nathan

12/21/04

Who was your favorite teacher?

by Joe Nathan

Please give yourself a quick holiday present by thinking back about one or two of your finest teachers. Most people smile when asked to do this.

And you hear some remarkable stories. Here are a few people shared recently:

It was the third grade, and my parents were getting a divorce. I was miserable. My teacher understood what was happening. She encouraged me to write her notes as often as I wanted. She always responded. For that year, she was my parent, and a very kind one.

I was 14, feeling awkward and ugly. A drama teacher convinced me that I should try out for a play. I did, and got a role. Not the lead, but a role. I loved it. For more than 30 years I've been in high school, college and community plays. That teacher opened up a wonderful world to me.

I wasn't a very good student. But football was another story. My coach decided I could be a leader. At the time, I was feeling pretty bad about school, and myself. But with his encouragement, I became a team captain. He found a tutor, who helped me do better in class. But what really improved my grades was his deep faith in me.

It was 4th grade. Almost everyone else in class was a much better reader. I began to hate school, and sometimes told my parents I was too sick to go. They called my teacher, and had a conference. The teacher stayed after school once or twice a week for two months, giving me and another student a lot of help. He explained that some guys just took a bit longer to read. Gradually, I did learn. I caught up, and became a good reader. All because that teacher gave me extra time, and a lot of patience.

My junior year I was on the student government. I was pretty cocky. We were debating something related to a dance. I thought someone's idea was dumb, and made fun of him. After the meeting, the advisor had me write down what I said. Then he had me describe how I felt when someone put me down. Finally he asked me to write to the person I had ridiculed. That teacher treated me with more respect than I had shown.

I thought school was pretty boring. But my senior high school government teacher made things come alive. He had us research and debate current topics. We studied local problems, developed a possible solution, and took it to the city council. The council liked our idea, and adopted it. This man showed me government wasn't just about dry chapters in a textbook. It was about helping people. I became a lawyer, a legislator, and a judge.

Over the next year, I'd like to share some of your stories. Please write to me, jnathan@hhh.umn.edu. And have a great holiday season.

Joe Nathan directs the Center for School Change at the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. He can be reached at jnathan@hhh.umn.edu.


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