NaBloPoMo: Day Six-Teachers

I'm doing National Blog Posting Month with a twist. Every day I'll write 5 things about a specific topic.

NaBloPoMo: Day 6-Teachers

1. P.H.~ My Associates Degree is in Medical Lab Technology. P.H. was the Chairman of the department and our Microbiology instructor. She was a first-class space case who spoke like she was always highly medicated. She would give us 10 pages of notes, then the next day she would say "Forget what I told you yesterday, I made some mistakes". I was told that one day in the lab, when she was a hospital employee, she dropped an entire rack of TB cultures and the room had to be completely emptied and disinfected.

2. M.G.~ I took piano lessons for about 8 years, starting at age 8. M.G. was my first piano teacher. I thought she was 100 years old, but she was probably in her late 60's. She had severe scoliosis and was bent over with a large hunchback. Frankly, I was a little bit afraid of her. To teach me the proper way to curve my fingers she would make me lay my little hands over her bony ones as she played. Miss G taught me everything I know about music theory and piano technique.

3. P.R.~ When I got to 5th grade I was thrilled to finally join the school chorus. I loved Mrs R for teaching us 4-part harmony. The first song we learned was Inchworm, from the movie about Hans Christian Andersen. She instilled in me a lifelong love of singing. I sang in chorus from 5th grade until I graduated from high school and sang in church for many years.

4. Dr W~ Imagine a college chemistry professor, over 6 feet tall, speaking for 90 minutes in a monotone, right before lunchtime. I can't tell you how many times I fell asleep in that class. There was one day when I was happy I had stayed awake. Dr W had his models out that looked like Tinker Toys. He was manipulating them into various positions, saying "If you turn this and add this, it's hydrogen. If you turn it this way and add this, it's oxygen. If you turn it and add this and add this....he paused....held it out in front of him in his open palms and softly said...it's a ducky". He never cracked a smile and went on to the next molecule.

5. H.S.~ Walking into the first day of 6th grade was a shock. Our teacher! It's a MAN!! We were all used to Nuns or Middle-Aged Women and now there was a young, blond guy in the front of the room. He was fresh out of college with the energy to deal with a class full of 11 and 12 year olds. I will always remember our first class project of papier-mache solar system that hung from the ceiling for the whole year. On days when he thought we were a little too rambunctious, we would troop outside for a quick 3-inning kickball game. I will also never forget that he taught the boys to treat the girls with respect and taught the girls to respect themselves.