Best/Worst Teachers

[Mammagoose]

The best was my kindergarten teacher. I was an advanced student and I can clearly remember her handing me the paper everyone else was doing and quietly telling me "I know this is way too easy for you but I have to have you do it so finish it quickly and I have something better for you after." I was the only one who could read so once a week she would sit me on her teachers stool and have me read to the class. She made me feel so loved and special and really increased my love of learning. She was always ready with a boom for me to read quietly after I finished my work and created that habit in me.
Then I went to first grade. My teacher was just plain mean to me. She would mock me in front of the whole class. I became incredibly shy and just didn't want to be there. She would encourage the other kids to be mean to me and would always put me in a group with the class bullies. She put me in the lowest reading group because I had speech problems and she said she couldn't understand me so I must not be able to read. My mom made her retest me with the principal and my speech therapist present and I ended up being sent to a 6th grade class for reading. That reading class was my favorite part of the day because I got away from that teacher. She would punish me for the kid next to me talking.
My mom later asked me why I never told her. Its because I was taught adults were always right and I thought I'd get in trouble. Whenever my mom helped in class the teacher was fine but otherwise...
I had 2 other bad ones. My 6th grade teacher always kept me in from pe with him. I liked him at the time but he was later arrested for molesting his female students. Thankfully he never touched me.
The other was my 7th grade pe teacher. She was known for staring at girls in the locker room as they changed and putting those she wanted to watch the closest to her office. She was later arrested for molestation as well.

[Anonymous 2]

Worst: High school math teacher who was very proudly Persian (his word, not mine). On the first day of class he made it clear that females were a waste of his time, and moved all of us to the back of the classroom where he spent the rest of the year ignoring us. The kicker: He was also the JV girls soccer coach.

Best: High school science teacher. She saw me as a person and cared about me more than just a student. If it wasn't for her genuine concern about me as a person, I would have committed suicide in high school. She also teriyaki'd chicken wings for us to dissect and eat in class once. And, she had a bunch of gerbils, mice, and an African Pygmy Hedgehog that I loved.

[Pjmm]

I used to skip class because God help me that's all she did. I can stay home and read a book. I also had a hs teacher that was convinced rock had subliminal messages about the devil. He was a Christian and used to discuss this rot in history class. Now I'd say something but back then I was too timid. I did have a very good English literature teacher though.

[SeekingPeace]

I had an English teacher in high school. To put this as politically correct as I can, he was a very LARGE bald headed man. He taught us every grammar rule and every exception to each of those rules. He would often say to us, "You may hate me now; but when you get to college, you are going to be thankful that you had me."

While we would compose papers in his class, he used to roam around the room and just glance over our shoulders to see what we were up to. More times than not, when he'd lean over my shoulder, he would have BIG beads of SWEAT accumulating on his forehead. I can not begin to convey to you the horror and anxiety I used to feel about the prospect of one of those sweat balls landing on my paper.

One afternoon, as he stood over me for what I feared might be too long a time, my eyes fixated on the ball of sweat that was just aching to fall from his forehead. So as to not show what I was thinking, I forced my eyes to look away. Kept my eyes on my paper. FOCUSED ON MY PAPER. And sure enough! SPLAT! It landed right on my essay!

He dropped more than a few sweat balls on my papers during my high school years. But I'll tell ya what. I loved that man. After high school, I went back to visit him often. And for 25 years, I kept in touch with him. Before he died, I was sure to tell him that he was right 25 years earlier and that I was really glad that I had him as a teacher. He turned out to be the BEST teacher I ever had...sweat balls aside.

And just to add the "feel good" part of this story...At his funeral, I spoke. I shared with his family how he affected my life and how I knew of the many other students whose lives I know he impacted.

[wildflowers25]

Probably the worst was in elementary school. He was our P.E. teacher and had a terrible temper problem. Once he decided a boy wasn't doing what he was supposed to, I never even saw him doing anything wrong. He yanked him out of line by his arm and spanked the hell out of him with hand. We were terrified. The other not so great ones made class miserable, were just unhappy in their jobs and didn't even try to hide it nor get other jobs since they were there year after year. The good ones were doing what they loved and knew how to get our attention and keep it. I liked going to their classes.

[SeekingPeace]

Your high school science teacher sounds like a good person. I'll bet she was favored by many students. Have you ever told her of the impact she's had on your life?

PS Loved the chicken wing dissection story! What a great teacher!

Worst: High school math teacher who was very proudly Persian (his word, not mine). On the first day of class he made it clear that females were a waste of his time, and moved all of us to the back of the classroom where he spent the rest of the year ignoring us. The kicker: He was also the JV girls soccer coach.

Best: High school science teacher. She saw me as a person and cared about me more than just a student. If it wasn't for her genuine concern about me as a person, I would have committed suicide in high school. She also teriyaki'd chicken wings for us to dissect and eat in class once. And, she had a bunch of gerbils, mice, and an African Pygmy Hedgehog that I loved.

[SeekingPeace]

OMG! That is so great! Good story!

7th grade English teacher was the worst. She regularly picked on students with glasses and girls with long hair, both of which I had. She made fun of the books I liked to read, how I dressed and would harshly grade my assignments. She would take off points on my work that she didn't take off for other kids who made the same mistakes. She got in trouble for calling a student the N word and calling another fat and lazy.

Best was another English teacher but in 8th grade. Had the patience of a freaking Saint. She's the one who got me into reading Harry Potter, and without HP I would not have met DH. She moved to Arizona but she'll always stand out as my favorite teacher.

Then there was my 9th grade Government teacher. He was great but odd. He'd eat cold hot dogs and Spaghettios right out of the can in class lol. I will always remember him eating his cold Spaghettios while teaching us.

Another teacher, I don't remember what he taught, but he would give us open book tests, and on the tests he would write what chapter/section/paragraph the answer to the question was on lol.

[SeekingPeace]

Wow! What a difference in teachers from kindergarten to first grade! Stories like your first grade experience make me mad. Teachers have such an ability to make or break the spirit of a child. And a child's earliest experiences with school can set the tone for the rest of their school years.

I'm glad for you that you had that great kindergarten teacher. I hope that experience helped you through all the years that followed!

Thanks for sharing your story!

The best was my kindergarten teacher. I was an advanced student and I can clearly remember her handing me the paper everyone else was doing and quietly telling me "I know this is way too easy for you but I have to have you do it so finish it quickly and I have something better for you after." I was the only one who could read so once a week she would sit me on her teachers stool and have me read to the class. She made me feel so loved and special and really increased my love of learning. She was always ready with a boom for me to read quietly after I finished my work and created that habit in me.
Then I went to first grade. My teacher was just plain mean to me. She would mock me in front of the whole class. I became incredibly shy and just didn't want to be there. She would encourage the other kids to be mean to me and would always put me in a group with the class bullies. She put me in the lowest reading group because I had speech problems and she said she couldn't understand me so I must not be able to read. My mom made her retest me with the principal and my speech therapist present and I ended up being sent to a 6th grade class for reading. That reading class was my favorite part of the day because I got away from that teacher. She would punish me for the kid next to me talking.
My mom later asked me why I never told her. Its because I was taught adults were always right and I thought I'd get in trouble. Whenever my mom helped in class the teacher was fine but otherwise...
I had 2 other bad ones. My 6th grade teacher always kept me in from pe with him. I liked him at the time but he was later arrested for molesting his female students. Thankfully he never touched me.
The other was my 7th grade pe teacher. She was known for staring at girls in the locker room as they changed and putting those she wanted to watch the closest to her office. She was later arrested for molestation as well.

[Mammagoose]

Wow! What a difference in teachers from kindergarten to first grade! Stories like your first grade experience make me mad. Teachers have such an ability to make or break the spirit of a child. And a child's earliest experiences with school can set the tone for the rest of their school years.

I'm glad for you that you had that great kindergarten teacher. I hope that experience helped you through all the years that followed!

Thanks for sharing your story!

The best was my kindergarten teacher. I was an advanced student and I can clearly remember her handing me the paper everyone else was doing and quietly telling me "I know this is way too easy for you but I have to have you do it so finish it quickly and I have something better for you after." I was the only one who could read so once a week she would sit me on her teachers stool and have me read to the class. She made me feel so loved and special and really increased my love of learning. She was always ready with a boom for me to read quietly after I finished my work and created that habit in me.
Then I went to first grade. My teacher was just plain mean to me. She would mock me in front of the whole class. I became incredibly shy and just didn't want to be there. She would encourage the other kids to be mean to me and would always put me in a group with the class bullies. She put me in the lowest reading group because I had speech problems and she said she couldn't understand me so I must not be able to read. My mom made her retest me with the principal and my speech therapist present and I ended up being sent to a 6th grade class for reading. That reading class was my favorite part of the day because I got away from that teacher. She would punish me for the kid next to me talking.
My mom later asked me why I never told her. Its because I was taught adults were always right and I thought I'd get in trouble. Whenever my mom helped in class the teacher was fine but otherwise...
I had 2 other bad ones. My 6th grade teacher always kept me in from pe with him. I liked him at the time but he was later arrested for molesting his female students. Thankfully he never touched me.
The other was my 7th grade pe teacher. She was known for staring at girls in the locker room as they changed and putting those she wanted to watch the closest to her office. She was later arrested for molestation as well.

Sadly living in a rural area that teacher pretty much made me the target of bullying the rest of my school years. I was friends with everyone starting 1st grade but by the end of 1st I was the outcast. And those same kids stuck with me all of the way through school.

[SeekingPeace]

Sadly, that is often the case. Once a kid is "labelled", it can stick. And then, before you know it, both teachers and STUDENTS start treating the child differently (and never usually in a more positive way). The sickening part about your story is that it was a TEACHER (not even a bully student) that did the labelling...and the damage.

When you told me how you had such a great year in kindergarten and then went to first grade had your spirit broken, my heart broke for you. It is absolutely sickening to me that a professional, a teacher no less, could do that to a child. Do you ever wish you could tell her how her actions affected you? I'll bet your mom did feel bad that she never knew (until years later) that this teacher was treating you this way. I feel bad for your mom, too. School years should be some of your most fond memories as a child. Makes me (and most definitely your MOM) mad that this teacher stole that from you.

And the last two teachers...I don't even have words for them except to say, I'm glad that neither touched you.

Unbelievable! It's no wonder you call yourself MAMMAgoose. I'll bet you are a protective mother!

Wow! What a difference in teachers from kindergarten to first grade! Stories like your first grade experience make me mad. Teachers have such an ability to make or break the spirit of a child. And a child's earliest experiences with school can set the tone for the rest of their school years.

I'm glad for you that you had that great kindergarten teacher. I hope that experience helped you through all the years that followed!

Thanks for sharing your story!

The best was my kindergarten teacher. I was an advanced student and I can clearly remember her handing me the paper everyone else was doing and quietly telling me "I know this is way too easy for you but I have to have you do it so finish it quickly and I have something better for you after." I was the only one who could read so once a week she would sit me on her teachers stool and have me read to the class. She made me feel so loved and special and really increased my love of learning. She was always ready with a boom for me to read quietly after I finished my work and created that habit in me.
Then I went to first grade. My teacher was just plain mean to me. She would mock me in front of the whole class. I became incredibly shy and just didn't want to be there. She would encourage the other kids to be mean to me and would always put me in a group with the class bullies. She put me in the lowest reading group because I had speech problems and she said she couldn't understand me so I must not be able to read. My mom made her retest me with the principal and my speech therapist present and I ended up being sent to a 6th grade class for reading. That reading class was my favorite part of the day because I got away from that teacher. She would punish me for the kid next to me talking.
My mom later asked me why I never told her. Its because I was taught adults were always right and I thought I'd get in trouble. Whenever my mom helped in class the teacher was fine but otherwise...
I had 2 other bad ones. My 6th grade teacher always kept me in from pe with him. I liked him at the time but he was later arrested for molesting his female students. Thankfully he never touched me.
The other was my 7th grade pe teacher. She was known for staring at girls in the locker room as they changed and putting those she wanted to watch the closest to her office. She was later arrested for molestation as well.

Sadly living in a rural area that teacher pretty much made me the target of bullying the rest of my school years. I was friends with everyone starting 1st grade but by the end of 1st I was the outcast. And those same kids stuck with me all of the way through school.