the shoulders of giants . . . and not-so-giants (Part 1)

Sir Isaac Newton once said, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants". Apparently, he even came up with the phrase "shoulders of giants" by . . . er . . . standing on the shoulders of giants. (And we could go round and round with that one!)

In graduate school, I took a course entitled "Research Philosophy and Methodology" in which I wrote a qualitative research paper on "master teachers". One of the exercises we did was to look closely at our topic in light of our own experience of growing older. That project elicited from me a list of all (most) of my former teachers, with the memories I still have of their class. It proved to be very moving for me, and instrumental to my research.

Thinking about my own teaching style has made me think again about that list, and I've taken another look:

Elementary School Teachers
• Mrs. R. - my kindergarten teacher. I remember being praised for writing the word “hen” at the top of my colored picture of a hen (long before anyone else could write the word hen). Also, this was a public school and I remember her playing the piano and having us sing (before a snack) . . . Thank you for the birds that sing. Thank you God for everything. Even then, I thought that was strange.

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•Mrs. F. - 1st grade. I remember how she picked me to read at our pastor’s 75th birthday party in front of the entire school, and how happy it made me. She cared about me and felt like a second mom. For this first year in "full-time school" that was very important to me. I felt safe in her class. Later, in college, I gave her an estimate to paint her house, and it was great to say hello.
•Mrs. C. - 1st grade. She was the pretty teacher of the school. I didn't have her, but she pulled a tooth for me once. (Known for helping kids pull their loose teeth. (How odd!)) Her husband would be my boss one day.

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I can't remember either of my 2nd grade teachers. Miss W., maybe?

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•Mrs. W. - A very bitter 3rd grade teacher whom I did not want to grow up and become. I remember not feeling safe in her class. I remember her giving us a lecture one day on "inappropriate touching" of our selves.
•Mrs. K. - 3rd grade. Taught me to hate math. That's all I remember. Math and I were fine when I started third grade, and math and I were enemies when I finished.

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•Mrs. C. - 4th grade. She was visibly sad to see me lose the spelling bee when I confidently misspelled the word “rhinoceros”. I think I had a crush on her. She had a baby that year.

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•Miss D. - 5th grade. She read The Indian in the Cupboard to us. I remember liking that.
•Mrs. S. - 5th grade. Made me slightly curious about history, but taught me to hate it. She taught me that sometimes it’s just about passing the test, no matter what the information is. I cheated once in that class and won a medal for it. It made me sick to my stomach (and still does). Famous for her "note-taking tests" on which I (a good test-taker) usually performed poorly.

Posted: Sat - January 31, 2004 at 11:23 AM

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the shoulders of giants . . . and not-so-giants (Part 1)

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