I remember the first time I watched the movie Monsters Inc ... I howled with laughter at the character of Roz, who rain the Scare Floor.Roz was the SPITTING image of my memories of our grade 7 homeroom teacher in Stratford. Right down to the glasses and the voice, it was Mrs. E!!!
Mrs E. was an interesting teacher. She was tough as nails, but she cared about her students. She might have been 5 foot 2 on a good day, but ALL of us where scared of her. She could and would stare you down in a heart beat, but could also embrace you with laughter when you weren't straying to the darkside of her temperament.
What I remember most about Mrs E, aside from her periodic tobacco induced coughing fits that necessitated the opening of the huge sash windows in our old school classroom, was her dedication to teaching me better penmanship.
She tried for almost two years to teach me better penmanship ... she failed !!!
In exasperation she FINALLY gave up 3/4s of the way through my grade 8 year.
Her exact words were, "You're hopeless. You're writing is terrible ..."
In the ensuing conversation I said that I wouldn't need to have good penmanship because "one day we would be doing ALL of our writing and work on small portable computer devices that we carry with us."
Her reply - standing in the hall of the school not far from the office - was a shrieked, "You're f----ng, crazy if you believe that!!"
She then tossed the workbook I'd been struggling with at me and stormed away.
To put this in context, I graduated from High School in 1986 ... I graduated from University in 1990 ... I bought my first PC in 1992 ... Mrs E and I had our confrontation almost ten years earlier ... the era of personal computers hadn't even begun when I made the grandiose claim!
Oh, if I only knew then what I know now !!!
The day I started working on my first lap top (by my and Noahkila's count the other night, I'm on my sixth lap top since 1998 or so), I thought of Mrs E, and wondered if she remembered the exchange we had.
I think of Mrs E. every single time I use my iphone or ipad. The Steve Jobs inspired technology is what I dreamt of that day in the hallway of Juliet School ... if only I had known where things would develop.
Today I thought of Mrs E. after reading a post by my long time friend, fellow blogger, and newly minted teacher, who was reflecting on her experiences in Stratford. Our teachers have an impact on us both good and bad, and sometimes it takes decades to realize how profound that impact may have been !!!
(to read candygirlflies' posting click here)
1 comment:
Thank you for this!! I had forgotten the flamboyant, chest-rattling coughing fits... Oh, my, she was QUITE a woman.
You are so right-- the hallowed halls of Juliet were graced by quite a cast of characters, especially when it came to the teaching staff!! I have vivid memories, and vast appreciation, for every single one of them.
(Even if one of them DID dare to call me a "Little Bozo". Once. He NEVER did it again. Can you guess who it was???)
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