Early Friday Five!
Aug. 16th, 2007 10:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eponymous_roseHey, megoobie posted early. I can, too! :D
Whew. That was rambly. Ramblier. Than usual, that is. :D
EDIT: Also - unexpectedly appropriate icon!
megoobie posted early. I can, too! :D1. Who was your favorite teacher?
I was fortunate enough to have a huge, wonderful group of spectacular teachers that stayed with me all through high school - the advantages of French Immersion. There was the Social Studies teacher who pestered me with questions about politics and government that went far beyond the textbook content, until I came out of my shell and really snapped at him with a series of rational rebuttals, much to his delight. The old-fashioned French Language Arts teacher, who put me on the spot every class by making me conjugate verbs on the board, or recite an improvised essay on L'Etranger, or answer correctly every question that someone else got wrong (but jeez, that last one made me unpopular in the class). The Biology teacher, confidant and friend, who gushed about the sheer wonders of science until I followed along with her enthusiasm and stepped out of my comfort zone and into the wonderful world of research. The quiet and stammering Physics teacher who showed me for the first time how numbers really work. The Math teacher with an anecdote for every occasion, who'd cheerfully sacrifice a lunch hour to help a struggling student.
But among all those amazing people, my English teacher has always stood out.
2. Why was that teacher so special?
Well, for one thing, he was a renowned university professor, doctorate and all, who had given up academia in favour of teaching high school IB English. That was weird. But he was absolutely hilarious - we read some of his doctoral thesis in another class, and there were many giggles and outright guffaws to be had. (If anyone was ever late to class, he'd say "Where hast thou been, sister?", to which the unfortunate student had to reply: "Killing swine" a la Macbeth. When one kid made the mistake of asking: "Did I miss anything while I was away?", he replied with a cheerful: "Oh, nope! We looked around the class, saw you weren't in your seat, and there was much moaning and wailing. Didn't get a thing accomplished.") He knew his Psychology - that was his specialty - and only on the last day of class did he reveal the many tricks he'd played throughout the year to raise and lower our stress levels to his liking. Most of the time, he stuck pretty well to the curriculum, encouraging lively discussion - and, oh, there were brilliant people in that class - and even going so far as to have us analyse passages from Ecclesiastes - a fascinating experience in secular education of religious text that would ordinarily have been a big no-no in a public school. But sometimes, some days, he'd just talk to us, draw us out into debates. He knew which students wanted to participate, and which wanted to listen and learn. He knew which students to tease and which to treat seriously. He took teaching so far beyond what I've ever seen before that it became an art and a science all at once.
3. Do you think teachers get paid enough?
Ooh! Gratuitous "West Wing" quoting time! Take it, Sam:
"Education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don't need little changes; we need gigantic, revolutionary changes... Competition for the best teachers should be fierce. They should be getting six-figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge for its citizens, just like national defense."
If only, hey?
4. Do you have a favorite year of school?
It's hard to say, really, because the more interesting the coursework and the better the teachers, the worse all the stupid personal adolescent stuff became. There were dizzying highs and absolutely appaling lows all throughout - but that's high school for you!
5. If you could travel back in time and tell yourself something now that would have helped you get through school, what would you say?
Well, first I'd be all: "Hey guess what you don't know what a TARDIS is yet but apparently you have one in the future isn't that neat oh yes it is." And once I got over that, I'd let myself know that I haven't kept in touch with any of my graduating class, and that I don't particularly regret that because I've met so many amazing people since then. I'd tell myself that, yes, I'm right - it's what you learn that really matters, and that the teachers have so much more knowledge than the textbook. Talk to the teachers, in other words.
I was fortunate enough to have a huge, wonderful group of spectacular teachers that stayed with me all through high school - the advantages of French Immersion. There was the Social Studies teacher who pestered me with questions about politics and government that went far beyond the textbook content, until I came out of my shell and really snapped at him with a series of rational rebuttals, much to his delight. The old-fashioned French Language Arts teacher, who put me on the spot every class by making me conjugate verbs on the board, or recite an improvised essay on L'Etranger, or answer correctly every question that someone else got wrong (but jeez, that last one made me unpopular in the class). The Biology teacher, confidant and friend, who gushed about the sheer wonders of science until I followed along with her enthusiasm and stepped out of my comfort zone and into the wonderful world of research. The quiet and stammering Physics teacher who showed me for the first time how numbers really work. The Math teacher with an anecdote for every occasion, who'd cheerfully sacrifice a lunch hour to help a struggling student.
But among all those amazing people, my English teacher has always stood out.
2. Why was that teacher so special?
Well, for one thing, he was a renowned university professor, doctorate and all, who had given up academia in favour of teaching high school IB English. That was weird. But he was absolutely hilarious - we read some of his doctoral thesis in another class, and there were many giggles and outright guffaws to be had. (If anyone was ever late to class, he'd say "Where hast thou been, sister?", to which the unfortunate student had to reply: "Killing swine" a la Macbeth. When one kid made the mistake of asking: "Did I miss anything while I was away?", he replied with a cheerful: "Oh, nope! We looked around the class, saw you weren't in your seat, and there was much moaning and wailing. Didn't get a thing accomplished.") He knew his Psychology - that was his specialty - and only on the last day of class did he reveal the many tricks he'd played throughout the year to raise and lower our stress levels to his liking. Most of the time, he stuck pretty well to the curriculum, encouraging lively discussion - and, oh, there were brilliant people in that class - and even going so far as to have us analyse passages from Ecclesiastes - a fascinating experience in secular education of religious text that would ordinarily have been a big no-no in a public school. But sometimes, some days, he'd just talk to us, draw us out into debates. He knew which students wanted to participate, and which wanted to listen and learn. He knew which students to tease and which to treat seriously. He took teaching so far beyond what I've ever seen before that it became an art and a science all at once.
3. Do you think teachers get paid enough?
Ooh! Gratuitous "West Wing" quoting time! Take it, Sam:
"Education is the silver bullet. Education is everything. We don't need little changes; we need gigantic, revolutionary changes... Competition for the best teachers should be fierce. They should be getting six-figure salaries. Schools should be incredibly expensive for government and absolutely free of charge for its citizens, just like national defense."
If only, hey?
4. Do you have a favorite year of school?
It's hard to say, really, because the more interesting the coursework and the better the teachers, the worse all the stupid personal adolescent stuff became. There were dizzying highs and absolutely appaling lows all throughout - but that's high school for you!
5. If you could travel back in time and tell yourself something now that would have helped you get through school, what would you say?
Well, first I'd be all: "Hey guess what you don't know what a TARDIS is yet but apparently you have one in the future isn't that neat oh yes it is." And once I got over that, I'd let myself know that I haven't kept in touch with any of my graduating class, and that I don't particularly regret that because I've met so many amazing people since then. I'd tell myself that, yes, I'm right - it's what you learn that really matters, and that the teachers have so much more knowledge than the textbook. Talk to the teachers, in other words.
Whew. That was rambly. Ramblier. Than usual, that is. :D
EDIT: Also - unexpectedly appropriate icon!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-08-17 05:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-17 05:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-08-17 06:11 am (UTC)Of course, I love your layout as well.
no subject
Date: 2007-08-17 05:49 am (UTC)Oh, there is no such thing. There is only beauty.
*tears up*
I miss my Sam Seaborn!
no subject
Date: 2007-08-17 06:13 am (UTC)*sniffles* Don't remind me!
*flails vaguely for West Wing icon, only to find none forthcoming*
...that's twice in one day. I must fix this! Spectacularly relevant West Wing icon, I SHALL FIND YOU! *dramatic fanfare*