Teacher appreciation thread

I feel fortunate to have gone to such a good high school. It was a small school and you had the sense that teachers genuinely cared about you and your success. My music teacher/history teacher was an eccentric gentleman named Mr. Katt. He sported the same crew cut he had had in the Navy and had quirky ways of talking. He had some kind of skin condition that made him itchy all the time. He would enter a classroom and say, “Okay, gang” and scratch his face and scalp. They would have had a field day if they had satirized him on SNL. However, he was a brilliant teacher.

I had a study hall in the lunch room where Mr. Katt was helping three students, one boy and two girls, to sing a song. They sounded awful. I remember feeling annoyed that I had to listen to them. The guy was way too loud and his two female backup vocalists kept going off-key. I remember thinking, “Why are you bothering, Mr. Katt? They're awful.” However, he worked with the girls on improving their pitch. There were really only a couple of sour notes that had been hitting, and he was able to get them to adjust them until they were on key. Then he worked with the guy in adjusting his volume down and bringing the girls' volume up. They went over it a bunch of times and by the time they were done, they were sounding pretty good.

He put just as much effort into helping not very talented students as he did very gifted students. No matter what level of natural ability a student had, Mr. Katt could always help them to be better. I played in rock'n'roll bands in high school, and my musical taste was completely different from Mr. Katt's, who liked big band music. However, he never judged me for my different tastes and always worked with me to help me understand music theory better.

Mr. Katt died a few years back. He'll certainly be missed. I was lucky to have had such a good teacher. He helped me to be better at music, but also to be a better person. I learned by his example working with kids to not give up on people. Today I work with foreigners to help them improve their English. I know from observing Mr. Katt that someone might be lousy at something (like music or English) but be able to get a lot better with persistence. Also, people who are less talented deserve help just as much as more talented ones, and likely need it more.

That was one of my outstanding teachers. Your turn. Post about a good teacher you've had.

Hear hear. My mother, father, and grandparents were all school teachers. I broke the chain because I hate most people and figured that wasn't a good teaching trait. It's a tough job and I'm glad there's better people out there than me that want to do it.

Is this thread in relation to all the teachers being arrested of late for relations with their students?

Sam I Am said:

Is this thread in relation to all the teachers being arrested of late for relations with their students?

Click to expand...

Always was a fantasty of mine in HS. We had two drop dead gorgeous teachers, Ms. Sun, and Ms. Krachek, I used to sweat they were flirting with me

Sam I Am said:

Is this thread in relation to all the teachers being arrested of late for relations with their students?

Click to expand...

I would say they don't qualify. I have followed some of those cases. They should not have become teachers.

Looking back, I APOLOGIZE to just about every teacher I've ever had w/a few exceptions. I didn't respect education (mainly authority) until I was almost 20, etc. The crap they put up with...

Two teachers of mine that truly made a difference in my life.

The first was my high school football offensive lineman coach, "Coach" Paul Burrow. Not only was he my coach but was also eventually my algebra teacher. He was hard on us on the field and in the classroom but always fair, honest and helpful. He not only helped me bevome a better man during some of the most difficult times of my life but helped me academically.

I attended military school from my freshman through senior years and Coach Burrow would always be there to lend a helping hand. He would show up to his office early and stay late to personally tutor me. My senior year I took college algebra and I had a different teacher who was smart but not so good at teaching. Coach Burrow would even come to my room at 7 oclock at night, during study hall, still sweating and smelling if fresh cut grass just to help me out even though I wasn't his student anymore.

Coach Burrow not only had a full time job teaching and coaching but was a part time pizza delivery driver. He had a wife and 2? young children then, yet he still some how found time to help me out. Looking back, he was "old" to me at the time but was probably younger than I am now, in his mid to early 30's. How he was able to do so much and still be a great dad, husband, mentor, teacher, coach and friend I'll never know and will always envy.

I looked up to him then and I look up to him now. Get this...he's also one of the biggest Cowboys fans I know! His groomsmens suits at his wedding were even based on the Cowboys team colors. A few years after I graduated, I bought tickets for myself, Coach Burrow, his brother and my wife to attend a Cowboys/Giants game at the old Cowboys stadium together. It was a time I'll never forget and just a very very small way of saying thanks for everything he's done. To this day we still have the occasional text and once or twice a year chat. I doubt he'll ever know what a difference he's made in my life. Cheers Coach Burrow!

My second outstanding teacher/professor was my Russian history professor in college during my sophomore through senior years. I'd always loved history but had no interest or knowledge in Russian history. Since I was majoring in history and didn't like my other options I signed up for a Russian history class that she taught. After the first day I was hooked!

Professor Lou Heenan was a grandmotherly type in her early to mid 70's. She worked for the Defense Intelligence Agency? during the Cold War and was a wealth of knowledge. At her age, she was as still as smart as they come and made every class interesting, probably the ONLY classes I never missed/skipped in college. Her current TA (teacher assistant) was about to graduate so she offered me the position. I was honored, thrilled and gladly accepted.

Over the course of my time as a TA with her I was able to get to know her more personally. I got to hear fascinating stories from her time with the government, her expert reasoning of why things are the way they are now in certain parts of the world, etc. But most importantly, I got to know her as more than just a professor. I got to know her as a mother, wife, grandmother and friend. I met her family on more than one occasion and had been to her house.

I'll never forget how much she loved Pimento cheese sandwiches from a local shop. She would give me money to go buy us a couple on certain days of the week. Until I met her, I had never even heard of a Pimento cheese sandwich but figured I'd give it a shot. The first time I git them, I brought them back to the office and was ready to dig in. Make a long story longer...I wanted to vomit after the first bite but didn't have the heart to tell her since she was raving about how good it was. For the rest of my time as a TA, I forced down those damn sandwiches a couple times a week even though I HATED them.

Anyways...

Unfortunately, her husband had a stroke and she needed to move into an assisted living center. I helped her and her family pack up the belongings from the house she had lived in for decades and move into the center.

I stayed in touch with her for a short time after I graduated (her husband passed away, her health began to decline and she stopped teaching) and even visited her a couple times. Unfortunately we lost touch rather quickly and to this day it remains one of my biggest regrets in life. Luckily I know she was left in great care and had a very loving family. I'm quite sure she passed away just a few years later and I'll always have a hard time not being able to tell her goodbye and thanks for making such a difference in my life.

Thanks for everything Dr Heenan!