RE: "Behind Great Minds" (poem) >>> A Tribute to Those Who Teach Our Children
This is a great tribute that I would have loved! I taught high school English and History at a Fine Arts School for years and loved every minute of it. I put my heart and soul into every student I ever crossed paths with, and swore to myself that I would quit before I ever became one of those teachers who were simply doing a job. Unfortunately my husband became sick and of course, he became my number one priority, so with heavy heart, took my leave. I am still however, in touch with many of my past students who are now married and having children of their own, and one of my favourite "gifts" is their stories to me now about how I affected their lives...it really is priceless :)
Thank you so much for recognizing those teachers who really do make a difference, because you are sadly correct that most never hear the 'thanks' they deserve. For whatever reason, elementary teachers get a lot of kudos and 'gifts', but by high school, the parents seem to forget about that (not that I ever needed that affirmation :), but it is always nice to hear.
Cheers!
@lynncoyle1,
Thanks for a beautifully crafted comment.
Take a look at my response to @offgridlife ... Middle School killed off all the fun ... they won't let you in the door (at least in Florida) and hence no parent-teacher bonding. Of course, the other thing is that, from Middle School onwards, the kids have 7 different teachers every year, so there isn't the focus on one particular teacher as there is in Elementary School.
Nevertheless, some of my daughter's favorite teachers have been in middle and high school. We refer to them as, "The Greats." She's practically in love (literally) with her current Language Arts teacher (and the feeling is mutual). My daughter laughs, telling me she practically skips on her way to Baressi's class. Baressi is a brass tacks Sargent-Major (Catholic and recently descended from Sicily). No Nancy-Pants stuff in her class ... she makes you EARN IT! Most of the kids love her (a few would like to push her off a bridge). One way or the other, their writing skills have gone through the ceiling. The progress from one week to the next is palpable.
My daughter is in the midst of writing her a Year-End Poem (she still has a few months). She has not asked me for help, other than to explain some of the techniques I use, and why I use them.
She's beginning to worry, though, that two of the other "Greats" will find out, and feel left out, if they don't get a poem too. She queried, "How can I possibly find enough material for THREE poems!?" (My earlier teacher poems were around 20 stanzas apiece - that's a lot of poetry when you've not yet written your first poem. But, if Dad can do it ...).
In any event, Lynn, go pour yourself a glass of wine. Recite "Behind Great Minds" aloud.
This one's to you.
Thank you.
Awww that's awesome! Thank you and Cheers to you as well :)
I love the story of your daughter and her Language Arts teacher, and of course how conscientious she is in writing the poems for all of them, without your help. That makes me smile. I used to have students who were proud to tell me that they would skip out of any other class, but never consider doing that to me. It was a strange position to be put in haha
As an aside, one year, I told my (English class) seniors that they would not be receiving any grades for the first few months. Instead we were going to focus on improving their writing, as opposed to them focusing on their marks. Of course they were horrified and terrified, but that semester, they had the most improvement they had ever noticed in a very short time. It was an interesting snapshot of what I consider, one of the main problems in our education system.
Not sure where that came from, but I just wanted to share it.
I'm going to enjoy my glass of wine now and read some fine poetry by my new friend :)
Cheers!
@lynncoyle1,
Have two.
Done! And your picture made me smile...again :)