The Teachers I Had
Since I'm still on a nostalgia kick, I got to thinking about the people that all of us have known, the teachers we had in school.
Some with extreme fondness, others with certain derision. I tried doing a google search on some of them, I was astonished to learn that my first grade teacher, Mrs. Nakatani, had written several books on the tragic loss of all three of her sons. I even 'met' one of them one day when she brought him into class when he was an infant.
Here's the teachers I had....
Kindergarten - Mrs. Whitmeyer - If there was ever a quintessential image of what a traditional 'teacher' should look like, she was it. Beehive hairdo, horn-rimmed glasses, and sweaters. She was somewhat strict, but deep down she was kind. She made me stay after school one time for singing Beatles tunes, which seemed to particularly annoy her. I was terrified, because I had never been in trouble before, I even started whimpering. After a gentle lecture, she got some tissues and dried my tears, then actually walked me home! But I didn't live far, just across the street really.
First Grade - Mrs. Nakatani - As stated above, she raised three boys who all died tragically. Back then, I remember her as very bright and energetic, very funny...but also had her moments when she would snap and the entire class would fall silent.
Second Grade - Miss Maddox - She got married over Christmas vacation and then she became Mrs. Ross...Looking back, I realize that she must have been young, in her 20's. She was very charming and sweet, with a certain Jackie Kennedy manner about her.
Third Grade - Mrs. Pyle - Oh man! She was a tough one, a stern disciplinarian and quite frankly, not very well liked by the kids. She just didn't seem well suited to be a teacher, very short of temper and seemed to be more interested in seeking out and exposing every fault and weakness of the kids, instead of being kind and nurturing.
Fourth Grade - Mrs. Lumley - One of my favorites, she was a real salt-of-the-earth type of person, full of life and energy, with a charming twang, being from Amarillo, Texas. She loved music, and some of the classrooms had pianos in them, so we would have singing sessions in class that would sometimes last as long as two hours. I remember she had a wonderful singing voice and played the piano really well.
Fifth Grade - Mr. Bayer - My first male teacher, so that was a different dynamic, automatically expecting a male teacher to be more of a father-type disciplinarian. But he was a very interesting and intelligent man. A world traveller, he would show us slides of his trips to Europe, Africa, Japan, Australia, and would explain in great detail the culture and history of those places. He was genuinely interested in exposing new things about the world to us. This was also in 1968, an election year, so he had us run an election for class president, and made us go through the whole election process, with speeches, campaigns, debates, etc.
Sixth Grade - Mr. Carsrud - He was a young man, I think this was his first teaching assignment. He was a nice guy, there's nothing really notable about him, but I do remember him sweating it out about being drafted.
In the 7th and 8th grades, the format changed at Cypress School to a 'junior high' format, and kids from other elementary schools were transferred over to Cypress, and classes became hourly with different teachers in specific courses. There were more memorable teachers then too, as well as high school teachers.
I will continue in Teachers Part II.
Some with extreme fondness, others with certain derision. I tried doing a google search on some of them, I was astonished to learn that my first grade teacher, Mrs. Nakatani, had written several books on the tragic loss of all three of her sons. I even 'met' one of them one day when she brought him into class when he was an infant.
Here's the teachers I had....
Kindergarten - Mrs. Whitmeyer - If there was ever a quintessential image of what a traditional 'teacher' should look like, she was it. Beehive hairdo, horn-rimmed glasses, and sweaters. She was somewhat strict, but deep down she was kind. She made me stay after school one time for singing Beatles tunes, which seemed to particularly annoy her. I was terrified, because I had never been in trouble before, I even started whimpering. After a gentle lecture, she got some tissues and dried my tears, then actually walked me home! But I didn't live far, just across the street really.
First Grade - Mrs. Nakatani - As stated above, she raised three boys who all died tragically. Back then, I remember her as very bright and energetic, very funny...but also had her moments when she would snap and the entire class would fall silent.
Second Grade - Miss Maddox - She got married over Christmas vacation and then she became Mrs. Ross...Looking back, I realize that she must have been young, in her 20's. She was very charming and sweet, with a certain Jackie Kennedy manner about her.
Third Grade - Mrs. Pyle - Oh man! She was a tough one, a stern disciplinarian and quite frankly, not very well liked by the kids. She just didn't seem well suited to be a teacher, very short of temper and seemed to be more interested in seeking out and exposing every fault and weakness of the kids, instead of being kind and nurturing.
Fourth Grade - Mrs. Lumley - One of my favorites, she was a real salt-of-the-earth type of person, full of life and energy, with a charming twang, being from Amarillo, Texas. She loved music, and some of the classrooms had pianos in them, so we would have singing sessions in class that would sometimes last as long as two hours. I remember she had a wonderful singing voice and played the piano really well.
Fifth Grade - Mr. Bayer - My first male teacher, so that was a different dynamic, automatically expecting a male teacher to be more of a father-type disciplinarian. But he was a very interesting and intelligent man. A world traveller, he would show us slides of his trips to Europe, Africa, Japan, Australia, and would explain in great detail the culture and history of those places. He was genuinely interested in exposing new things about the world to us. This was also in 1968, an election year, so he had us run an election for class president, and made us go through the whole election process, with speeches, campaigns, debates, etc.
Sixth Grade - Mr. Carsrud - He was a young man, I think this was his first teaching assignment. He was a nice guy, there's nothing really notable about him, but I do remember him sweating it out about being drafted.
In the 7th and 8th grades, the format changed at Cypress School to a 'junior high' format, and kids from other elementary schools were transferred over to Cypress, and classes became hourly with different teachers in specific courses. There were more memorable teachers then too, as well as high school teachers.
I will continue in Teachers Part II.
posted by Olias at 7:00 PM
1 Comments:
Holy smokes!!! I've been trying all day to find little know sources of "real" people online with thoughts and ideas about ice fishing. I stumbled on to your porst about this post and although it's not exactly what I was looking for, it certainly caught my attention. I'm personally building a resource for ice fishing and hope you might stop by and check it out when you have a chance...let me know your thoughts. I'll be sure to send people this way as well. Thanks Olias...Cheers!
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