January 22, 2006

• What person or cause has made the biggest impact on your life.

  Sponsored by Featured Grown Ups

  Surprisingly when I began to think about this topic… it all came back to the same thing. Teaching and being taught. I have had some truly amazing experience in my life. I have done some travel, had a variety of jobs, some interesting, some menial and some just to get by. When I look back though, and talk to others about things that have truly made changes in my life it always comes back to those two things. Teaching and being taught.

  In high school I was not the type of student you wanted. Although I was a straight A student, I was disinterested in class, unresponsive and hung out in the parking lot between classes and before and after school. My sophomore year I was assigned Mr. Elmer for English. (The prior year I had spent in a remedial reading class — even though I read at a college level. I had been kicked out of Freshman English for standing up in class and telling the teacher she was stupid). Mr. Elmer was a young preppy (in an era where preppy was cool). He was cute and funny. We all loved Mr. Elmer. Mr. Elmer challenged us all. We did work that most sophomores probably never heard of.. like learning the opening of the Canterbury Tales in Olde English, and using rock lyrics to decode symbolism. He used to steal my cigarettes (yes I know, I told you I wasn’t the kind of student you wanted) and put them on top of the chalkboard with a huge arrow and the words “Annette’s Cigarettes” drawn on the board. He keep telling me to quit, it was bad for me. He called me the “parking lot Queen”. He wasn’t trying to embarrass me, but to demonstrate that I was capable of more. He once called me up after class and asked why I do that. “Why do I do what” I replied. “Why do you do just enough that I have to give you an A and no more. I can see that you have more.”  My reply was…. “Can I get a better grade than an A?” — to which he sadly replied no. My answer? “So why bother”

  After my sophomore year, I spent a few months in a rehab. (told you, not the kind of student you want). When I went back to school my plan was to graduate a year early. I attended summer school and planned out my courses. I signed up for Junior English with.. you guessed it, Mr. Elmer. He was my biggest cheerleader that year. He pulled me aside many times and told me that he knew it was hard for me but he was so proud of the changes I was making in my life. That year I gave him more than A material… every time. He also encouraged my friend and I to give up smoking and offered to take us to dinner if we gave it up for 30 days. We did and he and his wife took us out for a steak dinner. Of course, we lit up as soon as we left after all we were 16, but I’ll never forget his determination to help us be better than we were. He always saw the potential, even when we were blind.

  I did graduate early. Got married young and started my life as an Air Force wife. I eventually came to love teaching as much as Mr. Elmer did. I also found that I was continually fond of my “bad boy” students. I continually go out of my way to help them reach their full potential. I never neglect the good students and I’m always happy to have them in my class, but I know that there are sometimes lots of reasons for bad performance, and who knows what diamond is hiding there. Having been an excellent student, and a troubled one… I can see both sides. Who knows when I will truly touch a student and change their lives forever.

  • 9:32 pm
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