What a truly beautiful, heart-felt tribute to your beloved teacher Silvia. I'm so glad you had a wonderful learning experience and could feel seen in at least one of your classes. High school can be a battlefield and caring and inspiring teachers can help smooth out the bumps in the road. I'm sure Mr Paulini would be proud of you. You write beautifully. Thank you for sharing your story.
Such beautiful words. I have tears for you and for Mr. and Mrs. Paulini. There are teachers who reach into us so far that their presence never leaves us. I have a list and I can still hear them and see them even if I can’t remember their names. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you Susan. I am so glad this was published on Father's Day. He and his wife had no children but what a father figure he was to me. I will never forget his influence on me.
Mr. Kelso, my English teacher, was one of a kind. He would stand in the center of the blackboard start writing with his left hand and then take over with his right. No discernible difference in legibility. When the exams were graded he handed them out row by row reading your name and marks. One year I dreaded it so much, that I threw up walking to school in the morning. After the exam, I had compared my answers and no one agreed with me. I anticipated humiliation. He announced my marks. It was the highest in the class. I was exalted and learned a lesson about sweating the small stuff. This was 1963. He died last year. I posted this memory on his legacy page. It was the only story among a sea of condolences.
Alice, you had a teacher like Mr Paulini who taught with gobbets. The key phrase for me is teaching a student as an "equal partner in learning and not from an ivory. When a teach injects his humanity along with his passion and knowledge, then the learning is more powerful. This is the quintessenctial model for any learning to have as Maggie states "the outsized impact."
Exciting and evocative are the key. If the writing didn't work for me in a way that I could transmit those things to my students in some way, I didn't teach it. Back as a grad student I taught an intro fiction class with an unusual lineup: Henry James, D. H. Lawrence, Italo Calvino. It was a blast for the students because I was crazy about each book.
Teaching is like a performance, and I had some acting experience so I was used to an audience. :-) I’m also an extrovert and come from a family of teachers: grandfather, mother, brother.
Of course, it was no accident. People who 'let us in' to their lives change us in ways we can't perceive at the time. Their love and respect transforms us and slightly changes who we are and who we want to be, in a process like osmosis. Your remembrance is endearing.
Beautiful, Silvia. It’s heartwarming to see that a teacher can have such a profound impact on a student. You honour his memory with your touching words.
It's always sad when an influential person from your past passes away. Particularly teachers. I'm 65 so many of my HS teachers have already proceeded me down that path. I don't know how much I really learned from them, but I learned how to learn, I guess and that served me well in my career.
What a beautiful tribute to a remarkable teacher and his indelible impact on you.
Thank you. I'll never forget his impact.
What a truly beautiful, heart-felt tribute to your beloved teacher Silvia. I'm so glad you had a wonderful learning experience and could feel seen in at least one of your classes. High school can be a battlefield and caring and inspiring teachers can help smooth out the bumps in the road. I'm sure Mr Paulini would be proud of you. You write beautifully. Thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you for your kind feedback. His class was definitely a soft place to fall.
Thank you so much for your kind feedback. His class was definitely a soft place to fall.
Such beautiful words. I have tears for you and for Mr. and Mrs. Paulini. There are teachers who reach into us so far that their presence never leaves us. I have a list and I can still hear them and see them even if I can’t remember their names. Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you Susan. I am so glad this was published on Father's Day. He and his wife had no children but what a father figure he was to me. I will never forget his influence on me.
I was lucky to have a couple really good English teachers.
A good teacher is a gift.
Lovely essay. I wish that there were more kind souls like your teacher. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you. I was blessed to be taught by him
Oh my, Silvia, this whole essay is one long (prose) poem.
So beautiful!
Thank you so much! I am really touched by your comment.
Mr. Kelso, my English teacher, was one of a kind. He would stand in the center of the blackboard start writing with his left hand and then take over with his right. No discernible difference in legibility. When the exams were graded he handed them out row by row reading your name and marks. One year I dreaded it so much, that I threw up walking to school in the morning. After the exam, I had compared my answers and no one agreed with me. I anticipated humiliation. He announced my marks. It was the highest in the class. I was exalted and learned a lesson about sweating the small stuff. This was 1963. He died last year. I posted this memory on his legacy page. It was the only story among a sea of condolences.
So glad you have this good memory too.
Alice, you had a teacher like Mr Paulini who taught with gobbets. The key phrase for me is teaching a student as an "equal partner in learning and not from an ivory. When a teach injects his humanity along with his passion and knowledge, then the learning is more powerful. This is the quintessenctial model for any learning to have as Maggie states "the outsized impact."
mary anne ferguons
You are so right. He loved the subject he taught and it made all the difference.
A lovingly rendered tribute to a man with an outsized impact.
Thank you
Lovely story. Very memorable. I never heard of anyone posting annually after someone dies, but perhaps it is more common than I know.
Thank you. The annual tributes were so lovely.
Exciting and evocative are the key. If the writing didn't work for me in a way that I could transmit those things to my students in some way, I didn't teach it. Back as a grad student I taught an intro fiction class with an unusual lineup: Henry James, D. H. Lawrence, Italo Calvino. It was a blast for the students because I was crazy about each book.
I'm sure your students were inspired by you too!
Teaching is like a performance, and I had some acting experience so I was used to an audience. :-) I’m also an extrovert and come from a family of teachers: grandfather, mother, brother.
Of course, it was no accident. People who 'let us in' to their lives change us in ways we can't perceive at the time. Their love and respect transforms us and slightly changes who we are and who we want to be, in a process like osmosis. Your remembrance is endearing.
Thank you for your insightful comment,
Just lovely. Thank you.
Thank you!
Beautiful, Silvia. It’s heartwarming to see that a teacher can have such a profound impact on a student. You honour his memory with your touching words.
Thank you Lena. He was a wonderful role model.
A decade ago I wrote a blog about the most important teacher in my life and it was read aloud at her retirement ceremony: https://www.levraphael.com/blog/the-teacher-who-changed-my-life/
Thanks...I will have a look at it.
It's always sad when an influential person from your past passes away. Particularly teachers. I'm 65 so many of my HS teachers have already proceeded me down that path. I don't know how much I really learned from them, but I learned how to learn, I guess and that served me well in my career.
Thanks for your writing!
Thank you. I wish I could have seen him once more.
Thank you....I always wished I could have seen him once more.
What a beautiful tribute to a fine man, teacher, and husband. And student.
Thank you so much.