With it being World Teacher Day on Friday in Australia (26th October) I thought I would reflect back over some of the teachers which stand out in my mind from when I was a student and why this was the case. I know I haven’t left school all that long ago (97) however I feel that the fact that I can remember them (and I can’t even remember all the teachers my kids have had in the last 7 years) is a tribute to them…
Mrs Miller and Mrs Mundie (Year 1,2 & 3 teachers) – I remember how they used to work together – they tag teamed and taught the areas they were strongest in. They also took the time to make the room a pleasant place to be. Each unit had a theme and a part of the room was transformed – rainforest, underwater, olympics, world expos, space – you name it as some point in that 3 years it was in our classroom. Plus there was a small zoo in the classroom, with the star being Milky Way the white rabbit!
Mrs Thérèse (Junior 4 teacher) – A scary woman however she was always fair. I learnt a lot from her about stamp collecting and works of art. She was very passionate about art. Every Friday we spent half the day learning about art history and then the other half creating art. I think the history helped with the understanding and the creation.
Mr Gulliver (Senior 1 English Teacher) – He was the first teacher while in Europe who made me feel at home. He had visited Australia a few years earlier and spent many an English lesson telling us about this beautiful country. He encouraged me to write about Australia constantly and the memories I had.
Mr Ellison (Year 9 & 10 Form Teacher, Year 8, 10 & 11 Maths Teacher) – Mr Ellison was a comedian who would always let us explore the work and the ideas before teaching us the concepts. And while I must admit I didn’t always follow the maths lesson I know that by exploring it first myself my understanding was a lot better for it. When I first started my teaching career he was the first head of department I had and I am definitely am a better teacher as a result. He encouraged me to learn to be a teacher the same way he wanted me to learn as a student!
Dr Neighbour (Year 11 Economics Teacher) – Dr Neighbour liked to tell stories about his policeman friend. Every concept was explained with a policeman story and while by the end of the year I was sure he didn’t have a policeman friend I know that I understood the concepts of supply and demand, business concentration and inflation a whole lot better because of that policeman friend!
Ms Rosengrave (Year 11 and 12 Secretarial Studies Teacher) – I had a natural flare for Secretarial Studies it was my “Sixth Slacker Subject” the one I didn’t have to work hard at so that I could concentrate on my other 5 subjects. Unfortunately (or fortunately) Ms Rosengrave had other ideas. She pushed me so hard to achieve so much more that it was no longer my Slacker Subject.
And while I’m not sure where they are now in their teaching career I do hope that they are still teaching and inspiring students the same way they inspired me!
(Apologies for any misspelt names as my memory is not as good as it was all those years ago!)
