After writing about favorite elementary school teachers, I promised to share my friends' and my memories of not-so-favorite teachers. Some of those memories are surprising. They range from incompetence and laziness to actions that were downright cruel.
Reading these made me realize how much power teachers hold in their hands. Not one of my friends has forgotten their best or worst teachers. Children's lives are shaped for either better or worse by teachers. They are either encouraged or discouraged by teachers. Teachers can help children blossom and grow or damage fragile egos. Good teachers create a learning environment that's exciting while poor teachers merely get through the day or take out their personal frustrations on defenseless children. The unfortunate part is that wonderful teachers usually get the same pay as terrible teachers.
Since I'm a firm believer that history should be accurate, the names of not-so-favorite teachers have not been changed or hidden to protect the guilty.
Some not-so-favorite teachers were:
Mrs. Foglesong, my junior history teacher. She slept through 6th period while making us memorize 10 new dates a week. She made me hate history while I was living in a place filled with wonderful historical events. I learned all about them as an adult – no thanks to Mrs. Foglesong.
Mrs. Burts, my Spanish teacher who spoke Spanish with a Georgia drawl. I had just come up to Georgia from Ft. Lauderdale and couldn't understand all of the Southern accents. So the "Southern Spanish" didn't click with me. I could understand it if I looked at it in the book but never felt like I could speak it because of the way she talked.
It would have to be between two teachers. Mrs. Kracofe who taught shorthand and bookkeeping (terrible teacher) and Mrs. Uhller who taught English. She was a bad teacher but in spite of her I got good grades in English.
Mr. Pierce. I had him for a world history class. He was a very abrupt person and he would say different things from one day to the next. There was one guy who would raise his hand and say, "Mr. Pierce, yesterday you said……" The teacher would say, "I lied," and keep going with his lecture. That same boy (an Air Force kid) fell asleep in our class one day… .last class of the day. He made us all slip out quietly without waking him up. All of the AF kids had a very long ride to Tyndal, the base, and I think someone went back to wake him up to be sure he got to the bus.
It goes without saying...Mr. Haines. One time he called Judy Hahn and me to the front of the class and had us stand with our arms down at our sides...the point being that Judy was heavy and her arms went out far and I was thin and mine didn't. He was not a very compassionate or nice man as I look back on it.
Mr. Troy, the band teacher. I was trying to learn to play the snare drum and he would yell, scream, and turn red in the face when someone made a mistake. We had to practice on wooden blocks. We didn't get to use the real drums very often because they made too much noise. I never did learn to play the snare drum.
I forgot her name……….she amused herself by being sarcastic and constantly reminding me that I had a small mind and I deserved the poor grades I got.
Mrs. Jackson. She spent every class toadying to the children of wealthy, more prominent people and totally ignored the rest of us. Most of us stopped raising our hands when we knew the answers because she would never call on us. I don't think she even noticed.
Those of you who have children and grandchildren in school might want to ask them about their most and least favorite teachers. Their answers may surprise you.
P.S. Click on the image and read part of a story from Carl's First Grade Reader.
