Teachers

Last night I attended my school district's Teacher of the Year dinner with a group of friends from school. A really good friend had been named my school's teacher of the year and we were celebrating with her. She is an awesome teacher who gives so much to her students. And she makes it all look like fun. Each school in our district selects their candidate and then a district teacher is chosen to represent us at the county level. It is always such a fun night but it is really much more than that. It is an opportunity to remember the good things about teaching and working at schools.

Well, it made me start to think about some of the teachers who affected my life. I went to Lottie Grunsky Elementary School. I learned the normal reading, writing, and 'rithmatic. But the teachers I remember the most are the ones who made me feel good about myself.

In first grade my teacher was Mrs. Strangmen. She had platinum blond hair and always wore bright red lipstick and nail polish. She also always wore high heels. But it wasn't her fashion sense that influenced me. She was one of those teachers who made you believe that she really liked you. I can't remember her ever raising her voice. She listened to every story and looked interested while she was doing it. I try to channel Mrs. Strangmen when I have first graders in the library. They always have a story to tell and they just want you to listen because it is so important to them at the time.

Another teacher I remember fondly was Mrs. Dubois. She taught third grade. I was never really great at math but I was a voracious reader and I loved Social Studies. Mrs. Dubois helped me "get through" math. She also was really great for my self esteem.

My very favorite teacher in elementary school was Mrs. Hawthorne. I was in her 5th grade class. Mrs. Hawthorne loved music and theater. These were back in the days when every teacher had an autoharp in their classroom and music was a part of the daily curriculum. Mrs. Hawthorne would play the soundtracks to Broadway musicals as we worked. Then during music time she would teach us the songs. Her favorite must have been Oklahoma because she played that all the time. I can still remember all the words to Surrey With The Fringe On Top and Oh, What A Beautiful Morning. But hands down, my favorite part of fifth grade was our production of Macbeth. We worked on it for months. We made costumes (picture 5th grade boys wearing tights!), learned lines, constructed scenery. It was a great experience. My job was director and I loved it. I was very shy when it came to standing in front of people so a behind the scenes responsibility was perfect for me. But the day before our performance the girl who was playing Lady Macbeth broke out with chicken pox. Mrs. Hawthorne didn't panic. She just turned to me and said, "Laura, you know most of the lines. You will be Lady Macbeth." So there I was the next day in one of my mom's old formals and my tennis shoes spouting, "Out damn spot, out I say" in front of our whole school. This was a turning point for me. I learned that I could be out front and survive. From that point I went on to participate in speech and debate contests and give many talks and presentations with confidence. It changed who I was and what I did with my life. All because a teacher said I could.

So to all my teachers and all my friends who are teachers, thanks for what you do. You are the best!