Teachers you LIKE/LIKED

[The Burgomaster]

Here's a rip-off of the "Teachers you HATE/HATED" discussion.

I liked:

* My 6th grade homeroom teacher.  She was a good teacher and I had a crush on her, too.  We used to joke around a lot with each other.  One day, she made a wisecrack about me while I was drinking out of the water bubbler.  I  took a mouthful of water and spit it on her sweater.  She chased me into the classroom, threw me on the floor, straddled my stomach and pinned me down.  All the other kids thought it was hilarious.  If this happened today, she would probably get fired and end up in court on some sort of sex charge.

* My 1st grade homeroom teacher.  She was in her early 20s and I had a crush on her, too.  I felt bad when I found out she was getting married and planned to be a stay-at-home wife.  She used to wear skirts and sometimes walked around the classroom with no shoes on . . . just her nylons.  Even as a little kid, I found this to be erotic.

* My 4th grade English/Science teacher.  He was just an all-around great guy and encouraged my creative side.  I used to love writing short stories and he gave me lots of compliments and told me to keep writing.  I wonder where he is now?

* My 6th grade math teacher.  Similar to my 4th grade English/Science teacher.  He was a very encouraging guy and seemed to take a lot of interest in my future.  Great sense of humor, too.

[Ed, Ego and Superego]

I had two teachers andone coach who really shaped the person I became. 
One was an artist-turned scientist who really taught me to open my eyes to the world and pay attention to everything around me. 
The other teacher was a drama teacher who had a way of kidding you into expanding your comfort zones.

The couach was a swimming coach who used strategy and tactics to consistently win meets even with inferior swimmers in any given heat.   

-Ed

[Olivia Bauer]

My Comm 11/Drama/Film Analysis teacher, Mr. Lawrence. I had many classes with him but he is by far the best teacher I've ever had. He's understanding and funny too. He came back to school after being at a depressing funeral and as soon as he walked in he said, "That was depressing. We're all watching Young Frankenstein."

He's never scolded me for anything. One time I was failing his class and I asked him for my grades. This hilarious scene occurred.

Me: "Lawrence!"
Lawrence: "Hmm?"
Me: "Grades."
Lawrence: "Huh?"
Me: "Check my grades please, am I missing something?"
Lawrence: "Yeah, don't walk up to me talking like Frankenstein, 'UUURGGG... GRAAAAAADEEEZZ!!'"
Me: "PUT IT ON THE WRIIIITTTZZZZ!!"
*Lawrence nearly falls over laughing*

[JaseSF]

My high school English teachers Mr. Long and Mr. Cooper. Although I found it tough to get high marks from them both, they both encouraged creativeness and a surprising level of freedom in writing and reading projects. Both also tended to show movies in class which I recall enjoying including Lord of the Flies, Macbeth and A Fish Called Wanda...

[Mr. DS]

My college public speaking professor named Chris.  I recall when he first walked in thinking he was a student.  The guy had a punk rock look wearing a tshirt and jeans.  Turns out he was extremely knowledgable and well spoken.  He also was a major influence on me when it came to radio performance and production.  Plus one day after class I found out he was massive horror movie film.  Not just the mainsteam stuff but a lot of what we discuss here.  We'd often sit after class and discuss living dead films.  I'm glad to say we still keep in contact through FB. 

I had a history professor in college that was an older gentleman.  I don't know if I have an exact reason for liking him but he was just cool.  You'd see him in the hall and he'd always stop to say hello and ask how you were doing.  He taught mostly from videos. 

Earlier in life there was a fourth grade teacher that was awesome.  She was the nutty professor of our school always doing odd experiments in class.  Then she'd run the creative writing class that I participated in.  She loved my stuff over many of the students there and was a major influence in my ability to write.

[indianasmith]

I am a teacher now, but I had some really good and really bad teachers coming up.

My favorite college professor was Dr. Robin Rudoff, a European History specialist who had an incredible gift for lecturing.  He was tough, demanding, opinionated, and absolutley brilliant!  Undergrads were generally terrified of him, and the only D I ever made on a history test I got from him my freshman year.  But I toughed it out and pulled an A on his final after working my TAIL off to study . . . I've never been so proud of a grade in my life!  And to hear him hold forth on Henry VIII, or Charles II, or Adolf Hitler - he could paint a picture with words that would just hang in the air in front of you!

[Nukie 2]

Mrs. Ikegami second grade teacher, very patient with her students and never antagonistic towards them.

Mr. Laureha 5th grade teacher, had a toupee but was a good male role model. He was kinda like Jimmy Carter in a way.

Mr. Tata 6th grade business teacher, helped me understand commerce and the labor market more than he could ever now.

Mrs. Ball 7th grade science, I had developed a crush on her, and I found that if I actually paid attention to what was being taught my grade would improve, and it did. But she also was more in tune with her students because she was younger and wasn't the nerdy type.

Mr. Siefert 8th grade science, was really into what he was teaching and had a real concern about student learning. I thought he was an absolute dork at the time, but he never gave up on his students even if they failed his class multiple times.

Mr. Martin high school drama, eccentric as hell, but I liked him and he knew his stuff. He thought I had potential to be a good actor. His eccentricities sadly got him fired.
  Mr. Martin: "Please, students do not touch the curtains-- the oils from your hand will wear holes in them!"
  Me: "I have a question."
  Mr. Martin: "Yes what is it?"
  Me: "So like if I placed my hand against the curtain for a long time, will it leave a hole shaped like my hand?"
  Mr. Martin: "For love of God, do not try it!"

Mrs. Goodrich high school English-- let me write about any damn thing, let me read a loud in any voice I chose, and knew how to handle me when I was being a pain in the ass.
Me: "Some stupid comment, meant to annoy the teacher"
Her: "That's nice, not really that appropriate-- now more on what we're learning"

Mr. Kern college history-- outstanding, was much more knowledgeable than the book. Encouraged class room discussion, you could debate him too-- he'd always win. He taught history with a moral lesson.

Mrs. Connally-- Intro to Sociology, was kinda like a friend. That's not to say I didn't take her class seriously. Matter a fact I loved all my Sociology professors.

Mr. Gasink-- the conservative environmental economics teacher, his class could kick your ass. You had to stay on top of it. He was very humorous. I got much better at math because I took his course. He died while riding his bike, he's well missed.

Mr. Ford-- the radical economics teacher, he taught me it's okay to think outside the box. He offered other arguments to economic issues and problems as what is traditionally conceived as a conservative discipline. He seemed to be more human than most other professors. I don't understand how he was that radical... he never talked about how "everything will be great once we have socialism", nor did he advocate any revolutionary overthrow of the government by worker's soviets. He was very in tune with current issues and things that could be done about them today, instead of doing what most radicals are conceived to do, that is say " everything is BS bah, only when we radically transform society will everything work like it should".

[Trevor]

Most of my film students that come to the archives say that I missed my calling and should have been a teacher ~ once you get me started on SA films and the history of our industry there. Is. No. Stopping. me.  

I had one teacher in my life that never shot me down or said those magical words "You can't" to me ~ her name was Jeanette Burger, my lecturer here www.tut.ac.za and she encouraged me in everything, my personal hassles notwithstanding. It would always tickle her that I would call her "Ma'am" but I did respect her.

She passed away very young ~ I think she was only in her early 40s ~ but once a year, I take flowers to her grave and I tell her what's going on in my life. There is a lot that she would be proud of in me and also maybe have a few facepalm moments over stupid sh*t that I got and get up to.  

[Jack]

Elementary school teacher, Miss Schrandt.  She was just really nice and loved children. 

Had some good professors in college, especially my calculus professor Dr. Jarvinen, he was an honest-to-goodness rocket scientist who also worked for NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.  He'd use that stuff for examples during class and I of course just ate it up.

Always liked my Political Science professor too, he was a robust guy who'd often go off on the most entertaining tangents.  He may have had a drinking problem    I think I aced every one of his exams. 

[Mr. DS]

My 11th grade Englsih teacher simply because I would sleep the whole class and she didn't give a sh!t.  

My art teacher who was very nice to me and down to earth.  She honestly put up with a lot of crap from me at times (I was an angry youth) and I feel bad about it seeing she never kicked me out of class.

Know whats funny about this thread, the more I try to think of "good" teachers, the less I come up with.  However, I have no problem zeroing in on the ones I hated. I guess thats a pretty bad thing.  

[Newt]

Know whats funny about this thread, the more I try to think of "good" teachers, the less I come up with.  However, I have no problem zeroing in on the ones I hated. I guess thats a pretty bad thing.  

One of the saddest aspects of human nature: the negative tends to stand out and stick with us while the good seems less significant and fades into the background. I'm sure it has 'survival value', but still it seems a shame.

The more I think about teachers I liked, the more I find to like.  The few who made me less than happy at the time seem a bit more understandable now; or at least, I find I can forgive them their limitations.  For the most part.   

[Trevor]

My 11th grade Englsih teacher simply because I would sleep the whole class and she didn't give a sh!t.  

[Sleepyskull]

My 11th grade Englsih teacher simply because I would sleep the whole class and she didn't give a sh!t.  

Maybe she thought: "Thank God, he finally shut up!"  I'm only saying this because I've had teachers who I'm sure would have loved for me to just suddenly be asleep at times.

[Criswell]

My 4th grade teacher, who's name was Ms. Boring. Really opened my eyes toward technology. She is also likely one of the reasons why I want to work as a filmmaker in some way.

In class for a few days we got to use cameras and make a short film with a group. We even got to edit it and add music. I wish I still had that tape.

My 8th grade history teacher is also a great man. Who I got to know even after Middle School. Haven't seen him in a long time though.

Thats really all I can think of. I've only had one good teacher in high school that has really stood out too me. Sure Their have been other good ones, but none that stand out.

[WilliamWeird1313]

There were very few teachers I disliked to a noteworthy degree, but also very few I especially LIKED to a noteworthy degree. Up until college, I rarely had many teachers who really seemed to be into the subjects they taught, so many of them came off as just interchangeable workhorses reading out of textbooks. What's I got into college, I started meeting teachers left and write who I'd say I really, really, genuinely liked. Ranking highest among them would definitely be Andy Petonak and Ed Ackerman, the dual heads of the Journalism department at the college I just graduated from, and a guy whose name is escaping right now but who taught literally every single Philosophy course at the same college and was a complete nutcase (in a good way), totally weird, totally cool, totally fun.

Before college, the only teachers that ever stood out from the pack for me where my English teacher for my freshman year in high school, Mr. Budnick, who was also the head of the Creative Writing club, of which my nerdy self was a member. In general, a likeable, somewhat awkward, but extremely helpful, fairly nondescript guy.

Then there was my English teacher from my Senior year. I actually turned down the chance to take the Advanced English class in order to take HIS English class, because I knew what a cool guy he was. Completely different from every other teacher there, a witty, wacky, musclebound dude with a zig-zag pattern shaved into his beard, who met the faculty dress code of collared shirts and ties by wearing untucked polo shirts with clip-on bow ties. Defiitely the odd man out, I heard he lost his job just 1 or 2 years after I graduated. Bummer. B.S. rumors (high school, whaddya want?) spread saying it was because he slept with students and did heroin. B.S. He was one of the few teachers I actually kept in touch with for a while after leaving school, but I lost track of him when he moved out of state a few years ago. Cool guy. Coolest thing about him, beside the zig-zag beard and clip-on bow tie, was that he knew his stuff and was genuinely passionate about English and Literature. I remember he had the ENTIRETY of Beowulf memorized... in Old English. You ever see Old English? Ever try to read it? Ever try to speak it? Ever try to understand someone else speaking it? It's nuts! People think Old English is Shakespeare-type stuff, but it's not. Shakespeare's English is actually Modern English, just a highly floral variation of it. Old English is like a WHOLE 'nother language.

His name was Mr. Benson. And he was AWESOME.

Other than that, no teachers of note (except for one who I think was my 6th grade teacher, who I had a crush on... BAAAABE!).