In honor of Teacher's Appreciation Week, which teacher had the most impact on you?

Rick Scott, because he gave a damn and he was enthusiastic about his subjects he taught.
Of course when they redistricted his school, he ended up teaching shop class, because “he wasn’t qualified enough.”

Mr. Zabo, 7th grade history teacher. Vietnam vet, with many stories from the war. Instilled a large part of my interest in history (I still read history books and waste my days on wikipedia and such). Very laid back, yet creative and caring teacher.

Died my freshmen year of high school, sudden and very dramatic onset of Alzheimer’s.

Won teacher of the year award from my class when we graduated.

Mrs. F. was a high school art teacher that taught me more about art than any college teacher ever did.
She is one of the most creative people I’ve ever met. :)

Mrs. Ferguson, junior year English teacher and librarian! She took the time to talk to me and listen to me and help nurture me as a student and young woman. Thanks Fergie wherever you are! Being a mom I also have to give a special shout out to Mrs. W, my oldest son’s fifth grade teacher, I credit her 100% for his incredible achievement and the love of learning he brought with him to middle school! I also come from a family full of teachers, my father, uncle, two brothers, and my sister are among the most talented, dedicated, gifted teachers on the planet!

Mrs. Dee Scroggin. She taught 7th and 8th grade Grammar and Literature. She had so much passion for the subjects. She would call us “cherubs” and use air quotes. She used to hang up ads or pieces from magazines or books where she found spelling and grammar issues. She would write things on the board and yell “Does a period go here? No! It’s a COMMA! A COMMA!” She had probably been teaching for 40 years when I had her. Everyone loved her. She was one of the best teachers I ever had. I see her around town all the time and we visit. She made me laugh after I had my daughter. I told Mrs Scroggin that my daughter’s name was Grace. She was so glad to know that her name wasn’t something stupid like Trixie.

I had a number of great teachers and they know who they were.

Mr. Zapatta was my piano teacher and his patience and encouragement kept me in the game long enough to learn how to play a very difficult instrument and teaching me the Maple Leaf Rag at 14 yrs old. Those lessons were also a crucial stepping stone in my ability to learn and play guitar.

Great question!

I’ve had a bunch of great teachers along the way (and no small number of awful ones as well). As for the one with the most impact, I have to go with Mrs. Anderson, my high school humanities teacher. I think what it boils down to is that she taught folks that most true knowledge and understanding does not come from memorizing facts and figures but from viewing those facts in the context of the social fabric that gives them meaning.

I’d answer this, but I think everyone knows the answer I would give, lol!

My 6th grade Literature teacher, Mrs. Wooldridge, was a hard-ass, but she really taught me a lot. She rode you until you got it right, and we had to constantly memorize long pieces of literature to recite for a test grade. The main things I remember are having to memorize the Gettysburg address, Shakespeare’s Sonnet #18, and an alphebetized preposition list. I still remember all three.

My 10th grade English teacher, Mrs. Clower, taught me that you can teach students many things without being a hard-ass. She came to class every day, smelling like pot, and she would call you an “asshole” if you ended a sentence with a preposition. We also had “Soapbox Fridays” where we got up on this wooden box she’d built, and we got to rant about anything we wanted, cussing allowed. She was an amazing, hilarious teacher.

My favorite teacher was Mrs. Murphy in grade school because she was a quiet authority who taught us to build our own individual strengths and pursue creative passions. In addition to letting us put on plays and puppet shows, we had dramatic readings and story time. Even the more traditional lessons in math had special aspects like funny characters as “numbers” (Nina Nine!) to keep us interested.

Miss K! She is the only teacher who ever believed in me.

My 11th grade US History teacher Mrs.Donner.

That woman was the funniest, most helpful woman in the world. She inspired me to become a history teacher. She stayed after school for hours on end just to assure that I made a perfect score on the final.

Here’s my answer from January. It’s the same today. :D

Mr. Cook, 5th grade, who called us all by last name. It was quite a shock to hear at first, but he told us once we get out of school we’ll always be known by last name, not first, so get used to it.

Mr. McGee, 8th grade history. Never wore the same outfit twice in a school year. He was the high school hockey coach and was a tough SOB. Don’t dare fall asleep during his lesson; he wouldn’t strike you, but he’d kick the underside of the desk you were sitting at so the desk would strike you.

Mr. Sequeira, 9th grade history. When four of us were in 7th grade and drank before a school dance he is the one that inflicted punishment on us when we were caught. He treated us like adults and gave us choices on how we wanted to handle our punishment. We could either deal with him and his detention, or go home and let our parents handle it. Not one of us chose the latter. Two hours of calisthenics and a whap on the ass with a paddle that was fashioned in wood shop was the punishment. Also, a waiver that stated he could use the paddle up to four more times during our three year tenure at his school.

Ahhh, the joy of freewill. Again, we all knew the options, and we all chose the same.

Mr. Sequeira made quite an impact on our collective asses, and that was back in the days when gym shorts were about the same underwear.