My most influential teacher was Mr. Sederholm. No argument about it! HANDS DOWN! What a wonderful teacher. He treated us with kindness & respect & had high expectations of us. He was a new teacher, fresh from Boston. I wish I could express his accent, which was always evident when he spoke of his hometown. Fortunately, he is still a teacher here in HISD & from time to time I e-mail him to let him know how special he is to me.
I remember that my love of reading began the day he started reading The Lion the Witch & the Wardrobe to us aloud. What rich moments those were. The whole class would sit on edge for those 5 minutes of reading aloud. I've been reading ever since. That's the power of a good teacher.
Over the months that I spent in his class I know that my life changed. I was inspired. I hope I am a Mr. Sederholm to at least one person out there.
Who's your Mr. Sederholm?
Mrs. Ganyard was my second grade teacher from Kelso elementary. Back in the day, semesters were refered to as low and high instead of first semester and second semester. She was a dear soul that showed me kindness as I was ill that semester and spent most of my time in the hostipal. She helped me make it from low-second to high-second so I was not retained. Truly one of the first teachers to use differentiated instruction by providing me with alternative assignments to catch-up with my class. Made all the difference in my life.
ReplyDeletemrs. bendau is the first on a short list of teachers who made a profound impact on me. even at a young age i appreciated her propensity to tell it to you straight. she had a sharp wit and wouldn't hesitate to be frank and honest with you. this isn't to say that she wasn't encouraging, but even in 4th grade i knew that she was real and wasn't sugar-coating anything or 'blowing smoke' like i sensed other teachers i had were doing.
ReplyDeleteMs. Voss, my first grade teacher, is one that I will always remember. She advanced my love of reading by exposing me to new literature and allowing me to share my love of reading with others-- namely, the kindergarteners next door whom I would visit and read to on a regular basis. I still have the book she gave me as a gift during my first grade year. I remember that she was kind and nurturing, and she was always pushing me to read something new. I knew she cared about me and that meant everything.
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