Teachers

I woke yesterday morning to the sad and tragic news that one of my favorite teachers from my elementary school days had her life taken from her two days ago in Arizona.  I was shocked by the sad news and have spent the day thinking about her, this senseless tragedy, and all of my other elementary school teachers.  I was lucky.  I had seven amazing elementary school teachers....all of whom left their own specific imprint on the person I have become.

Facebook has its benefits...and its drawbacks.  But in instances like the news from yesterday, the benefits of facebook have been apparent and....fun (for lack of a better word).  Fellow MacArthur Mustangs have been sharing their memories of Miss Pesek.  Some, like me, were lucky enough to have her as our second grade teacher.  Others only knew her by reputation.  But the memories of her...and then the subsequent memories of those years together as students...have been a lot of fun to relive and I think it is a fitting tribute to such a wonderful teacher.

So...here is a brief ode to my teachers...and yes, I remember all of them without having to refer to our class pictures in my scrap book.

Kindergarten - Mrs. Weinberg
My Kindergarten year was spent at Whittier Elementary School.  This teacher....out of all of my teachers....has the most haze surrounding her.  I mean...I was 5!!!  That was a LONG time ago.  But I do remember how kind she was, how she was so enthusiastic about "Show and Tell Time", and how she introduced me to my first school friend, Kelsey.

Student of the Month

First Grade - Mrs. Oxborrow
I was the new kid in school as we had just moved into our new home during the summer.  I didn't know anyone at MacArthur Elementary School but Mrs. Oxborrow was very kind.  She had a grandmother look to her. I remember that she introduced me to the books The Ox-Cart Man and The Boxcar Children (I ended up reading all 17 original stories!) and Charlotte's Web.  I remember always hoping and praying for rainy days because then we would stay inside during recess and play "Heads Up, Seven Up".  I remember meeting my new friend, Chelsea.....whose wedding I just attended in Illinois a year ago October!  I can tell you that our field trip that year was to the desert to collect Apache Tears (really neat rocks...which I held onto until college).  I also remember getting a double yellow light (her discipline system...and one off from the dreaded Red Light).  :)

Field Trip to collect Apache Tears

Second Grade - Miss Pesek
It is funny to recall but I actually remember my first impression of Miss Pesek....she was very tall and I thought she was very pretty.  She had a wonderful laugh and a beautiful smile...and it is tragic that both of those are now gone.  As my fellow Mustangs on Facebook have been recalling, she had gorgeous penmanship and she was one of the favorite second grade teachers.  I remember some of the projects we did in her class.  I remember her drawer of "doodles"....weird and abstract shapes or designs on a paper that you then turned into a picture of your own.  I remember learning the Virginia Reel and other Hoedowns as the second grade had their own little Western Day.  I think of her almost daily as she used to admonish us (especially the girls) for following her around like a puppy dog.  When my dogs get under foot, I always laugh and think of her.  I wrote her the summer going into third grade and told her about my tonsil surgery and she wrote me back!  She was an amazing teacher....and a beautiful person and her light in this world will be missed.

Rodeo Days (Miss Pesek is the lady in the white blouse, standing)

Third Grade - Ms. Hydrick
This was the HUGE reading year.  Ms. Hydrick introduced the class to Chris Van Allsburg books (my favorite being "The Mysteries of Harris Burdick").  She also introduced us to Roald Dahl's books:  The Witches, The BFG, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, etc. We did amazing projects including one huge unit on China that finished with a Chinese themed party complete with egg rolls and learning how to use chopsticks!  I loved to read before her class but after....I was pretty obsessed!

First day of School

Fourth Grade - Mrs. Woody
I will be honest.  I wasn't happy about being put in Mrs. Woody's class.  She wasn't the "favorite" teacher, had a reputation for being hard, and my best friends were in a different class.  But she ended up being one of my favorite teachers of all time!  She had a booming and somewhat intimidating voice and when she called me to her desk, my heart would start to race and I would wonder what trouble I was in....and then she would give me the keys to her car and ask me to retrieve something from it for her.  :)  This was the year my obsession with Holocaust related books began as the class read Number the Stars together. We did a fantastic Arizona unit in her class where I learned the 5 "C"s of Arizona - Cattle, Cotton, Climate, Citrus, and Copper.  See...I still remember!

Check out that krimped hair and fluffy bangs!!!!  Good grief!!!

Fifth Grade - Ms. Ray
Ms. Ray taught the entire class calligraphy....some of which I still remember today and use from time to time.  We also made this fun Christmas project using a vinyl record that we melted and then glued wrapping paper onto to make into a serving bowl.  I wonder if my mom still has the one I made.  :)  Her room faced the flag pole so it was our class's responsibility to put the flag up every morning and bring it down every night.  A fun responsibility....made even more fun when we realized you could hold onto the tethers, sprint for a brief time, and then jump and fly out over the common area.  :)

Halloween

Sixth Grade - Mrs. Hannan
Mrs. Hannan was from Georgia (the state), had red hair and had been a previous Miss Georgia Peach.  She had a slight accent and a warm and gentle demeanor.  I have never forgotten four of the books we read in her class: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, Let the Circle be Unbroken, The Red Badge of Courage, and Homecoming. Being a military kid, her idea of a pop quiz was for us to be quietly reading or studying something and she would turn on a recording of the National Anthem (her go-to was the Whitney Houston version) and test us to see how respectful we were and how quickly we stopped what we were doing and stood at attention.

6th grade production of "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown".  I was a Lucy (there were several).

I know there are things I have forgotten to include.  But each and every one of these women has had a lasting influence on me and I cannot thank them enough.