Yorkshire Pudding left a comment regarding my attitude towards my old school, asking me about the good teachers I encountered during my years at Morley Grammar School. So in answer to his comment I would like to give a role call of teachers who were good & inspired me during my internment.
Ms Boot taught biology in my first year & inspired me to win the prize for Biology at the end of the school year. Sadly I only had her for one year, the next year she was replaced by a man who spent whole lessons reading his book while we copied work out wholesale.
Mr Spencer my music teacher, who after 2 years of my been told " Classical music is great, your not " engaged my attention. Exposing me to the delights of Mozart & Holst ( both of whom I listen to even now), allowing us to make our own instruments, tentatively try to write our own music & even took time out after school, to critique our then fledgling rock band.Sadly he left after 1 year.
Mr Russell English, introduced us in our third year to more adult themes in fiction, demonstrated that Shakespeare was relevant even today & made up for a whole year of listening to a previous English teacher read us excerpts from his novel while flirting with the girls in class.
Mr Atkinson Art, took us from drawing still life exactly as we saw it, in to a world where we could draw what we felt it looked like.A piece of mine was still hanging in the main building of the school 10 years ago,He framed & hung it there.(spotted by my niece)
So Mr Pudding you are right, a sadly small but very special group of teachers who did make a difference I hope they inspired many others throughout their careers.
3 comments:
I consider that the balance has been properly redressed and I contend that there are more Ms Boots, more Mr Russells and more Mr Atkinsons than there ever were Mr Nasties or Mrs Hitlers. It is far too easy to knock the teaching profession and rubbish the part that good, dedicated people, often in trying circumstances, played in one's development. Those feelings of scorn and dismissiveness say more about the developing modern child than they do about the adults who had to teach it.
A shame that so many of the good ones leave, though: though I can't blame them. YP is right, of course!
I agree that teachers TODAY seem to be more tolerant & caring but the enviroment I was educated in was run on fear. I also agree that most teachers were god at their jobs, but the sad fact is that the ones who were petty & vicious are the ones who shaped my memories of school.
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