Mr. Luis Duany: Duany was the "most feared" teacher to be in my high school's math department, he taught AP stats and calc, along with 9th grade. He would relate everything with music, we would start class with one of 5 different Salsa songs and then go on to challenge us with some math problems to "warm up our brains".
Mr. Jose Beltran: Mr. Beltran was my senior physics teacher. every Friday we would go off on a tangent from the week's material and he would just talk about any question we had in physics. These questions ranged from black holes to how can we time travel. The interesting thing about him is that he would always pick up on Monday with the question from last Friday, and extend the discussion if it was necessary.
Mr. Ivan Flores: He was a young teacher that was a character all on his own. by far the wackiest of the teachers. During test he would walk around the class, and during the most silent moment of it he would hit the metal boockshelf at the back of the class as loud as he could. He was into getting students to take tests more lightly, while I might not agree with his practices I must admit that it was quite successful. By the end of the year my whole class was comfortable with taking any kind of test. He would also give homework assignments the weirdest way, he would start by saying the page, but instead of saying 247 he would say 200 a pause 40 a pause and then 7. And while assigning the problems he would say something like "problems 1 through 29, the evens... Yeah! don't do them, do the odds" or other times he would say "do 1 through 33 odds" and after a long pause he would say "and from 2 to 32 do the evens". He made us not to stress out as much for notes, and made class more interesting.
What I know that was different from these teacher was that they thought outside the box, tried to teach students things in different ways and also encourage to go further than the classroom without the students noticing it. They avoided being monotonous in class, always thinking about different ways to teach the same material, striving never to make us feel like they are an absolute know-er. I know that teacher everywhere are very different, all my teachers ranged indifferent levels of wackiness, but what I would like to know is: Who was your wackiest teacher? Was he/she effective?
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I enjoyed hearing about some of these wacky teachers. My wackiest teacher was an AP government teacher named Mr. Wolski, who just looked plain crazy. He had very short hair, and a very noticeable goatee, that just made him look crazy. He had a giant sex pistols poster in the back of the room, and his style of delivery was very animated: the complete opposite of a monotone. He is a self-proclaimed communist, which seemed like a radical, taboo idea back in H.S. He asked us why he would support such an unpopular position, and we really had to think hard, but the one thing that I really got out of him was understanding the merit behind such a view, and that Americans are distorted about how they view a relatively popular ideology. He was a great teacher in getting even unmotivated students to pay attention. I consider him to be probably the 2nd best teacher I ever had.
ReplyDeleteI wrote something similar in my blog about influential teachers and how they affect our lives. It's funny how you do really remember the strange, crazy ones whether they were good, bad or horrible they just stay with you. My AP biology teacher wore a nappy wig with clumps of hair grease in it and she was crazy, but I still remember things she told us that had nothing to do with biology. My eigth grade art teacher stole my chalk art roses and told me she misplaced it. I know it's somewhere hanging in her house, but she made me explore other art forms and I'll never forget that. I had a French teacher with tattoo sleaves on both arms and legs. He carried a bottle of Wild Irish Rose in his back pocket and once gave me an in danger of failing to "get me in trouble." The teacher I chose as my most inspiring was also a little strange. He was covered in cat hair and was a poor disiplinarian who used to put me and my best friend out because he "knew we wouldn't argue with him." There are more that I remember for different reasons, but they all had a great impact on my life, some influenced my teaching style like my tenth grade English teacher who used to tell us we were going to hell in a handbasket. Teachers are so important and don't get nearly enough credit.
ReplyDeleteFrancis, I really liked hearing about the out of the ordinary teachers that have impacted your education. As I was reading, I couldn't help but reflect (and smile) about the teachers I encountered growing up. One in particular stood out: Mr. Bogigian. He was my 10th and 12th grade English teacher as well as my basketball coach. A former Marine, Coach B (as he wanted us to refer to him even in the classroom), definitely went to the tune of his own drum. Before I go on to tell about my experience having him as a teacher, I would like to point out that he was passionate about three particular things in life: the Marines, Shakespeare, and basketball.
ReplyDeleteI can remember walking into his classroom for the first time like it was yesterday. I am having flashbacks of Coach B's whiteboard adorned in fake army greenery and of his desk draped in a large red Marine's flag. I can picture him sitting on his large bouncy ball (because he didn't believe in chairs) in front of the classroom as we filtered in. He was muscular and bald with the biggest smile on his face. What I found most odd, was the fact that he was intensely clapping bouncing up and down on his ball as we walked in to find a seat. I've never had a teacher do that on the first day of class. It was quite comical.
Not only was Coach B's personality unique, but his teaching style was different too. In 10th grade, we examined Shakespeare's MacBeth and Julius Caesar. For a large chunk of the year, we analyzed these plays. Often, Coach B would act out scenes with the help of my classmates in front of the class using various tones in his voice to get the feeling of the scene across. You never knew what he was going to say or do next! After we were done diving into MacBeth, we were given the opportunity to act out one scene together as a class. Coach B made such a big deal about it, that he videotaped us! He wanted us to see ourselves taking on the roles of these Shakespearean characters. Because reenacting a scene was such a huge hit to our class, Coach B then decided to give us the chance to work outside of class to reenact a scene from Julius Caesar on videotape while being able to add our own twist of music, setting, effects, etc. From that experience, I will never forget "the Ides of March." At the time I thought it was just fun and games. However, now looking back, I feel that I learned so much about Shakespeare's impact on the literary world from participating in Coach B's class. His excitement about Shakespeare was contagious!
As a basketball coach, he was also different. He swore by Dick Devenzio's SCHAPE program. Not only did we practice on the court, but we were expected to keep a binder of notes, watch videos, and listen to motivational speakers that he had come to our school. He drilled the acronym SCHAPE into our heads, and to this day I can still recite it--Spirit-Communication- Hustle-Attitude-Precision-Excellence. His excitement about the game of basketball made us better players. Everyday we looked forward to going to practice because there was always something new to be learned. He sincerely cared about our team and wanted to make each of us better. He often stayed late after practice to help those of us who wanted to continue working on perfecting our shot. The experience I had with him as a coach, made me pursue coaching. I currently help assist the middle school basketball and softball programs at Laurel where I work.
Teachers definitely leave a lasting impression on their students, whether it be good or bad. It is important for us to keep this in mind.
Deanna
It sounds like your high school teachers really emphasized mindfulness. In my experience, teachers that practiced this sort or teaching were few and far between in the high school setting. You're lucky you have three examples of teachers who thought outside the box in this way. I can only think of one.
ReplyDeleteMr. Lammert was my astronomy teacher senior year. I had his class first period. I remember walking into school, still half asleep, every morning and entering his dark classroom with music BLAAASSTTING. He offered extra credit to any student who could name the band he was playing, which never happened. Him and I also shared an addiction to diet coke. We would chug our diet cokes at the beginning of class then have burping contests throughout the rest of the period.
I learned a lot in his class because his humor kept me very engaged. His taught us a lot of conspiracy teories that he truly believed. I cannot honestly say that I agreed, but I did learn the material and make educated assessments of the information being provided.
Maybe we should all be wacky teachers.
Chrissy
For me it was Mr. Cox. He was a young teacher in his first job. He taught social studies and my senior year I had him for US Government. One beautiful spring day Mr. Cox tells us we are leaving the building and we are going up to Graeters ice cream for class. This field trip was not planned and so we had to sneak out of the building and then also manage to sneak back in. I remember thinking, we are going to get caught. I can never do anything like this and get away with it. We did of course get away with it, and I am still not sure why Mr. Cox did this for us. It was a small gesture, but I still think it was the coolest/craziest thing any teacher ever did.
ReplyDeleteLoved this initiative, Francis! It's interesting to read everyone's comments on here and realize that the "craziest" teachers were the ones who left an unforgettable impression on us and made us remember that particular material - quite effective, I must say!
ReplyDeleteFor me, the teachers who made impressions on me as a student were Dr. Andrew Mulvania (Creative Writing/English Professor at Washington & Jefferson College): we had class every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:15-3:45. This was the DREADED last class of the day at W&J (we didn't have night class) and it made the days seem SO long to me. He structured the class with instruction on a particular style of creative writing (whether poetry, short fiction, and even more specific authors and their own unique styles) on Tuesdays and a workshop on Thursday where we incorporated what we read for Tuesday and created our own works to gather peer feedback and workshop our pieces. When it was nice outside, we would walk around campus and pick a spot to read our work to each other. It was an awesome way to feel more free about our work and to break out of the structured classroom format. It was awesome to be discussing our work and laughing and feeling so happy to be in a class in the afternoon.
Another teacher who made an impact on my education (that I haven't mentioned in blogs or class) was Mrs. Tina Raspanti (High school homeroom teacher and AP Psychology): I briefly talked about how one of my teacher's gave us a blue pebble/stone to keep during our senior year psychology class.. this same teacher was my homeroom teacher for all four years and would bring me Slurpee's for picking up her kids after school and taking them home. We grew very close and having her for AP Psychology was the icing on the cake. She would have us dance to music for the first five minute of class, levitate with our classmates, stand on our desks, and use our imagination to its fullest extent with any project in class. She used the demonstration method to help reinforce concepts better than any psychology class I have taken to date.
Gotta love the whacky ones! They always seem to be the best teachers... hopefully that means I have a chance as one ;)
I love hearing about teachers and the lasting impression they left on students. As a teacher we might not realize the affect we have on our students, but they will always remember the affect you had on them.
ReplyDeleteMr. Clark is the teacher I named in class. He changed my life. But I don't teach like him. In teaching style, I try to be like Mr. Frame. I only had him for one quarter for a mini-genetics elective, but kids just marveled in his class, wondering what would happen next. One day he stood in the wastebasket. One day he stood on his chair. One day he bent over partway and spun in a circle, doing the best human-spiral-shape possible. He said, "Okay, now picture me covered in maple syrup. That's what genes would look like."
ReplyDeleteI've stood on the chair, usually to act out the "omniscient narrator" point of view, but not the wastebasket. (Too gross.) And whenever I do my wackiest lesson of the year, I think of Mr. Frame. And when I'm searching for a wacky lesson, I think of him too.
My mom was a school secretary and last we heard of Mr. Frame, he was a superintendent somewhere. Stuck behind a desk. Kind of sad. He was at his best keeping teenagers spellbound and motivated.
Unfortunately, I thought long about a “wacky” teacher that positively influenced my learning in any core subject. I had no wacky teachers per se from K-12 or as an undergrad. However my 6th grade Phys. Ed. teacher, Ms. James was the PRISSIEST P.E. teacher I’ve ever known. She literally dressed in high heels, wore tons of jewelry on her neck, wrists and fingers, always had a shawl or sweater draped over her shoulders and occasionally filed her nails during class (yes…for real!!). She rarely gave instructions on sports, activities or games and always stood at the edge of the stage in gym. How on earth she ever got away with this?
ReplyDeleteI’ll never know how she got away with this in prior years or the first two quarters I had her. One day however, going into the 3rd quarter, entering the cold gym – the volleyball nets were set-up once again. We had played volleyball the ENTIRE 2nd quarter. Literally nothing but volleyball in this very cold gym (we were allowed to wear sweaters). Up until this day, I had always been a well behaved student, respecting, being polite and mannerable to all my teachers. But on this day I stood in the center, midway from the net, with my freezing hands in my pockets. I was NOT playing volleyball today!! I was cold and had enough of volleyball. The teacher inquired about what I was doing and then told me to begin playing. I refused. She told me again and I refused again. I was sent to the office – which was a shocker for everyone. I explained to the principal what happened and what we’ve been doing on in phys. ed. the past two quarters and included how Ms. James dressed and behaved in class. The principal inquired of other students over the next couple of days about the activities in gym.
What was the result of the inquiries and this overall experience? Well, 1) Ms. James began wearing sneakers and regular phys. ed. clothes, 2) she began teaching a variety sports and activities during class, and 3) though I grew to hate volleyball for many years, it’s actually a sport that I play very well.
Your comments reminded me of my physics teacher in high school, who had a great impact on my learning. First off, I was put into an honors physics class, even though I didn't have the requisite of pre-calc (that's as far as I went!). I was taking this class concurrently with the physics, but the requirements specifically said it had to be a PRE-requisite.
ReplyDeleteWhen questioning the administration about the supposed error in my schedule, the academic dean responded: "Don't worry, I think you can handle it!" I wasn't so sure.
My anxiety increased when I saw the workload. I don't think that I ever put more effort into a class during my whole high school career. It was maddening. My only consolation was that I had a few good friends in the class that helped me out with problems and made me "see the light" on a number of occasions. As the math grew more complicated, I thought I would sink into the depths of physics mire.
Mr. Lenczewski, on the other hand, challenged us to see things differently and that each problem was a lesson in solving a problem in life. Each physics lesson, he said, could have a practical application and would allow us to experience life more deeply: how to construct a bridge or a swing set, how to explain a yo-yo trajectory, how to engineer a space craft and predict G forces, etc. All of these had practical applications understood and developed by physics. I appreciate his insights and the lessons he taught--even though I dreaded doing those problems!!
Felt like I needed to write again because of what Michael said about real-life problem-solving in class. It obviously was quite meaningful and memorable. In the upcoming chapter 9 of the Foundations book, the author strongly advocates problem-posing education and calls lecture classes oppressive. Michael’s comment bears that out. It sounds like Kennan’s does too. You say your AP psychology teacher did demonstrations in class. I’ve taught psychology and hope to teach it again at the college level some day. I’d love to know what kinds of demonstrations she did. Classical and operant conditioning? Piaget’s stages? That’s what comes to mind first, but I’d love to know more.
ReplyDeleteCarmilla, in 8th grade, I had a PE teacher named Penny Nichols. Can you believe what her parents named her? I didn’t have a PE teacher in high heels, but most of them had pot bellies and stood around while we worked. I didn’t understand that. In 10th grade we had electives. Mine were dance, tennis, basketball, and self-defense. Because the grading was on participation, tests, and the activities, I managed to get A’s. If that’s not the biggest cosmic joke. I’m glad you improved the quality of Physical Education for all the students, and that she was able to re-focus on what she was supposed to be doing. I hope you can actually enjoy volleyball someday. As for Miss Nichols, she forced me to walk the tall balance beam in absolute terror, but as I look back, I’m glad I met the challenge.
Deanna, I had a military teacher too. He replaced a sweet, gentle man who left to become a guidance counselor. The ex-Marine used to brag that he’d pounded a kid into a dumpster on a previous job. Ugh. I know this guy was not typical—just a jerk. I’m glad your experience was so much better. Your teacher really upheld the honor or the Marines. And, regarding your coach, it seems to me that SCHAPE would work with many aspects of life. I’m glad you shared it.
Toya, I hope your art teacher is still enjoying the chalk art roses. Unfortunately I never produced anything in art that was worth stealing! :-D I know what you mean about teachers’ repeated comments, like “going to hell in a handbasket.” My senior English teacher, Mr. Pierce, used to punctuate his instruction by saying “It’s a wonderful thing.” It was such a small thing, but it got to be a hilarious routine. I remember seeing a history teacher perform in a play wearing a kilt! You’re right that “Teachers are so important and don't get nearly enough credit.”
Thank you for starting this whole chain, Francisco.
Francis, what a great discussion!
ReplyDeleteTeachers definitely leave lasting memories and influence their students in a good or bad manner. It is more pleasurable to think of good and caring teachers, but the weird and “wacky” teachers stay in our memories for the whole life. When I think of the “wacky” teacher, my 6th to 8th grade English teacher, Galina Petrova, stands in my mind. She was the most feared and strict teachers I ever had. She made us bring five different notebooks for each class: for phonetics, for grammar, for vocabulary, for homework, and for class notes. To make sure that we learned the spelling of the new word, each student had to write it ten times. Every class we had a quiz on any of the previously learned material. Although she knew that she annoyed students, she frequently told us: “You think that I am rigorous and intolerable, but one day you’ll thank me for making you learn.” Although it sounds crazy, but because of her I got the good base in English and it definitely helped me when I moved to the United States.
I liked your descriptions of some of your wackiest teachers. We never know how are students will describe us and our teaching methods. It’s interesting that these wackiest teachers were the ones that taught you to think outside the box, and challenged you to learn.
ReplyDeleteFrancisco
ReplyDeleteI loved what you did with this post. You are really a funny guy, and I laughed out loud at some of the things that you posted. It is true, we do remember these stories, these experiences that make us so very passionate about education. The fact that you remember these things means that these teachers had such a very strong impact on you. I think that all of us have been in the same boat. Like Gina said, the best teachers are the ones that thought outside the box, and challenged you to learn, to reach beyond your current scope. I personally appreciated the fact that this idea of the best teachers has been a recurring theme in this class. Thanks for keeping this going!