Did you have good teachers when you were in school?

[proud2BlibKansan]

Thinking back to your own education, (not your kids), did you feel like most of your teachers were good? Were most of them competent and did you learn from them? Or were they bad and you learned little from them?

Again, the majority of them. Not just the bitch you had in 3rd grade.

For the record, my 4th grade teacher was a lunatic. To this day, I can see her face and I detest her. She is dead but I still hate her. But the majority of my teachers were very good.

[monmouth]

1. I can't remember what I had for breakfast but I do remember each

and every one of my teachers....

[evlbstrd]

2. Yes, most of them.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. They didn't teach you about vowels

:evilgrin:

[evlbstrd]

25. They were the bad ones.

No merit pay for them.

[madaboutharry]

3. My 6th grade teacher was very stupid.

She was just a really stupid person. The school knew this and had the entire class go on to one particular 7th grade teacher, who was wonderful. He spent the entire year teaching both 6th and 7th grade so that we would be ready for 8th grade. We were.

Other than what my parents referred to as "The Lost Weekend that lasted a Year," I had a very good education.

[proud2BlibKansan]

10. I don't remember any stupid ones

But I do remember the mean ones.

[EFerrari]

61. I remember only one "bad" teacher and he taught History

at my high school. Iirc, he spent most of the class hour cowering behind his desk and trying not to see what was going on beyond the second row. Also remember that the hormones in that room were peeling the paint off of the walls. Poor guy. There are some classes that are just more manageable team taught. In middle school, we were team taught science with three teachers and maybe 2.5X the class size. It was great. It worked fine, the teachers had fun with each and so we had fun, too.

[redqueen]

5. Most were good.

There were a few idiots, but only a few.

[960]

6. Other: Yes, I had some Great teachers. The majority were average.

[Rabrrrrrr]

7. How did you know my third grade teacher was the bitch?

:rofl:

Mostly I had good teachers. I liked most of them, and I think they did a good job, cared about us, and cared abot the subjects they taught.

Even my third grade teacher, who was the old battlebot bitch, actually taught us an awful lot of really cool stuff. It's bad she was so nasty, though; I'd have much better memories of that year. She was real big on anthropology, though, and had traveled all over the world to spend time with various tribes and indigenous peoples, and had lots of movies that she'd taken. Fascinating, real experiences that she shared with us, and I'm sure it was through her that my eyes were opened to a vast, complicated, varied world of different peoples.

But, man, she was mean and nasty.

A spinster by every definition of the word.

I grew up in Wisconsin, though, and we're known for having pretty good public schools overall. Other than my third grade teacher, there are only a few that I would have any real complaints about, and luckily, I didn't have those teachers.

[glinda]

8. Go figure. I went to Catholic Schools my whole life and they were great.

I had classes where I read Dostoevsky, Hesse and others and could sub an independent study course for my Religion course. The nuns who were Franciscan in Grade School were amazing. I just don't know what happened since.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. I went to Catholic elementary school and had a wonderful education

And I found out years later that several of my best teachers didn't even have college degrees. Something that I always think of when we discuss teacher education.

[Donnachaidh]

30. and I had a Catholic education, that was fraught with psychological horror

Imagine the fun when the other girl standing behind you gets yanked out of line by the collar, backslapped twice, and thrown down the hallway on her back? And that girl was a third grader. Or watching other kids get verbally abused in front of the entire class, and then yanked into the clothes closet to get slapped around, which was loud enough for the entire class to hear.

The perpetrators? Two nuns, both of which continued the same types of abuses for years. Our education levels were higher, but we learned because of fear, not because these women loved to teach.

[proud2BlibKansan]

33. I was so lucky

Our nuns were wonderful. I never saw any of them abuse kids.

[smokey nj]

111. I had a similar experience. By the time I started in 1974 the nuns pretty

much stopped the corporal punishment (I remember a few incidents, but nothing like my older brother and sisters experienced) but they still got off on psychological abuse. The nuns I had just LOVED publicly humiliating young children. The quality of education wasn't all that great either.

[glinda]

49. How odd. Even my Grade-School nuns had very advanced degrees generally.

I prefer someone who has some sort of certification although I have seen plenty who teach College that really shouldn't. But usually they did not get Tenure.

[proud2BlibKansan]

65. I had lots of teachers who weren't certified

It was more common when I was in school - in the 60s. The nuns were put right into a classroom as soon as they became nuns and they went to school at night to earn their degrees.

[sandnsea]

9. Meh, 50/50

Especially when you start calculating in high school teachers. A few were exceptional, some were extraordinarily bad like the math teacher who constantly told WWI stories. I spent most of my elementary education bored to tears. I would do 10 pages ahead in my workbooks and then stop because otherwise I'd have nothing to do the next week. Glad some of that has changed. Do teachers get more money for implementing those changes? I don't know. They should have.

[proud2BlibKansan]

Workbooks are largely forbidden in most elementary schools now

We are directed to deliver instruction that involves kids and makes them active learners. My current principal goes ballistic when she sees worksheets and workbooks.

[sandnsea]

36. They're okay as supplements

Some kids learn through reading and don't do as well with hands-on methods. Knowing the difference is the expertise a teacher provides.

[proud2BlibKansan]

76. And when your administration forbids their use

your teacher expertise is pretty much worthless.

[sandnsea]

77. No

It just means you have to find another method to introduce written material that enhances the core lesson instead of replaces it.

[JuniperLea]

51. I'm a visual learner...

I jot things down, draw diagrams, etc. And I used to love to save worksheets wherein I learned something I thought I might actually get to use someday.

When I was a kid, for instance, in math, we'd have a workbook with tear-out sheets. Counting money, for example. We'd have the worksheet, and we'd have cardboard coins. I thought it was great; I loved learning that way. We learned to use an abacus the same way.

[Reader Rabbit]

11. Most of mine were good.

I had one or two that were "meh," but none that today I would call a bad teacher. The ones I absolutely hated at the time were often the best teachers, because they rode my butt and didn't let me get away with anything!

[ulysses]

12. most were at least competent.

A few sucked rocks and a few rocked my world.

[depakid]

56. That would be my experience

I can cite the rare case of incompetence or two- but most were pretty good and I'd say from what I've observed since, better than average.

Three however (one in high school and two as an undergrad)- were Masters of the Art. Not just of their own subjects- but multiple subjects, as well as human nature. Oddly enough, in grad school(s) my experience has been somewhat different- and I think that goes to the nature of teaching as opposed to being brilliant (and/or more narrowly focused).

One particular instance stands out. This man was likely the most intelligent person I've ever encountered. Nuclear physicist PhD Berkeley who applied his knowledge in the upper echilons of government. One of Rickover's boys actually. Yet the guy spoke at least 6 languages fluently- dude reads Goerthe in German and Puskin in Russian. No literary allusion or reference anyone tossed out every got past him and he was prone to comment on them in papers). I used to tease him about history every now and again by asking him about what happened on certain dates (knowing the response would be something like: on what continent?) -and don't get him started on Philosophy.

Amazing computer modeler and systems thinker. Totally got Kahneman, Simon and such too.

Now this was during the Bush years- and like most of us, he suffered from considerable disillusionment and burn out. For all his eruditioe- and insightful takes on human nature, he wouldn't have made a good undergrad or high school teacher. Even on the Grad level- he wasn't what I considered a master- someone who busted paradigms for students (on a fairly regular basis). There's unique sort of talent in that- an art.

Kind of an ineffable deal- that. The three masters I had were quite different sorts of folks, from differing backgrounds and on the surface it would seem, not that many common themes. But they had "it."

[ulysses]

72. hi, depa.

I think I'd define what you see as ineffable as curiosity, both personal and professional. Maybe that's too simplistic, though.

[depakid]

82. Correct me of I'm wrong- yet it seems you see curiousity from time time?

In the trenches?

And further it along?

Teaching is an art requiring incredible (ineffable?) sorts of skills. Reading Borges in Spanish- cool enough. Yet not the same thing. Not even close.

[cloudbase]

Through high school

I had four that I would rate as exceptional. Most were adequate, with some who just managed to show up. There were a couple of outstanding professors in college, most notably Professor Gerson, who taught thermodynamics. That man was truly gifted.

I've seen about the same with my children, though my oldest certainly had better professors in college, but that's a result of the college he attended. My youngest graduates college in May, and he hasn't mentioned many exceptional professors.

[XemaSab]

14. Let's see:

K: Good teacher
1: Okay
2: Okay
3: Great
4: Best teacher ever
5: Horrible bitch from hell
5 1/2: Horrible bitch from hell part 2
6: A good teacher who had an unmanageable class
7: Bunch of burnouts
8: Bunch of burnouts except my Russian teacher
9-12: About four truly inspiring teachers, a handful of freaks, and quite a few mediocre teachers

And I should say my elementary school math and science teachers were very good. :)

[hamsterjill]

15. Great, progressive ideas

I grew up in a very small Texas town, and despite what one might think, we had very progressive teachers.

We were taught the fundamentals (reading, math, etc.) and we were also taught to think for ourselves. I can remember a history teacher walking into a high school classroom, slamming a book down on his desk, and saying "people, just because you've lived in a democracy your whole life does not mean that you will ALWAYS live in a democracy".

There was one particular math teacher who was incredible. He would stick with you (or anyone) until you GOT the concept, and no one was favored over another, regardless of how rich or how poor your family was.

I'm an old lady now, and it took me a long time to truly appreciate what those teachers did for me.

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. One of my best teachers was my college Science professor

One day as we walked into class, he handed each of us a little light bulb, a battery and a piece of wire. He said "make it light".

I was a Science idiot but to this day I can make that light bulb come on. :)

[Posteritatis]

110. I instantly like that history teacher

Getting a nice mental image of everyone in the room jumping at the sound.

Wish I had the math teacher too; the ones I had were the opposite of that without exception. I got my math education from my physics teachers, and incidentally at that. (I always found that weird; my math and physics classes used identical math, but my physics grades were always 20% higher.)

[Taverner]

16. Some were great, some were good, some were bad and some were horrible

Of course for Junior High I went to a fundie school, so of all the 20+ teachers that taught me, only 1 was worth anything other than being used as a torch for one of Nero's parties

[tom_paine]

17. The majority, but more than a few bad ones and a couple of very bad ones.

I have the greatest respect for the teaching profession.

But I have to be honest here.

I voted "the majority", but not nearly as much as I'd thought, knowing some very good teachers personally.

[SacredCow]

18. It was a mixed bag....

But then again so was my education, going from public school until the 5th grade, then a fundie-based private school for 4 years, and then back to the public schools for high school.

I hated most of the fundie ones, but that's to be expected.

I think the one that may have been the earliest influence on me as a person would have been my 3rd grade teacher. A great deal of my extended family at the time were VERY racist and she was my first non-white teacher. I went into that class only with the knowledge of the horrible things my family would say about other races, and it didn't take long for me to figure out that I had been force-fed a bunch of hooey for my whole (then-short) life. She was a fantastic teacher, and a great person. And I didn't mind at all telling my idiot family so!

[underpants]

19. The only thing I actually learned in high shcool was how to type

seriuosly

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

20. I had teachers some of the know-nothings would consider "bad."

Some were alcoholics. Some were disgruntled. Some were close to retirement and getting a little slow. Some had character flaws.

All of them had a thankless, shitty job that nobody else wanted to do and they all did it better than the known-nothings ever could imagine.

[Adelante]

21. I had very good teachers

I received an excellent public school education in the 1950s-60s.

[BuyingThyme]

22. I went to the best elementary and high schools in the world.

The teachers were top notch.

Not so much in middle school. I could've skipped middle school altogether and been just fine. Well, relatively speaking.

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. No I did

Seriously. I had the best education you could get in my city at that time. I am incredibly grateful for it.

[BuyingThyme]

29. I'm not necessarily speaking in academic terms.

I'm just saying that my schools were way better than yours. That does not mean your schools weren't great. It's just that you didn't grow up in the best place in the world.

[proud2BlibKansan]

34. Beaver Cleaver would have been right at home in my neighborhood

:)

[BuyingThyme]

37. He lived four or five houses up, on the other side of the street.

He went by "Chris."

[callous taoboy]

44. Eddie Haskel moved into my neighborhood after leaving "Beaver."

[BuyingThyme]

50. Really? He was a bitter cop, wasn't he?

[ejpoeta]

23. I've had some really great teachers in my life. They have helped me through some

tough times. And I still remember them to this day!! There have been a few bad ones too, but man, the great ones I had... they really changed my life and helped me believe in myself and strive to do better.

[cali]

27. many, if not most of my teachers sucked

and exept for 1 year, I attended elite private schools.

[ulysses]

39. private schools pay shit.

And that's in comparison to the shit pay most public school teachers get.

[cali]

43. not all private schools pay shit

I rather doubt the ones I attended did.

[ulysses]

45. the ones I worked for did.

On the order of half to 3/4 what public school teachers make in the same area.

[proud2BlibKansan]

68. My dad spent his 40 year career in education in private schools

He was also on the national board of NAIS.

Private school teachers on average are paid much less than public school teachers nationwide.

There might be a few exceptions but the national average is less.

[tangent90]

28. I had many excellent teachers and a couple of foul balls.

But I learned as much from the bad ones as from the good ones. Most of us did as well. My senior year home room teacher Jerry Coody was an anti-Semitic asshole who required us to read Protocols of ...Zion. No shit. But his agenda mostly backfired...we knew how to reject such irrational stupidity by the time we got to 12th grade.

[Ikonoklast]

31. Mine were all over the place.

Had some good ones, some bad ones, and some that had absolutely no business being anywhere near a school, or kids for that matter.

Had a few drunks, a few that were busy trying to nail the cute new teacher, some that ROAD, some that thought if you hit the kids hard enough they would eventually learn something.

Yeah. I learned how to duck.

[DevonRex]

32. My public school teachers were excellent. The private school ones not so much.

[AnneD]

35. I had a very rough time when I was a kid.....

no minimum wage then, dad not supplying child support, Mom working her ass off to support 4 little kids and finally temporarily giving us up for 6 month to get back up on her feet and get dad for child support.

We moved around so much my first year in school as Mom had to move for jobs and more affordable housing. School brought order to my chaotic life and I guess some of the teachers figured out how bad things must have been because they always did little things to help me feel connected-giving me the class Christmas tree so we would have one at home-making sure I had lunch in the days before free and reduced lunches-giving me a suspiciously new coat that their child had 'outgrown', new supplies that would mysteriously enter my desk overnight, making sure I had cards for valentine's day- the list is endless.

Some how I still managed to learn what I needed, but what they taught me was compassion, kindness, generosity, and trust in the kindness of strangers.

I had a few bad teachers that built my character, but I always got the teacher I needed for the lesson I needed to learn.

[callous taoboy]

46. Very touching post. Thank you. n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

38. Some good, some not so good.

I went to school from 1952 until 1964...Ohio in 1st through 3rd; Colorado 4th through part of 10th; South Houston, Texas, for the second half of my sophomore year until I graduated.

[LanternWaste]

40. Yup...

Yup... for the most part, they were all very good. Even in the classes in which my grades were not up to my or my parent's standards, that's more my fault than anyone else-- as all the tools were available to me, but I simply chose not to use them.

One of my favorite teachers once commented to me, "My students always say they 'earned' their A's, but were 'given' their lower grades."

[damntexdem]

41. I said 'most,' but I don't know that the majority were good.

But the really good ones made the difference.

[callous taoboy]

42. Two ladies saved my life. Is this what you mean?

:evilgrin:

Seriously, if it hadn't have been for them I'm not sure how I would've turned out because I was certainly getting no other support after mom died when I was 9.

I had one evil bitch in second grade. Evil, evil, bitch. I had excellent ones in middle school. The coaches sucked, though. I had good ones in high school as well but I was headed more into an artsy career at that time so I did not take it seriously enough to realize how good they probably were. Our band directors were amazing.

[ulysses]

48. heh - my hs band director was great.

A solid gold ass at times, but a fantastic teacher who pushed us beyond our individual abilities.

[last_texas_dem]

47. I have a positive opinion of most of the teachers I had

Particularly in elementary and junior high, most of my teachers were knowledgeable and also seemed to really like kids. I had some very good elementary teachers in the Plus (GT) program; each one of them had very distinctive and memorable styles of approaching teaching.

I had a couple of teachers in eighth grade who were decent teachers, but with whom I had personality conflicts. However, I also had my favorite teacher of all time that year for both English and History, which helped to balance things out. (I love you, Ms. Melynee Fontenot- since I know you're going to just happen to be reading this thread on DU!)

Most of my teachers in high school were competent to very good. The one bad apple that I had in high school was a coach teaching an academic subject who rarely actually discussed the subject matter and was more intent on shoving libertarian ideology down all of his students' throats.

[REP]

52. KCMO public schools in the 70s and 80s - most were AWFUL

A few stand out as good, but most were incompetent. If it weren't for my mother, I wouldn't know grammar or history. Or much else.

[Joe Fields]

79. Thank you. As a product of those schools in the 60's and 70's I thoroughly agree.

[proud2BlibKansan]

86. It was an award winning district in the 60s

KCMO had one of the first special education programs in the country and was recognized for it's excellence. It also began one of the first programs for homeless children and has been awarded for that.

[REP]

105. It was excellent in the '10s through the '50s ... not so much when I went

My aunt was a proud graduate of Westport, class of '40.

By the time I was in high school (Southwest, class of '82), we had metal detectors and armed security guards. Hell, we had armed security guards at Bingham. At one time, Southwest had been the finest high school, public or private, in the US. Not in my lifetime.

[proud2BlibKansan]

109. Southwest had a great reputation when I was in school too

Bingham is thankfully closed. I am hoping they will tear that building down.

I also don't really have a problem with metal detectors and security. They have cops in all the suburban high schools but you don't hear many people complaining about them. But put security in the city schools and people freak out. Go figure.

[REP]

115. SW had ARMED SECURITY in the early 80s; SM schools did not

In fact, in the 80s, my husband took his gun to his HS (SME). He had to - he was on the rifle team.

Southwest has been closed for a decade. Anyone in the KCMO district would know this.

[proud2BlibKansan]

84. Elementary or secondary?

[REP]

104. Border Star, Bingham, Southwest - all staffed largely by morons and dolts

As I said, there was a good one here and there, especially at Southwest, but the rest of them were not good for much, other than babysitting.

[stray cat]

53. yes - but I went to an experimental University school - class size sometimes of 2

[Buck Laser]

54. I think I was exceptionally fortunate, especially in high school.

I had three teachers who shaped my interests and values for a lifetime. If I sat down to think it out, I could probably name another four or five in the lower grades as well.

[JuniperLea]

55. Most of mine were horrid...

With a few glaring exceptions.

I was the kid who always got busted daydreaming and staring out the window. Sometimes I was quite literally bored to tears.

[4lbs]

57. Yes. Especially in grammar school. Five of my first six teachers were great, and the remaining one

was still pretty good.

My 4th grade teacher recognized early on my advanced level of skill with various subject matter and decided to ask my parents if he could give me more advanced homework. I was part of a small group of 4 kids that was given more advanced studies in 4th through 6th grade.

By the time I reached junior high, I already knew how to do algebra, trigonometry, and some linear algebra (they called it math analysis then), as well as some high school level chemistry and physics.

This 4th grade teacher also recognized my best friend's dyslexia when it was little known at the time. Not even my friend's parents knew about it. However, my 4th grade teacher recognized it by the way he was trying to read aloud and write. He got my friend some help and within a year, he made a significant improvement in his schoolwork.

[Mugweed]

58. Good and bad

But mostly good to great.

[NeedleCast]

59. Mine was a pretty even mix

Some very good, energetic teachers who enjoyed their jobs. Some okay, get the job done without doing anything above and beyond and a few burn outs or teachers that just didn't care...their idea of "teaching" was to tell you to read the book and answer the questions at the end of the chapter.

[EFerrari]

60. Mrs. Frances Smith noticed that I didn't belong in the slow reading group

had me tested and got me started on writing stuff for fun. She also gave me a C on my CA map because the Central Valley was much too small. lol

[MadBadger]

62. I'm not far enough out of school to make that judgment (Hated most of my teachers)

That could have just been my immaturity...though some of some totally sucked.

[tabbycat31]

63. for the most part yes

there are some teachers that I can single out as horrible (to me then) but after my mom got into teaching, I realized that they were not bad teachers, but I was not the right type of student for them. My 4th grade teacher was an example of that. He taught a lot, but paid no attention to any bullying that was going on, and as a result I was scared to go to school that year.

[blue_onyx]

64. Through elementary school, mine were all good

I think my middle school teachers were good too. I had a few bad ones in high school. There were some teachers that made the work so easy. I remember one teacher (it was some sort of history class) who would give us these fill in the blank worksheets that had like 10 problems and that's all we would do for the entire hour.

I had one teacher for AP calculus and he wanted to be friends with everyone (he was about 25). So we would spend much of the class with everyone talking and it didn't make for the best learning situation. It didn't bother me at the time but looking back, I wish he had been a strict teacher. If he had been, I might have understood the material better and been able to pass the AP test which would've given me college credit.

There was one teacher I had for American Government that all the students hated. I have no idea why. She wasn't really mean but she didn't take any BS. She did make us work hard but I actually liked learning so I didn't mind. These are the types of teachers I liked. Overall, I had good teachers.

[madokie]

66. Yes

And I still like Teachers. As soon as I hear someone is a teacher I know I'm going to like this person.

[CTyankee]

67. I grew up in the 50s. Women were mostly teachers because they couldn't get degrees and jobs in other

professions. So of course we kids got "the best and the brightest" in our school teachers. They were very smart women, many of whom today would be in medicine, law, business, finance, etc. And, of course, they worked for very little money, hence the rise in teachers' unions, FOR GOOD REASON.

This wasn't just a cultural norm. It was enforced by universities that would NOT ADMIT women to their graduate schools: law schools, medical schools, e.g. Period. The end.

So I had great teachers. I learned and learned well. I am forever indebted to teachers that basically taught me into and thru my freshman year at college because they were so advanced themselves. I benefitted greatly and appreciate their service and their dedication to this day!

[Fresh_Start]

69. most were competent and hardworking but not excellent

The only excellent teachers I had were in college.

First 3 years, nuns and rulers are the only things that come to mind.
Next 2 years, nothing noteworthy
5th grade, teacher noticed I was practically blind
6th grade, teacher loved literature and was a jerk about penmanship
7-HS, no great teachers, no terrible teachers, at least one abjectly stupid teacher who constantly compared me to my older brother in front of the entire class: since I went to a tiny school, this went on for years.

[New Dawn]

70. No, but that is because I was sent to a parochial school.

One teacher called me a "Satanist" in front of the entire class. I was 10 at the time.

[varelse]

71. Most of my teachers were mediocre, and a few were very very BAD

However, a few of them were excellent. Not necessarily 'nice' (as a general rule they were the hard-asses), just very, very competent and unrelentingly dedicated to teaching.

[etherealtruth]

73. Approximately 25% of my k-12 teachers were amazing, phenominal...

25% were "bad" (for a variety of reasons .... mean, stupid, suffering from mental illness, substance abusing or simply did not have the skills necessary to be a successful teacher) and 50% of my teachers were competent (they did the job they were paid to do).

There is not enough money in the world to compensate the excellent teachers .... at the advanced age of 47 they still have an impact on my life ... and the truly bad ones ... well ...

The majority were competent/adequate which is what one would expect.

It should be noted that I went to a parochial school for elementary school and a public relatively affluent sub-urban school district.

Edit to add: I wish your poll continued a category indication adequacy or "average"

[Vehl]

74. Most were good; except for a few bad apples

Most of the teachers i had during my school years were really good and dedicated, some were indifferent..they didn't care if we did well or not while a few were really out to punish students for even the most minor of infractions..real or imagined.


I had my schooling in an Asian country, and teachers there use caning as a legitimate means of instilling "discipline". While most of my teachers did not resort to it often; some took a perverse pleasure in canings students/slapping them.lol. what was worse is their claim "we are only doing their for your own benefit...one day you would realize this and thank us" :crazy:


its true that having teachers who enforced discipline helped in the longer run; but it really ruined the day once in a while when we were school kids though. and to top it all; some teachers would cane students if they make any mistakes in questions/quizzes....and that was plain nasty cos there is no way one can make certain that he answers every question correctly!.


some of the mean ones had this "brute force" method when it comes to teaching. it goes like this
a: teach
b: teach
c: teach more
d: punish students who give incorrect answers(eg: caning/detention/kneeling(yeah!) )

rinse and repeat! :nopity:


however this crude method, was effective in a perverse way cos a lot of students studied hard just so they would not get caned.
and moreover all teachers had this taboo about making very positive comments on your report card; even if you got As on all the subjects...their reasoning is that if they do make comments like "good/very good" the student would get complacent and would not keep up the good work! so a straight A student would have a "possible to improve" in the comments section of his report card :o


having said that; there were a lot of really kind and nice teachers too, who employed kindness and gentle encouragement.
i still keep in touch with some of those; even though they might be half a world away; and so do many of their students.



nevertheless, their teaching did help me do very well here in American colleges even though i never studied in the english medium till attending college.

[Chemical Bill]

75. I had some great teachers.

Of course, they had a great student. :hide:

Bill

[Joe Fields]

78. I had a lot of bad teachers.

Not the majority, but plenty of them.

[Fire1]

97. I can tell by your animosity.

[Lisa0825]

80. Several...

Miss Tsukiyama, Ms Yakimoto (from my early years in Hawaii), Mr O'Connor (elementary), (high school)Ms Ramey, Mrs Giles, Mr Carrol, Mr Tadema, Molly (theater teacher went by first name, and I can't remember her last name!)... more whose names escape me at the moment... etc....

I would say I had at least one teacher every year who was exemplary, and most were good. Very few were less than good. And half my education was spent in a borderline poor district in the Republic of Texas *gag*.

[csziggy]

81. The whole range - from very good to people that should never have been allowed in a classroom

The good ones that stand out - my fourth grade teacher who engaged and inspired all the students no matter what their abilities were. My eighth grade science teacher who really taught us science and scientific method without compromising for religion. The English teacher who had been a college professor and decided to teach high school students when he got tired of freshmen who could not construct a coherent sentence. He also taught me to enjoy puns but to use them sparingly.

The poor ones - The fifth grade English teacher who sent me to the principal for finishing the assigned book early and reading a different one during the reading hour. The math teacher who forced me to use long division even though I could do the figures in my head - and who systematically destroyed my enjoyment of math. The elementary school music teacher who ridiculed and harassed students who could not sing and who did not already know how to read music. The algebra teacher who did not think girls should take advanced math or go to college - he also resented that my oldest sister had won every math award while she was in his classes and took that out on me.

There was also the history teacher who was a very nice man but who knew less about world history than I did when I started his class in tenth grade. He taught only what was in our aged books that had only a superficial coverage of history outside of the Mesopotamia - Egypt - Greece - Roman - Europe - England - America track. He took his tests directly from the questions at the end of each chapter. The really stupid part - that was the only class where anyone wanted to cheat off my tests. I laughed at the girl who asked and told her if she could not get a passing grade on those tests, she did not deserve to pass. That class was the easiest A I ever got at any level of school and college.

Most of my teachers were adequate but uninspiring.

[Political Heretic]

83. Yes, public school and the majority of my teachers were very good.

I had a small number of teachers that were very bad - I can think of three from my entire K-12. The rest were very good. Many were extremely good.

[woo me with science]

85. Most people who are poorly educated don't realize it.

Most poor teachers don't realize it, either. They think they are hunky dory.

[TwilightGardener]

87. Some good, some just "OK", some not so good, some terrible.

Kind of like a student grade curve--a few at the top and the bottom, most somewhere in between.

[bobbert]

88. I went to public school in a rich subarb

We had great teachers, I think over 95% of our graduating class went to college. Our high school was basically college prep, I think I actually had more homework and stricter due dates in high school than in college.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

89. The Overwhelming Majority Of Mine Sucked.

[Arugula Latte]

90. Most were very good. My kids have had great public school teachers, too.

Once in awhile there will be a dud of a substitute (my son had a long-term sub for a couple months one year and that woman was, frankly, out of her gourd), but I tell them, hey, that's a lesson in itself. Not everybody in this world will treat you justly, not everyone is fair, not everyone is competent, and, frankly, not everyone is sane.

[dysfunctional press]

91. i had a total of 3 intelligent & inspirational teachers. the rest were crap.

part of the reason is that i went to lutheran schools for all but grades 7 & 8, which were spent at the public jr. high school. all 3 of the best teachers were at the public school, although i did have one teacher in my lutheran high school that at least deserves an honorable mention as the would-be 4th on the list.

[dana_b]

92. your 4th grade teacher and my 5th and 6th grade

teachers must have been related.

5th grade teacher yelled, hit and intimidated all of us. I was terrified of him. My 6th grade teacher was just angry and ridiculed a lot of students. She definitely needed a big hug.

The rest were pretty good so I guess I lucked out.

[Lady Effingbroke]

93. A few good, a few bad, most mediocre.

And yes, my third grade teacher was a bitch. She yelled so loud you could hear her outside the building. :scared:

[Spazito]

94. A few excellent ones, most were adequate and a few horrors...

not unlike any other profession, imo.

[Jankyn]

95. Public school teachers saved my life.

It's that simple.

I grew up in a home with an alcoholic father and a crazy (I mean batshit crazy) Jehovah's Witness mother. Without the teachers--from first grade on--to encourage my intellect and reassure me that my perceptions of the world were in fact correct, I suspect I never would have made it through adolescence (let alone gone on to earn an advanced degree and a have a decent career).

Mind you, this was in a small town where everyone knew my dad was a drunk and my mom was religious nut.

Bless those underpaid, overworked, dedicated teachers.

[Dinger]

107. . . .

I have no words.

[InvisibleTouch]

96. I remember most clearly the best and the worst.

The best was my first- and third-grade teacher (same lady), who was just sweet and wonderful. She loved to have parties in class; she'd bring balloons and cake unexpectedly as an occasional surprise. The auto accident that ended her teaching career revealed a trunkful of balloons, as she'd planned to have a party in class that day. I met her in a store again many years later, still wearing a neck brace. She never fully recovered from her injuries. :(

I also had a great lady in 5th grade, a grandmotherly type who indulged my passion for reptiles with a kind of puzzled affection. The 4th-grader was somewhat strict, but did a lot of good things with the class which we didn't always appreciate at the time (made us memorize and recite one poem per month in front of the whole class, for instance; she was also the one who read aloud to us for half an hour or so after lunch, which was truly the highlight of the day). The second-grader was the bitch. :) Though in retrospect she wasn't nearly as bad as a few I had more briefly in later years: a nun who scared us with tales of invisible demons and insisted that animals had no souls (if ever I should have stood up and loudly challenged a teacher in class, it would have been then), and a high school teacher who made it her personal mission to single out and humiliate kids in her classroom, pretty much at random.

But overall, the vast majority of my teachers were great. It was the other kids who weren't so great, especially in later years.

[WI_DEM]

98. most were good, a few were wonderful and then there were some who should never have

entered the profession.

[Fire1]

99. I can only recall 1 teacher in my entire life that would be

considered 'poor.'

[anigbrowl]

100. It was a mixed bag; needs more options

Personally, I draw a distinction between a teacher's personality and their teaching ability. Thus, my history teacher was a horrible bitch, but she was nonetheless very good at teaching history. I had a lovely math teacher in my last 2 years of high school, who didn't have a clue.

[Ilsa]

101. I had some fabulous teachers in public school and some that were horrible.

My Civics and World History teacher in high school was the worst teacher ever. He was also a Church of Christ minister. He would sit in his chair and read some of the book ad put us to sleep. Two great subjects and he was a total bore.

Most of my teachers had a passion for what they were doing and were very good at getting us prepared for college.

[Greyhound]

102. 4 competent and 1 great until I went to college after leaving school for 10 years.

The overwhelming majority of my teachers (K - 12) were complete idiots that themselves were apparently poorly educated, were only interested in forcing conformity, and pushing official doctrine in spite of the facts. Think Archie Bunker with glasses.

[RushIsRot]

103. My third grade teacher got me interested in nature. I love her the most.

I have been interested in nature ever since. MOST of my teachers were wonderful and I love the majority of them.

My fifth grade teacher was the wife of the Principal. She was the worst I ever had. She taught reasonably well, but she had an attitude.

My sixth grade teacher allowed us to build model airplanes during class time. She went on to become the Principal of that school.

[AlCzervik]

106. i can remember the names of all of the great ones i had.

I saw a few of them the last time i went back for a visit, it wass pretty cool.

[Posteritatis]

108. Most of mine were not notable either way

There were a few I hated; the math teachers in HS I had were genuinely bad, and I had a few in earlier years who equated "teaching" with "assigning homework for its own sake" to the point where fifth graders had eight or so hours a night. One in junior high was a fan of collective or corporal punishment; we were trying to figure out a way to get that one fired when he up and died on us anyway. (The tangible relief among the students was telling in a kind of chilling way.)

When I switched districts from a French immersion one to an English one, I also had a catastrophic French teacher, who actually managed to un-teach me French in the year I took classes with her. Horrific little troll who actively punished anyone who worked ahead.

There were a lot that I barely remember one way or another; I have no real good or bad experiences associated with them, don't feel I learned much of anything. I don't know if that was actually the case or not, since at 28 I'm probably not the best judge of the educational quality of teachers when I was nine and something of a trauma case anyway, and don't consider them to be 'bad' teachers that much.

There were a few I considered particularly good in high school. Two of them were legends in the local school district, to the point where the school board specifically exempted one of them from sticking to the curriculum - they believed that any requirements they imposed on him would result in a lower quality of teaching for any of the students under him, from those of us who were sailing through school without a problem to the most struggling special-education students. I've never seen someone successfully juggle so many teaching methods at so many educational levels in one room so consistently before, and think I'll be doing good for myself if I ever wind up a hundredth as good an instructor.

[DireStrike]

112. I'm curious what percentage of "good-teacher-havers" support merit pay and so on -nt-

[NoPasaran]

113. I'd have to say the majority of my teachers were forgettable

Because 35+ years on, I've forgotten a lot of them. But I do recall some who were really excellent and a few who were absolutely wretched.

[Raine]

114. I had some really horrible ones

more were bad than good but I had a couple that were really really good. Thanks to the couple of good ones I developed a life-long love of learning but the bad ones made me hate school.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

116. I didn't attend public school so I won't participate in the poll

I think it was intended for those who attended public schools, right?

I had two teachers I would say were very good. The rest varied from bad to self-absorbed. However, I've never forgot those two and I respect them to this day.

[bumblebee1]

117. There are a few that I remember.

I remember in fifth grade, I had a Reading teacher named Miss Foster. She would have the students read and recite the story. She also gave you words that you had to look up and then recite the definitions to her. Miss Foster had the reputation of being a hard ass. I didn't have many problems with her. She also taught us French on Fridays. I still retain alot of the French she taught. My younger sister also had the same teacher. She asked our stepmother to visit this teacher on a Parent-Teacher night. Stepmother did. After her visit, stepmother talked about how well my sister did. This same teacher also talked about how I always tried my best with getting the work done. Stepmother's reaction to that- a mocking tone when she described my work with Miss Foster.

My next teacher was also a fifth grade teacher. She was my homeroom and U.S. Geography teacher. Unfortunately, she became ill and had to be hospitalized. She also retired that year. Also, Miss MacDonald had the reputation of being a hard ass. Miss MacDonald took over as my homeroom teacher when the original homeroom teacher was transferred to the middle school with the sixth graders. I can remember talking to my father about being scared to be in her homeroom as she was a "crab." (Didn't use the word hard ass around my father.) My father then told me that sometimes you can do things that can make her be crabby. Miss MacDonald's method of teaching U.S. Geography was to write down the name of the state, its capital, major cities and predominate industries. We would take down the notes. After wards, we'd discuss it.

Next, my seventh grade World Geography teacher. He would have us draw the maps of the country we studied. We needed to include the capital, major cities, bodies of water in the country and the mountain ranges. We also had to turn in those maps for grades. Yes, there was always testing. By now, you're guessing that Geography was one of my better subjects along with English and reading. I also enjoyed History. Our eighth grade U.S. History teacher was also the principal of the school. Towards the end of the school year, we were doing alot of independent study due to his principal obligations. He'd check up on our class a majority of the time. The student body nicknamed him Jake. However, he would not a whole lot of crap.

In high school, I had an Earth and Space Science teacher. One day in class, he was talking about the brain drain of scientists in Germany during the thirties. I made the comment that the scientist were probably Jewish. The next day, the teacher came up to me and asked me how did I know these scientists were Jewish. I then told them that what I knew about the history of Germany in the thirties, those Jews with means to leave Germany did.

There were many more teachers,but, this would go on forever. There were some subjects that were over my head, mainly Math. I've never understood how I could do horribly in math and then not have as much trouble with Algebra. There was also someone else involved with our English learning. That was my father. He would not put up with his girls speaking improper English. He would always correct up on our speaking. An example being "We don't got it." We'd be told "It's 'We don't have it.'"

[Maru Kitteh]

118. I even smiled when I read the question. Most of my teachers were very good, even when I was not

I'm so GLAD I was educated in the public school system.