One of the books is The Element, by Ken Robinson. I've heard about Robinson before (I guess he has some very popular videos on TED), so I was intrigued to read one of his books. This particular one was recommended by a fellow blogger, who is also a writer, and I really liked it! It had some great advice, and even though some of it I'd heard before, I liked Robinson's perspective. And I don't think you can ever get too many reminders about things that can help you in life. The thing I really liked was how Robinson shared life experiences of real people--people I've heard about but didn't know the story behind their story--with each of his ideas.
One of the chapters was about the importance of having and being a Mentor. As I was reading this chapter, I was thinking of all the Mentors I've been blessed with in my life, and my 8th grade Honors English teacher came to mind. I went down to the basement storage room and was so excited to find my 8th grade yearbook, and had so much fun looking through it and remembering some great times with awesome friends. It was kind of a strange experience because although 8th grade was a long, long time ago, seeing pictures of my old friends felt like it was only a few years ago. It made me wonder where all those friends are today, and what are they doing? I did find a few of them on Facebook, and although I didn't friend any of them (would they even remember me?), it was fun to look through their profiles and see a bit about what they're doing now.
Like I said, one of my Mentors was my 8th grade Honors English teacher, Ms. Calderwood. When I found out she was going to be my English teacher, I was not happy. I must admit that I let some things I'd heard about her from other students influence my feelings about her, and I totally misjudged her through most of the school year. She obviously picked up on my negative vibes towards her, since she wrote in my yearbook, "Thank you for smiling at me at last!" In my defense, I was pretty shy and very quiet back in 8th grade, so I'm sure that was part of it, but I still feel bad for misjudging her.
Ms. Calderwood taught me how to write--how to put my thoughts into words. One assignment I remember oh too well was a 30 page research paper on Romeo & Juliet. Yes, you read that right--30 pages! In 8th grade! And although this assignment and others in the class were more than a bit daunting, and she was a tough teacher, I remember her spending lots of time with us helping us become the best writers we could be. Because of Ms. Calderwood, I sailed through my writing assignments in all my other high school and college classes, and writing is something I really enjoy, which is a good thing since I am a writer. :) I was especially thankful for Ms. Calderwood when I had to take that horribly awful English class fall semester of 2012, because what she taught me helped me to not only be successful in the class, but I was also able to help my classmates who were struggling. since editing others' papers was a huge part of the class.
Ms. Calderwood taught me how to write--how to put my thoughts into words. One assignment I remember oh too well was a 30 page research paper on Romeo & Juliet. Yes, you read that right--30 pages! In 8th grade! And although this assignment and others in the class were more than a bit daunting, and she was a tough teacher, I remember her spending lots of time with us helping us become the best writers we could be. Because of Ms. Calderwood, I sailed through my writing assignments in all my other high school and college classes, and writing is something I really enjoy, which is a good thing since I am a writer. :) I was especially thankful for Ms. Calderwood when I had to take that horribly awful English class fall semester of 2012, because what she taught me helped me to not only be successful in the class, but I was also able to help my classmates who were struggling. since editing others' papers was a huge part of the class.
I really wish I could remember Ms. Calderwood's first name (why did they not put teachers' first names in this yearbook?!), because I'd really like to see if I could find her and thank her for all she did for me so many years ago. She played a big part in my life, and I'm so very grateful for her and her influence on me.
And every time at the beginning of a new school year when one of my kids would get a "tough" teacher who they were afraid of, I would share the story of Ms. Calderwood and how I misjudged her, and how she truly made a huge positive impact on my life. They often found the same to be true about their new "scary" teacher--he/she was really a first class teacher who taught them many very valuable things they've been able to use in school and in life.
Just like my Ms. Calderwood.
Just like my Ms. Calderwood.
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