In my first post I wrote briefly about four of the most influential teachers in my life. I was lucky enough to have them all in high school – a time for me that was emotionally turbulent, fraught with profound insecurity and doubt about myself and who I was. While these teachers couldn’t solve all of my problems, they were instrumental in building my self-esteem in school and eventually forming the skills and identities I still have today! I’d like to share the most memorable lessons from two of those teachers’ lessons that helped me grow as a learner, lessons that are going to help me grow as a teacher, and lessons that still help me grow as a person!
Ms. H
MEET MS. H
Ms. H was easily my most influential teacher. She taught theater which was a refuge for me in school. I was able to be my most creative in this class and the closest version to my authentic self. Ms. Harrison, nonetheless, challenged me the most in this class. She had high standards for all of her students and truly believed we could meet them. She was a tall, slender woman who was serious about her craft and seriously overworked between teaching and directing. Her long hours never compromised her dedication to us in class and after school at rehearsals. I am exhausted just thinking about how many hours she probably worked on weeks that we opened shows. Probably close to 60 or 70….
While she was known as being a “stickler” and “too serious” to many students, she had a deep love for comedy and improv. On days when we all needed a good belly laugh, she would throw some of us up there (usually two of my very talented friends in particular) and gave us absurd improv scenarios. I can still see her silently laughing with tears streaming down her face when my friends improved a scene that took place in outer space! She could not handle the physical comedy of zero-gravity!
There really are no amount of words that properly describe how much Ms. H meant to me in high school.
I still keep in touch with her! – I hope to see her in August when I go back home for a visit!
THE LESSON
Ms. H taught a script writing unit every year to generate student created content for our state competitions – yes, we had state competitions for drama! Imagine 500 theater kids singing “Defying Gravity” in a cafeteria….
Yeah…terrifying, right? But, GOD, did we live for those competitions!
The first time I participated in Ms. H’s script writing unit, she said something that really jived with me. She said, to start out writing something from scratch, “Write what you know. ”
So I did. I wrote about the emotional experience I was going through at the time. I wrote my story. And at first, I thought, “This isn’t interesting. What audience is ever going to care about this?”
Ms. H cared. She cared so much that through her guidance, feedback, and faith in me, I won first place at state as a sophomore – a rare feat. The proudest moment of my life! Probably still in my top ten proudest moments. Ms. H wasn’t the only one who cared. She knew that other people would see themselves in my story from the very first draft.
Ms. H’s academic lessons: creative writing, divergent thinking, turning abstract thought into a physical piece of art, and how to take critical feedback for a piece of art that felt like a piece of my heart.
Ms. H’s lessons for a new teacher: keep high expectations, challenge students to go further, be your students’ best cheerleader, and give students opportunities to shine in the world, not just the classroom.
Ms. H’s life lesson I’ll never forget: Everyone has a story and everyone’s story matters.
Mr. F
MEET MR. F
Mr. F was probably the teacher that I had the longest in high school, besides Mrs. H. He was my freshman and junior year science teacher. Science was not my jam in high school. I was a humanities gal – if you couldn’t tell already! But dang, if Mr. F didn’t make science fun! He was (and still is!) an incredibly funny man. He’s about 5’3″ – smaller than most of his students – and a force to be reckoned with. He was a true example of how mutually respectful relationships between a teacher and his students is the best classroom management strategy. I can’t think of single time that a student disrespected Mr. F. It just wasn’t something anyone did because a sense of severe disappointment in yourself would immediately mount if you broke trust with Mr. F. He had that effect on his students because he loved us.
I once asked (inappropriately as I reflect back on it but hey I was 15), “Mr. F, why don’t you have any kids?” He gently replied, “I have kids. I have about 150 of them.” He cared deeply about us. It was obvious.
He also told THE BEST STORIES. If we behaved as a class, each Friday he would end class a little early to tell us one of his famous stories. He had a fascinating life. He spent years as a bear researcher doing solitary research out in the wilderness. He was, of course, a wildly talented storyteller or it wouldn’t have been such a treat for us. If you went to my high school and didn’t hear Mr. F’s “Mothership” story (a story about a near alien abduction), you might as well have gone to another high school.
“Jenni, Please, please feel better or the Mothership will come for you!”
THE LESSON
One of the coolest lessons, Mr. F delivered to us was in his Wildlife Biology class. We had an animal behavior unit where he would take us outside a couple days a week to bird watch. We wrote field notes on the behavior that we saw from the local birds and other animals we could spy. To this day, I still know what a European Starling and an Osprey looks like!
I loved this lesson for several reasons as a student.
- I loved that we got to get out of the classroom. Mr. F would get us out there, rain or shine. I remember keeping rain boots and jackets in his cabinets. The fresh air and the walk around the school property did all of us teenagers good.
- It gave us a chance to work independently, with partners, or in groups. As we went on our nature walks, we were free to wander within sight of Mr. F by ourselves or happily chatting with a friend or two. This relieved stress by allowing us alone time to be in nature or time to debrief about our personal lives with our friends. Some of my best memories with a friend from high school were in that class!
- We actually DID what we were talking about in class. It’s one thing to look at pictures of birds and identity them but it’s another to look through binoculars and squint and make a reasonable guess based on evidence about what kind of bird is over there in the bushes. Guess why I still know what a European Starling looks like? Because I had to determine many a time if what I was seeing was a European Starling or not. We learned because we did.
Mr. F’s academic lessons: recognizing consistent patterns of behavior, learning through experience, visual identification, citing evidence to back up a claim, making inferences, scientific research, and interconnections of ecosystems.
Mr. F’s lessons for a new teacher: the best class management technique is mutual respect between teachers and students, a pretty classroom doesn’t have anything to do with student learning, you don’t need to be a tech wizard to be an effective teacher, and get to know your students’ lives outside of just your classroom (Mr. F. always asked about my theater activities and sometimes came to see my plays!).
Mr. F’s life lesson I’ll never forget: Respect is not earned. Everyone deserves it all of the time. Also if you are being chased by a black bear, run! If you are being chased by a grizzly bear, climb a tree!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Who were your favorite teachers and why? What lessons did they teach you that you still reflect on today?
Amateur Hour 