My 8th Grade Teachers

I'm not sure how it came up, but today in class my 8th graders asked me what my 8th grade teachers were like. Normally, I don't let them get me off track this bad, however, this time it was something that interested me.

So, I humored them.

My English teacher was someone who the majority of my friends were afraid of. I wasn't, though. This was probably because my sister had been in her class a few years before me and had only positive things to say about her. This teacher was a grammar nazi. She had long red fingernails that she would tap against the board when she was making a point. She made students stand up behind their desks when answering a question. She had tape in the shape of a square on her floor -- it was called "the box" and it was something that all students feared. Every time we gave a speech or presentation, we had to stand inside the dreaded box. Today, in my classroom, I have a box just like hers. My students aren't nearly as afraid of it as I was when I was in 8th grade.. but that's good because I don't want them to be. She was also the first teacher I ever had who went out of her way to tell me I was a good writer.

My algebra teacher was really tall and really funny. He used to get off topic in class and tell stories about his son, his favorite band R.E.M. , and Bill Cosby, his favorite comedian. He also had quite a temper. One time he caught a few of the boys in my class counting how many times he said the word "um" - an assignment given to us by the English teacher mentioned above - and he blew a gasket. It was the biggest outburst I ever witnessed from a teacher. The finale was him stomping out of the classroom and slamming the door. Besides his temper, he was the kind of teacher that you felt comfortable confiding in. I remember saying that to him once in an off-subject class discussion, and I know it really touched him because he thanked me the next day when he passed me in the hall.

My geography teacher was crazy. She had huge reading glasses that she used to wave around while she was teaching. For some reason, she loved me. In fact, she loved me so much that she gave me an A on everything. At some point in the year, I realized she was just giving me A's without reading my work, so on an essay test I purposely wrote a few random things like "Camels are extinct" to test out my theory. I wasn't surprised when my test came back with a big red A+ on it. I told my students this today, and they were very jealous. I explained to them that it actually really wasn't a good thing, but they didn't see the logic in that.

My science teacher was really nice and a little bit of a pushover. The only major thing I remember about her class was a lesson where we pulled a tablecloth out from under plates, glasses, and silverware. I was one of the people who tried it, and it worked.. to my complete and total surprise. I do remember having to study for the tests that she gave, though. And, studying isn't something I remember doing much of during my school years, so she must have been doing something right.

It's really interesting for me to think back on the teachers I've had and what I remember about each of them. It's even stranger to think that one day 10 years from now my students might be writing a blog or having a conversation about their teacher Mrs. (Sorry) and the things they remember about her.....