So, teachers I have known and loved. Well there was Miss Vanpelt, my 7th grade English teacher. She was such the grammar stickler, but as a writer, I am glad she was.

Then there was Mr. Thomas, my eighth grade science teacher. I don't know if they even do this anymore, but half-way through a semester they would send out deficiency notices to the parents of anyone who was getting a “D” or “F” (the lowest 2 grades) in a class. Well I was getting a “C” and he sent one to my parents because he said I could do better (I went to a very small school where everyone knew everyone and all the teachers talked to each other!). So my dad yelled, I cried, my mother cried, and I had to bring home my book every night to study, etc. Well, he was right and he was willing to call me out on the carpet for it. I had been goofing off in class with the people I sat near, so he moved me to a different desk. And I hadn't been studying or doing my homework very much. I think I got a “B” that semester and then I got an “A” later in the year. I was pretty mad at him, but I see now what a caring and brave thing that was to do.

But the teacher that really sticks out in my mind was my Physics teacher senior year in high school (he was also my earth science teacher freshman year and my chemistry teacher junior year – did I mention that this was a small school?!). First off, as a someone who did better in English and rote memorization, I struggled through math and should have probably taken advanced biology since I have a hard time wrapping my mind around theories, advanced math, relativity, etc. But only sissies did that so I took Physics. Well he was a big believer in thinking and figuring things out for yourself, so he never actually answered a question. He asked another question, then another question, etc. until you got to the answer yourself. If I had a dime for every time he told us that in college there wouldn't be someone there to hold your hand through all your classes – they would give you a syllabus at the beginning of a semester and you would have to be responsible to complete your assignments, papers, etc. yourself – I'd be rich. He was right. I can't tell you anything specific that I learned that year about Physics. And I did really badly on the tests, but my grades weren't bad because he gave you credit for trying and for asking a lot of questions. But I did learn a lot. And even though we all made fun of him – his first name was Alpheus, he seemed like he was ancient, he had these silly sayings, and all those stupid things you make fun of people for – we all came to realize what a wonderful teacher, and man, he was. He loved what he did and he really cared about us. His son graduated a year ahead of me and he told me his dad remembered all his student's names and would ask his own children how people were doing after they graduated. (Geez, now I am getting all choked up thinking about him!) He was tough and caring at the same time – an amazing thing.

And I agree that there is a lot of junk on TV, but some channels like the Food Network and HG TV (Home and Garden TV) do educate people on cooking and home and garden projects. And you can learn from the History channel, Discovery channel and things like that, but that certainly isn’t the goal for most TV programs. And then there is the whole marketing angle to even those programs.

And I agree that there is a lot of junk on TV, but some channels like the Food Network and HG TV (Home and Garden TV) do educate people on cooking and home and garden projects. And you can learn from the History channel, Discovery channel and things like that, but that certainly isn’t the goal for most TV programs. And then there is the whole marketing angle to even those programs.

Just the other day I noticed one of my sons prior teachers who retired a couple of years ago has a FB group (“Mr. X, the legend”). What started as a spoof, I think, has turned into a tribute. Your teacher in grade 5 (if today) would probably have one too.