Who was your favorite N.H.S. teacher? For me, it's hard to pin it down to just one. But if pressed, I'd have to say Mrs. Kathryn Bedell. In both her history and English classes, she put things in my head that eventually went on to help me both professionally and personally. The way she taught shaped the way my thought process worked, and that might be the best compliment for a teacher.
(Honorable mention goes to Señor William O'Neal. His Spanish classes were simply fun for me, and even now I have distinct memories of them. Because of him, I can still scratch out a bumbling, basic conversation with someone I encounter who speaks Español.)
O.K. - I'm going to take numerical license as well then - and not confine myself to just one; because thinking back, we really had excellent teachers at good ole NHS. Perhaps that's what helped influence my foray into a long teaching career.
ReplyDeleteThe teacher from whom I learned the most was Paul M. Crawn, Jr. in Biology II (I was too chicken to take Physics. I didn't want it to hurt my GPA). But Mr. Crawn introduced a lot of philosophy into his Bio course, as I remember - and he made me THINK! He gave me the (perhaps false) confidence to start out as a science major in college.
Now, as to fun... definitely Mr. Everett Kirschner. Science again??? Anyway, maybe because of the class dynamic, maybe because we could make him blush at the drop of a hat - or maybe becasue I was actually good in Chemistry. But his class was definitely entertaining!
hmmm...I think the one that made the biggest impression on me was Mr Hontz,,,he could be mean but we would be so proud when we did a concert because we worked so hard,,,plus he often took us ( just a couple) into NYC and took us toe bizzare shows( Japanese or other dancers from different countries and authentic restaurants that often didnt speak English but the atmosphere and food were great ! We wend on band trips and exchanged with other states they would put us up in their homes and we would put them up in ours if they came to us,plus when we went to visit them we would tour the sites in their state, we would have a very memorable time on these trips, my brother or myself would often get into mischief on these trips !
ReplyDeleteMrs. Bedell for English. I actually enjoyed the reading of Shakespeare in her class. She once called me the Richard Burton of N.H.S. It made my day. And yes i have the complete works of Shakespeare. For Math it was Mrs. Gerth I always enjoyed her classes and her personality. Mr. Guidi for gym. " Men drop and give me 25 push-ups. Gentlemen keep this up and one day you'll have guns like these."
ReplyDeleteThe thought of favorite teachers, etc., leads me to think of the significant mentors I was fortunate to have as a young man. I've always told people that I had three fathers in my youth and that each influenced me greatly.
ReplyDeleteThe first was my father, Larry. Great guy, man of few words, said what he meant - meant what he said and had a very low "bullshit threshold!” He once grounded me in May of my senior year because I came home at 9:10 on a Friday night and was supposed to be in by 9pm! I got a little flippant with him and by 9:15 I had learned what the term "old man strength" meant! To this day he is the standard that I measure myself against regarding being a man of integrity and a father.
Coach Wikander was my second father during my high school years. He spent a lot of time with me during the wrestling off season teaching me and driving me to other schools so I could get some mat time in with other big kids. Starting my freshman year he always encouraged me to keep my grades decent so I could go to college someday. I distinctly remember telling him I wasn’t interested in college, but he never stopped nudging me in that direction. He was the perfect addition to what my own father was doing for me and I have always felt indebted to him. Throughout my Marine career he was usually the first person I'd share good news with (I faxed him a copy of my MBA diploma on graduation day) - I never stopped seeking his approval and showing him how much I valued all of the time and effort he put into guiding me into manhood.
For what it's worth, I obviously could never beat him on the mat while in high school, but by my senior year I could score on him occasionally. When I was in college he sometimes came to watch me wrestle at East Stroudsburg and I could clearly hear his booming voice on the sidelines during matches. I used to come back to Newton quite often to work out with him. I had grown much stronger and faster, but he upped the intensity level now that I was 23-25 years old and could withstand a thrashing. Once it turned from "high school boy vs. coach" into a "man to man" contest he really used to deliver some dominating "ass-whippings" on me! One time we got into pitched battle and Art Disque came up into the wrestling room and said he was wondering what the noise was he was hearing in his office. The noise was my body repeatedly being bounced on the mat. It was during that workout that I realized that I'd never be able to beat him until perhaps he was well into his 60's! Coach lives in Florida during the winter and was able to come and watch my oldest son wrestle in his Regional tournament one year. It was a proud moment for me to have him watch me sit in the coach's chair saying some of the same things he used to say to the Newton kids way back when! He was also the very first person I email when my youngest son won states this year. As you can tell - he was a teacher that made a huge difference in my life.
continued..
My third father was a very experienced Marine sergeant who had served 3 tours in Vietnam (severely wounded during each tour) before we started our freshman year in high school. He was a great mentor and taught me things that literally save my life and the lives other Marines during combat operations. He encouraged me to become an officer, which I ultimately did. One of the proudest moments of my career was in Kuwait after the cease-fire and he found my unit way out in the desert and he stopped by to visit. He told me he had been monitoring my radio frequency throughout the combat ops and said, "Ettore...you did real great!" - perhaps the most valued compliment I have ever received. About a year later I received a medal for actions in Kuwait and requested that instead of the two star general who traditionally would present it to me, if it was OK if this now retired Sergeant Major could do so. My request was approved and during the ceremony, with many hundreds of Marines watching, he walked with the aid of a cane to appropriate spot and presented the medal to me, exactly 17 years from the day when he first met me as an 18 year old Lance Corporal. I took the microphone and explained to the crowd who he was and why I asked him to present the medal to me. I also told the Marines of my unit that some of them had survived combat because of the lessons he had shared with me so many years ago.
ReplyDeleteThree fathers.
I was truly blessed!