Thank a Teacher Today

Have you thought about your favorite teachers this week? I have. It's Teacher Appreciation Week. Here are some of the best teachers I've had:

Mrs. Lockhart - 1st Grade. I don't remember a whole lot about first grade. I do remember I loved school. I had a nice teacher and I think she was a first year teacher. I remember how much I enjoyed reading the Paddington Bear book series and how she brought marmalade to school. This was something Paddington enjoyed.

Mrs. Sandra Brown - 5th Grade. I remember fifth grade being a tough year. I think we were divided by ability and I was in the 2nd to the lowest in Math and Language Arts. I hated that, but I think I worked my way up. Anyway, Mrs. Brown was my homeroom teacher. She had a reward called the "M+M Game." She would randomly walk around the room and reward students with M+M's. If you got two of the same color, you got two more. I do this in my classroom today. I also remember that Mrs. Brown was personable. She loved being a teacher.

Mrs. Donna Isaacs - 9th - 11th Grade Math. At Munich American High School, I had Mrs. Isaacs. She made learning algebra and geometry fun and interesting. She always challenged us to do better. I feel like I'm strong in Math now because of her. When we moved to Nurnberg for my senior year, I had a math teacher who was no where near as good as her. I think Mrs. Isaccs has impacted me the most.

Mrs. Elsie Pietch - 10th Grade Biology. I didn't like her for a long time. She was very tough and I could barely muster a B in her class. She was also very pro-evolution. Now I'm going to confess something on my blog: I typed her an anymous note once about how much everyone disliked her and that she should retire. Well, she somehow found out it was me (using her special teacher sense). She confronted me in private about it and I was very embarrassed. Before I could even apologize, she said "Paul, I can see you really didn't mean this. I'm going to throw this away and pretend you never sent it." She never held it against me. From that day on, I had a strong respect for her. Oh, that for last term I managed to get an A- in Biology.

Dr. John Vincent - OC Education Teacher. I had him for several educational courses at OC. One thing I heard over and over was to be interesting and challenging as a teacher. We even had to juggle for one of our finals. I never did learn how, but that reminded me to be different as a teacher.

Mr. Avon Malone - OC Bible. I had him for two or three Bible courses at OC. What an outstanding Bible teacher and gospel preacher. When I saw him at the FHU lectureships a couple of years after I graduated, he remembered my name. That made an impression to me. I was saddened to hear that he passed away a couple of years ago due to a illness.

Dr. John Fletcher - OC Music. During my freshman year at OC, Fletch asked to see me after Symphonic Band rehearsal. I had no idea why and being the pessimistic person I am, I assumed it was for something bad. He complimented me on my hard work and said he was glad I was here. He's reminded me that it's important to uplift your students.

In case you are wondering why I put the picture at the top of the limo, it was because I got to ride in one today. My school PTA whisked away from school for a nice, quiet, hour long lunch. We also got a Wal-Mart gift card. My room mother also brought a teacher gift basket for me. I felt special today.