Teachers Inspiration

By: Kimberly Salter

        Did you ever have a teacher that made a difference in your life? Many give the profession a bum rap, lumping all teachers into this whirlpool of chaos, and everyone suffers because of the few that blew it. I have heard throughout the years that the profession has dwindled in its quality of teachers. I have even heard it said: "Do they even care?" I would like to share just a few of my experiences in an effort to help you remember one that touched your life in a positive way.

        We all know the challenges of keeping children's attention and not exhausting the time limits of it. So many times class discipline takes away from the fine qualities of the teacher. They have to hold our attention and teach us in a way that we will remember for future use. Here is my experience with two incredible teachers that left a lasting mark on me.

        When I was in Kindergarten I will never forget the efforts that my teacher went to in order to reach us. We had just moved to a small town in Northern Arizona. After being enrolled in school, my Mother noticed a difference in me. She could see that my "imagination" was growing and I had become a great storyteller. I came home the very first day from school excited and bubbling over about my Green Teacher! I would tell her these yarns about how she was all green and, the whole classroom was green and, all we talked about was things that were green! And by the way, did she know, the earth was green? Well, my mom though I was off my nut and that a wild imagination was growing. So she went along with it "all week"! Then the following Monday I came home telling her that my teacher was all "Blue" and everything in the room was blue and by the way, did she know, that the sky was blue? Each week I would come home with this incredible story of color and always a statement like; "by the way did you know…" This went on for quite a while. My mom thought it was an overactive imagination and was concerned that my storytelling would continue. It appeared to her that, my stories were bordering on lying. This was never allowed. But I defended the color of my teacher with everything in me! My mom would ask me; "How can your teacher be all these colors?" My response; "I don't know, but mommy, she's beautiful"! Seeing the sincerity in my eyes she would let it go. She thought maybe moving had caused me to feel the need to make things up. She just didn't know what was going on with her "brand new Kindergartener"! She called the school and requested to see my teacher. They explained that my mom was always welcome but, if she could wait, the class had something special to share at "Open House" which was just a few days away. 

        Open House went something like this: As my mom walks up to the school with the other parents, she sees this tall, beautiful platinum blond woman walking to my class. She was in a lovely white suit with matching shoes, handbag and even gloves. How smart she looked! As the rest of the parents entered the classroom they were amazed! It was filled with all the colors of the rainbow! Suns made of construction paper, landscapes thoroughly finger painted, and rainbows cut out of construction paper were hanging from the ceiling. Sitting at the front of the class was the beautiful blond woman she saw walking in earlier. She was the teacher. The parents at this time are filled with questions but, she takes control and asked them to sit at their child's table, their places were marked with cards. Then she begins: "First I want to thank you for coming tonight. The class has worked very hard on their first presentation of "Color". By the way, did you know (does this sound familiar), that your children have mastered the primary colors?" In amazement the parents look at each other. My Mom pipes up and says; "I think that is wonderful but I have become quite concerned about my daughter. She seems to be taking her colors to the extreme. Every week she has come home and insisted, "you were", Green, Blue, Yellow, and Red etc. I think maybe she doesn't understand the colors correctly, perhaps her imagination has taken over." With a big grin on her face my teacher addresses the overactive imagination issue by saying this: "I stand before you today a natural blond, this is the real color of my hair. In order to grab and hold the attention of the children, each week I would change the color of my hair (she used food coloring) and clothing according to the color they were learning." A big sigh of relief from all the parents lightened the room as if floodlights were lit. She continued: "I love teaching! My goal in life is to stimulate my students with things that they can truly identify with. As we discovered each color in the rainbow, we would look for things in nature, around their homes and school that reflected the color wheel. By changing the color of my shoes, purse, clothing and even my hair, because after all, they look at me all day long, the students see the color in action every day. This stimulated them to want to find things that match me. They seem to love it! Variety in this sense is helping them learn that "Color" will always be interesting and I hope that "learning" for them will be the same." The parents were amazed at how she embraced teaching with such passion. They knew as they walked home, that she would leave a lasting impression on their children. (I can attest to that, I only wish I could remember her name. For this I am sorry.) As my mom tucked me into bed, she said she really liked my teacher and thought she was very beautiful too. This made me so happy! Now I can sleep and dream in color!

        Moving on to High School, there was a Biology teacher that everyone would talk about. I could never understand why people would go on about him. Who likes Biology anyway? Well if you had him, you learned to love it. Now it was my turn to take Biology, a required subject. The teacher was Mr. Downy, the infamous "Mad Scientist" that every one would laugh and smile about. I loved him from the first time I met him. I remember it as if it was yesterday! He was short in stature, a bit bowlegged, had dark wild hair and wore black horn-rimmed glasses. He reminded me of the late Dudley Moore. He had the same type of humor too. I loved him from the first time I met him. I remember it as if it was yesterday. He was walking down the hall, one arm was loaded down with books the other was carrying the coveted cup of coffee. I had to follow him because we were going to the same class. Everyone who passed him would get a big smile on their face and say greetings to him. The kids just loved him! As we walked into class I noticed his hair was full of chalk and his dark blue polo shirt had smeared white stuff all over it. The class starts to fill in. Just looking at him made you smile. For some reason I took a station towards the front of the class. I don't know why, maybe thinking I would get the full effect of the "Downey" man or something. He started off class with a big smile. Saying something like, "So, do you like my hair?" Every one laughed. He continued; "Your job this semester is to learn to love Biology! My job is to show you how." That was it! He went and sat down and we began our journey into the psyche of the incredible "Mr. Limpet"? No! Just Mr. Downey who would have given Einstein and Freud a run for their money. We jumped into the course with passion and enthusiasm. He wasn't real strict, but he expected us to be working on something. And his pop quizzes were quite the challenge. We had to pay attention in class. But it was easy. He always seemed to make learning fun! 

        One day, when he came into class we noticed that his dark blue polo shirt was clean and fresh looking (this was a first). He said: "Ok! Everyone else has had this experience, and now it's your turn! The mighty digestive system! Ah Ha!" We opened our books and a lively discussion started. He went into this 90 mile an hour tangent on the chalkboard drawing the digestive system in great detail. In his exuberance, he kept breaking his chalk. The class seemed to be following his flow of thought. Then someone asked a totally redundant question, one that he already answered 3 or 4 times. This is when our teacher showed us why everyone loved him. He gave out a hair curling "screech" and, with chalk filled hands, pulled at his hair! He now looked like he stuck his finger in a light socket frying a few brain cells in the process. After this display, he definitely had everyone's rapt attention. Once the question was addressed again and answers provided, he proceeded to help us understand the digestive system in very unique way. On his dark blue polo shirt, he took his chalk and drew the system as if we had an x-ray of the inside of him. Amazing! Only Mr. Downey would do something like this. Now I understood the messy shirt thing! He used illustrations and diagrams as well as films and any tool he could get his hands on to help us understand how our bodies worked. In grade school they educate you on these things, but not to this level. High School on the other hand, reveals things in a more graphic way. You never really think about how your heart beats and what it looks like. Or when you swallow, all the things that take place as a result of it. What about when you eat? You are concentrating on the wonderful flavors and textures of the food, totally oblivious to the miraculous workings of your digestive system. We never pay to much attention to what was going on inside. We were viewing a film on the stomach and digestive system, the general response of the class was; "Ewwwwww! Yuck!" This made Mr. Downey very happy, he loved for us to get to see the nitty-gritty of things. Our teacher after all, was very happy to share his knowledge of how incredible the human body is! When dissecting things, he would come over and get us all involved. It was a hard task! Most of us didn't want to touch the poor dead creature let alone take it apart. And the smell, OH! The formaldehyde was so strong it could stop a clock! But, as we learned the difference between insects, frogs, and even a sand shark, he helped us to understand "our own" internal workings. For his passion for teaching, I thank him. Years later, I took an anatomy class. For this I had to memorize many things, so I drew on the passion for learning he instilled in me all those years ago. 

        Every teacher leaves his or her mark. Hopefully you have had a few good ones in school. I have a lot of memories of ones that impacted my life tremendously. I feel Teaching is one of the noblest professions. What a fine thing it is, when they take the minds of our children and turn them into thinkers with a passion for learning. These two incredible people have left an indelible mark in my life, which I love sharing with others. 

        If you are a teacher, thank you for your efforts in reaching the children in your charge. If you are a student, embrace the learning for it may some day save your life. If you are a parent, show your support to the ones that hold your treasures in their hands. Work with them to make the most of your child's school years.