My Favorite Teachers

     For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while know that my childhood was spent moving around from town to town resulting in attending many schools. There were good and bad aspects to all the moving around. I sometimes wish that I had experienced more stability in my youth. Yet at the same time I am thankful for the many experiences that came with moving so much and for the many friends that I made along the way.

     One of the downfalls was that I didn't become a very good student along the way. I never put my best effort into my studies. I always did well in school mainly because I was not really challenged. I don't think of myself as overly intelligent but I know that if I had truly applied myself I could have excelled. I suppose knowing that I would not be around long caused me to think I didn't need to give too much heed to my teachers.

     Don't get me wrong, I didn't rebel or anything. I wasn't disruptive and I didn't skip classes. I was always in attendance and I paid attention. But the homework was never a great priority. I did what I wanted to and it was always just enough. Always finished with about a 'B' in most classes. This kept me out of trouble with teachers and administrators. My parents never seemed too interested in what was going on unless there was a really bad grade so I didn't have to deal with that at home either.

    Every once in a while there was a teacher that I really liked or that challenged me somehow to apply myself without even knowing they were doing it. Liking a teacher is half of the battle, in my opinion. You put a pretty young teacher in front of a class who has a nice smile and a friendly personality and all the students, including the boys, will likely pay more attention. I had a teacher like that once in 4th grade at Homedale Elementary School. Ms. Neubauer. She was one of the nicest teachers I ever had. She was also the only one that I think I might have had a crush on too. Ok, there is no "might have". I definitely had a crush on Ms. Neubauer. I am sure I wasn't the only one. Her pretty blonde hair and blue eyes had captured the eye of every 4th grade boy in school.

     Ms. Neubauer's class was so fun. I remember always doing my best in her class. I know that I always wanted to impress her and there was nothing like getting praise in front of the class with her arm around your shoulder.

     Another teacher that seemed to bring out the best in me was Mrs. West in 2nd grade at Syringa Elementary in Pocatello. Mrs. West was amazing. Her class was so fun and she always made everyone in the class feel special. She used to show us her photographic memory and her speed reading skills. She seemed to know everything. We could ask her questions about anyone or anything and she could tell us all about it.

     Some teachers that I had, or should I say most of the teachers that I had were boring and uninteresting. I would fall asleep in some classes or lose myself in my imagination until the bell rang. I would dread going to these classes. Even if the subject might be of interest to me I just couldn't learn in that environment. Very few of the teachers brought an element of intrigue that would make us ask questions and want to know more.

    After I first moved back to Pocatello during my 7th grade year, one of the required classes at Alameda Jr. High that I was signed up for was Self-Esteem. I had never heard of a self-esteem class. Sounded weird to me. I thought maybe there were a bunch of odd kids with different challenges that would be in the class. Surprisingly I was wrong. Everyone in the class was just like me as far as I could tell. The teacher was Mr. Anderson. He was a tall and fairly good sized man. I was a little intimidated at first.

    The first day in Mr. Anderson's class he presented us with a scenario and an activity that to this day is the most memorable moment of my adolescent learning. Mr. Anderson provided our class with the most thought provoking lesson that took every student to the edge of their seat and fully interested and engaged in the activity.  He began by handing out a sheet of paper to each of the students. On the paper we found a person's name and below it an occupation, age, skill set, and health background. All of the girl students received a girl's character and all the boy's received a man's character. The character's ages ranged from young teens, about our age, to advanced elderly ages up in the 80's.

    Occupations ranged from dancers, teachers and professors to doctors, mechanics and farmers. Most of the characters were given a clean bill of health with a few exceptions like one of them had cancer.

     The activity we were given involved a great deal of thought and emotion. Mr. Anderson told us that there was one week left on earth before a nuclear explosion would cause life as we knew it to end. The local government had put a plan together that included the construction of a huge vault in the side of a mountain. This vault was built to withstand any nuclear type explosion and would keep any radiation out. It was made to sustain life for 1 year until the radiation levels had returned to normal on the outside. Inside the vault was food, water, tools, medicine and other necessities to sustain life for one year.

     The kicker was that the vault would only sustain life for 12 individuals. There were a total of 26 students in the class. For the next week we would be debating over which 12 of the 26 students would be allowed to enter into the vault. The rest would parish in the nuclear aftermath.

     For a bunch of 12 year-old 7th graders, this was quite the undertaking. Over the week that followed we would experience much turmoil and a roller-coaster of emotions as we considered our decisions.  It was amazing to see my classmates take their characters to heart and fight for the right to survive. Many discussions became heated as it seemed every argument to save someone was countered with a convincing reason not to.

     I was among a few of the boys who tried to be valiant heroes and volunteered to stay behind. But even we were argued about by those who saw the importance of our strength and abilities.

     It was amazing to see what became important over the week. Slowly we began to agree more and more and whittled our numbers down to the 12 we sought. The importance of procreation, trade skills, physical abilities and knowledge were all evaluated equally.

     On the final day there were tears shed as the final 12 were sent out of the classroom to "enter the vault". The other 14 stayed behind and the room was heavy with emotion. It was a life altering activity. We all came away with a better appreciation of the importance of all human life and for the importance of both genders and all occupations.

    As hard as it was, I loved that activity and I love Mr. Anderson for allowing us to share in that experience. It definitely improved my self-esteem.

    Today I get to spend my life with my favorite teacher of all times. She is my wife and she is one of the best teachers around. I think she has all of the things that caused me to want to learn by my favorite teachers. She is a knockout that I am sure all the 6th grade boys at Heritage Elementary School are eager to do their best for. She has the friendly personality that all the kids love and react to. She is willing to challenge them and allow them to think for themselves in ways that will impact their lives long term.

    I am thankful for the many teachers out there who do everything they can to inspire our children today. Especially those who can do it despite the government chains that bind them down and choke out their greatest strengths. It is you who will allow this great country to remain at the top led by those who were inspired in your classrooms.