Thanking a teacher you never had the chance to thank

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

Scene: Grade 11 Biology class in a little town in Saskatchewan, shortly after the Earth cooled.

At the blackboard:

Mr Brian Fedak, biology teacher: “So, when you have a homogenous population…”

Conrad, the class clown, makes chuckling noises to his friend.

Mr Fedak: “Conrad, why are you laughing?”

Conrad [smirking]: You said ‘homo’, Mr Fedak."

Mr Fedak: “Yes I did Conrad. So why are you laughing?”

Conrad [a bit uncertainly, but still smirking]: “It’s a funny word, Mr Fedak.”

Mr Fedak: “No, Conrad, it’s a word with a certain scientific meaning. It’s a also a word that is used to make fun of some people. It’s not going to be used to make fun of people in this classroom. Got it?”

Conrad [starting to get the message he’s in trouble, but not knowing why]: “Yes, Mr Fedak.”

Mr Fedak: “Now, as I was saying, in certain homogenous populations…”

Still remember it all these years later, and wish I could thank you in person, Mr Fedak, for setting the example of correcting bigotry. No major fuss, but firmly.

So if you ever do a vanity search on the inter-tubes (and if you’re still with us :wink: ), “Thanks, Mr Fedak!”

2

Missed the edit window: just realised I may be spelling his name wrong. I think there was a “y” in there. “Brian Fydak” maybe?

3

My 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Melson (yes, that’s with an M). She was always fair and even-tempered, even kind at times, but she was absolutely rigorous about how we 8-year-olds would behave in school. She taught me a lot about self-discipline by expecting us to behave well without constant monitoring and punishment. Alas, I think she would be around 120 if she were still alive, so I don’t think she’ll be reading this.

Then there was my 4th grade teacher, Miss Smith (she got married late in the school year and left the school). She introduced me to the world of JRR Tolkien by reading The Hobbit to the class for 20 minutes every afternoon. I am forever grateful.

4

My teacher when I was about 8 used to live near to my house. We (me and my friend) used to turn up on her doorstep on the weekends and she’d invite us in and give us a cool drink and a biscuit. I can’t remember much detail about our visits or what we talked about, but the thing I do remember is that she never made me feel like “just a child”. I try not to “talk down to” little kids and I’m sure it’s because of her. She also used to go in early at school and we could read to her and she’d help the kids having trouble with their reading. Her kindness made an impression on me, but I just moved on and up at school and never gave her any formal acknowledgment for something that meant a lot to me.

5

My 4th grade teacher gave me a book, island of the blue dolphins, after my mother died. It meant the world to me.

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My advanced English class in 12th grade the Teacher was an elderly Ms. Arnold. She was talked out of retirement to teach this new class. The first thing out of her mouth was “Don’t make me sorry I came back to teach this class” I certainly tried not to disappoint her. It was a great year and a wonderful class. Thank you Ms.Arnold.

7

Robert Shanks.

Wood shop teacher. An actual honest to god craftsman, gave up the cabinet shop to teach.

A Hank Hill character with just enough R lee Ermy to deal with us idiots.

He used to stand by the door to see who was too “relaxed” to use the power tools.:cool:

Taught me tons of general “shop/job site” stuff that has been invaluable for years.
Coors to you, you ol bastard.:smiley:

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Fifth grade, student teacher acting under the guidance of our regular teacher (internship?). Ms. Robinson, can’t recall her first name, and this was right around the time Simon & Garfunkel were making that name famous on the radio, though I knew nothing of that. She read to us, during the first half of the school year, the book that really opened the doors of my imagination: A Wrinkle In Time.

Thank you for awakening the greatest part of me. I hope your life was long and happy.

9

Mike Healy, 6th grade, 1971, Latham NY at Latham Ridge Elementary (he now says I can call him Mike instead of Mr. Healy). He made learning fun, he cared, he listened, and he gave you his honest opinion. My favorite-ever teacher.

Thank you, Mr. Healy. You helped make me the man I am today. I hope you can look back on your career with pride and happiness.

10

Mr. McGuire - 9th grade general science (1968/69 school year) - He was the tops in connecting science with everyday real life.

When we studied the internal combustion engine, he had us (in teams) take apart and reassemble lawn mower engines. Then one day, he brought in a go cart and we took turns driving it around the campus.

We built and shot off Estes rockets.

We threw eggs - your grade was based on how well you packaged the egg and its condition when he unwrapped it.

He distilled fermented orange juice down to very high proof alcohol, and anyone who wanted could get an eyedropper squirt of the stuff to see what it was like (Imagine that happening today!!!)

So much more that I don’t recall. But he kindled my interest in science and mechanics. Maybe I’d have become an engineer without having known him, but maybe not… Thanks!!!

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Mr. Charles Bradbury, sixth grade teacher, 1966-1967. I was in his first class. He was young and enthusiastic and he liked fantasy and science fiction literature. He read us a chapter of The Hobbit every day until it was done. From there I went on to read the rest of the LOTR and tons of other fantasy and speculative fiction. Went to cons and met people and did things I wouldn’t have otherwise.

He had nerve too. The summer after the class was over he got married and invited all of us to his wedding. I felt so grown up going to the wedding, first time I wore stockings and I even had gloves! Spent a whole $7.00 on a wedding present.

Best teacher I ever had.

12

Mr Post taught my 9th Grade Civics class in the early 70’s.

He was the first teacher that I connected with. He was not much older than us and had enthusiasm and fresh ideas.

This wasn’t very far removed from the sixties and I always assumed he was part of the student movement in college.

He certainly made Civics relevant and interesting.

I bumped into him at Walgreens a few years after high school. I did get to briefly talk and thank him. I’ve always wanted to see him again and catch up. See how long he taught and what he’s doing today.

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Woody (Mr.) Page, 7th grade algebra in a small shit stain school in Western PA. He LOVED his algebra. We groaned. He made it fun, so much fun that we would make up equations to play with at lunch time. I took 2 years of algebra because of him. And I am so not a math person.
And for everyone that says “after school I’ve never used algebra once,” - you’re full of shit. You probably use it everyday.

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Mr. Arroyo (El profesor Arroyo) . 5th grade Social Studies. He made classes so interesting that we didn’t want to go to recess. He died the year after he taught us. When I started teaching I tried to copy his methods.

15

Mrs. Wildstein, my third grade teacher.

She turned me into a voracious reader, and I thank her every day.

Mrs. Wildstein read to us every day from Roald Dahl’s books - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox. I asked my parents to buy these books for me, and my reading just took off from there.

This would have been way back in the 70/71 school year.

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Mr. Boetto, the school librarian at my public school in Toronto during grades 4-6 (79-82).

He was responsible for the computers - Commodore PETs and CBMs FTW! - as well as enrichment programs since gifted was not available in my area until grade 7 at the time. His work helped me to learn critical thinking and logic at an early age, and was probably the single biggest reason I ended up as an IT entrepreneur.

So Lee Boetto, thank you if you are reading this!

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Since I was eight years old I have wanted to be a scientist or engineer. All through elementary school and high school, though, there were very few science teachers that inspired me. Most just seemed to be going through the motions. My primary inspiration at the time was The Professor on Gilligan’s Island.

And then came 12[sup]th[/sup] grade physics. It was taught by a gentleman named Alba Hurlbut. It was the most difficult class I had ever taken up to that point, but I loved it. Mr. Hurlbut was an engineer and retired Air Force colonel, and had a genuine passion for science, math, and (especially) physics. He was the only teacher I encountered for whom I had an immense amount of respect for.

Last year I tracked him down. He’s 83 years old and lives in Dayton, OH. I couldn’t figure out how to email him, so I sent him a letter in the mail. I included my contact info. He’s never responded. :frowning:

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Mrs. Garcia, my 4th grade teacher at Willow Brook Elementary School in Creve Coeur, Missouri. This would have been the school year 1967/68. She was quite young so although she would certainly be retired by now, there is a decent chance she’s still around.

I was a … peculiar … student, and she was very kind to me. Because of her encouragement, I wrote an entire chapbook of poetry and bound it together.

She read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to us (a pretty good find, since the book had only recently been published). I still remember how she drew out the suspense of whether Charlie’s final chocolate bar contained a winning ticket. Absolute magic.

19

Mrs. Larson, (Larsen?) grade 4, I think 1964-5? Music teacher who was really into the current folk music scene. I’m still singing songs we learned then. And she was cool about explaining the meanings, many of which were :eek: “So, in this sing, Tom Dooley is going to be hanged for murdering his girl friend by STABBING HER WITH HIS KNIFE! Oh, and when you keelhaul the drunken sailor in a running bowline, that’s like a noose that tightens as he’s dragging across the barnacles on the bottom of the ship, while of course just about drowning at the same time. Now, the Midnight Special…” She was tough, but fair…

20

I was feeling particularly nostalgic one day and actually called my English teacher, Mrs. Hodge, 25 years after I had taken her class. She always reminded me of the granny that kept Tweety Bird. I wanted to thank her for being kind to me, and for imparting a love of the English language on to me.

I nervously explained who I was and why I was calling, and she said, “Oh, that’s very sweet. But, you know, after you guys leave I don’t remember any of you.”

So, that was how that went.