Give Thanks Day 16: Teachers

Teachers, from kindergarten to graduate professors, have the ability to make or break a student.  We've all heard the rags to riches type stories where an empowered teacher reaches out to that one troubled kid and completely turns his or her life around.  Now, I don't have just one teacher that completely turned my life around but I have had a few teachers in my school career so far who had an impact on my life.  Today I'm thankful for those teachers.

1. My first grade teacher, Ms. H, was a vibrant ball of energy.  She was so animated in our lessons.  I learned to count to ten and memorized the months in Spanish.  I also learned the sign language alphabet from her.  Another thing I loved about Ms. H was her kindness.  I was one of those kids, the kind who cried at pretty much anything.  A girl stole my crayon once.  I cried.  A boy knocked my book off my desk.  I cried.  The last necklace in the prize bin that I had been eyeing for a whole week was tangled when I finally got enough green slips to earn it.  I cried.  Point made.  Ms. H was really patient through it all.  She was even patient when I mixed up the lost and found with her extra supply of notebooks.  In my defense, they had been there for a long time (okay a day) and no one seemed to be claiming them.  Why let perfectly good notebooks walk away like that?  Apparently that's what Ms. H thought when she discovered them.  She was totally cool about it though.  That had the potential to be super damaging.  Sigh.  Thank you Ms. H for being so kind and patient and loving.  
2. When I was in third grade, I had a teacher Mrs. R who was probably in her late fifties to early sixties.  I remember Mrs. R mostly because of the way she supported me when I came back to school after my mom got really sick over spring break.  It was a difficult few months, waiting for her to get out of the hospital and then my Nana, her mother, came to stay with us for a while.  Mrs. R was really comforting.  I remember her giving me a hug for seemingly no apparent reason.  She was also very understanding when I was continually bullied by this one kid and my mom asked for him to be switched out of my class.  She made sure we weren't in the same recess rotation anymore and that he didn't send me nasty notes via his little cronies.  Thank you Mrs. R for the support, I appreciate it more than you may know.  
3. I switched schools three times in elementary school.  By time I reached the fourth grade, I was tired of transitioning to a new place so often.  Mrs. M was always really calm, she rarely lost her temper (I honestly can't remember a time where she did, I just say rarely for practical purposes).  Mrs. M was also really petite, which has nothing to do with her teaching it just stood out to me because I towered over her.  She seemed so pretty and perfect and I wished I could be tiny and dainty like her.  I especially remember how she taught me to spell out "nowhere" and to remember how to spell "together."  The book Journey to Nowhere by Mary Jane Auch was instrumental in this process.  Mrs. M was also really big on structured reading time, where we would have to read on our own for a certain period of time everyday.  I loved it.  So thank you, Mrs. M, for your grace and your help.  
4. Mrs. P is my favorite teacher from my middle school years perhaps because of one day's events.  September 11, 2001 is not an easy day to forget.  It's also not easy to forget the teacher who first told my class what had happened.  On 9/11, I was the first kid Mrs. P let go to the counselor's office to call my parents.  Mrs. P was my bandage teacher; not because of 9/11 though but because I had her after I had Mr. L.  He once made me cry.  No matter how downtrodden, sad, or frustrated I looked or felt went I got to her class, Mrs. P always knew how to cheer me up.  Thank you Mrs. P for your empathy.  
5. Last but certainly not least is Mr. and Mrs. S.  In my small high school, it was not uncommon to have the same teacher different years for different subjects.  I had Mr. and Mrs. S for various English (Mrs. S) and History/International Studies classes (Mr. S).  Mr. and Mrs. S were also actively involved (and for a super long time ran) the small but mighty theatre group.  I spent a lot of time with the Ss, from class time, to extracurriculars, to school trips.  Since I graduated, we've still remained in contact.  I love visiting with them.  Thank you Mr. and Mrs. S for just being you and for teaching me how to write a proper essay.  Love you guys!

Well that wraps it up!  

5 days left until Thanksgiving!

Cheers,

RF