And he was funny. Our class was in Wilson Hall and his desk stood in front of an ornate fireplace. One day while lecturing, he hopped up on his desk and sat on the mantelpiece without a break in his lecture. He was cool.
*It was the man from Porlock. I know that now. Missed the question on the test, because come on...it was a teeny-tiny footnote. Sheesh.
So I babbled about my old teachers. what about yours?
Anyway, while I'm on the subject - a few people brought up their worst teachers, and I thought it might be fun to find out who everyone's worst teacher was, and why, and also who their best teacher was.
You can break it down by schools, too, if you want - best and worst grade school, etc. Maybe we can even vote for the worst and best overall.
So - I'll start.
My worst teacher hands down was my 4th grade teacher. Her name was Mrs Wood and she was horrible. She hated kids, and, probably because I was shy and quiet, she picked on me more than once. I don't remember much about that year, the woman quite literally drove me to a nervous breakdown at 9 years old. I do remember her teaching methods consisted of writing copious amounts of things on the black boards and having us copy it, and she would reward the kids who got A's and B's by letting them have candy, and telling them they could eat it in front of the rest of us because 'they deserve it'. I also remember her yelling at me in front of the class because I'd lost a work book.
Anyway, she was horrible, and though I probably ought to find some compassion for her, I don't think she deserves it. She was married to a doctor, I don't think she 'needed' to work, so why she did I'll never know.
Fortunately I had more good teachers in the end, I think. My best grade school teacher was probably my third grade teacher, Mrs Adler. She was awesome. She did fun things - we had all this food when we did this bit on colonial times, including homemade bread. We had to take these aptitude tests not long after, and there was food left over, so in between tests we were allowed to eat. It was hard the next year taking those tests and not having yummy homemade bread to break up the monotony. She was also married to a doctor, but it was obvious she taught because she liked to. She encouraged my creative writing, and just made learning fun.
The runner up, and probably tie, for best grade school teacher would be my first grade teacher, Ms Jerome. She was the first Ms I'd ever met, it was 1972, and the whole feminist thing was in its infancy, and she was probably a bit of a hippie as well as we were not allowed to even use the word 'gun' in her classroom.
I'm skipping Junior High School. Not a happy time for me.
High School - worst teacher was probably my sophomore math teacher because, even though it was the 'tart' class, she would rush through the lessons and had no patience for those of us who didn't get it the first time.
Best teacher is hard to narrow down, I had quite a few. For sake of clarity, I'm going to pick Mrs Larson who taught Latin. She looked like your stereotypical school marm, but she was really kind and, while strict, had a great sense of humor. She had one of my friends, Jay, in one of her English classes and would pass notes for us. I'd leave it with her, and she'd give it to him later in the day. She was married to one of the English teachers, who was the kindest guy ever. Rumor was he was an ex-priest, and she was an ex-nun, and I always wanted to know the story behind their meeting.
Worst college professor was Dr Laville. He was my English Literature professor, and disappointed me most bitterly. I'd looked forward to college literature since watching Educating Rita and he had no interest in the subject, and tended to test us on stupid facts alone, and never got into the discussion of literature, which is what I really wanted to do. I wound up reading ahead in the book and memorizing poems instead of listening to him.
I mean come on - we did Coolridge and you know what he asked on the test? Who interrupted him when he was writing Kubla Khan?* I mean, despite the fact it is really more myth than anything - it was a footnote! What about the poem itself?
You've heard me speak of the best teacher - Professor Rich, who is retiring this year. Another good teacher, Dr Rechnitz, was my first English professor and he was everything I'd hoped for in an English Professor - he challenged us, made us think. And he was funny. Our class was in Wilson Hall and his desk stood in front of an ornate fireplace. One day while lecturing, he hopped up on his desk and sat on the mantelpiece without a break in his lecture. He was cool.
*It was the man from Porlock. I know that now. Missed the question on the test, because come on...it was a teeny-tiny footnote. Sheesh.
So I babbled about my old teachers. what about yours?
