In this writing prompt, I began to reflect back to my teachers growing up and I was remembering a few that stand out in my mind. I had two teachers who were husband and wife who taught at my middle school and the husband was always laid back, had a monotone voice, a comb-over, and always rested his hands on his stomach. It’s sad to say that is all I remember of him and I remember more of my friends and I cutting up in his class and doing our makeup because his class was first thing in the morning. His wife was a little more vocal and strict and would always say “Shame on ya” when she would get upset. I still to this day always think of them because they lived in the neighborhood next to mine and every time I pass their house I wonder what happened to them.
I had another Math teacher from high school Mr. Wayne who definitely influenced me in not giving up on Math. He was patient, took his time to explain each process, and also had a great sense of humor. I looked forward to his class despite the fact that I absolutely hated math and if I could have avoided that subject altogether I would have done it. One thing that helped me was that the school had this phone tutoring service and you could call after school and receive help on any subject. Mr. Wayne would be one of the teachers on this tutoring service and my friend and I would always be calling in hopes we could talk to Mr. Wayne.
In middle school, I had to take a Homemaking class and the teacher was a throwback from the 1950s from her point of view to her wardrobe. She was very proper and was very intent in everything she taught from the semester in cooking to sewing. Students would make fun of her, but I was fascinated by her and respected her because she was different from the other teachers and very confident in how she taught.
When I was younger, people would ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. One of the things was a teacher. There are old photos of me outside with my stuffed animals gathered around while I was reading and writing on a chalkboard. In my mind, that was all I needed to do to be a teacher. I think was makes a teacher great is having strong communication skills, confidence, intention, patience, honesty, and showing that you care if your students are learning.
The World of Dlo 