When I am an old lady sitting on my porch, rocking on my chair, thinking about my life, I bet that I will feel the greatest gift I was ever given was the opportunity to teach.
This past week I have spent a lot of time thinking about teaching, the people who taught me, and what it takes to truly be a great teacher. Did I have mentors along the way? Just a few, but I never really thought about it until now.
My first grade teacher, Sister Janet, was always so kind and loving. I had a rough time in the early grades, but I knew I was loved and accepted. My third grade teacher, Miss Ness, left you with that same feeling. My fifth/sixth grade teacher Mrs. Winek was so hip and interesting. You could tell that she really cared about us and about what she was teaching. She was the first teacher to encourage my writing.
In Junior High (middle school to you younguns) the only one who really stands out to me now is Mrs. Rusch. Probably, again, because she encouraged my writing. School paper, writing for the telegram, poetry contests, etc.
In High School there is also only one teacher who stands out to me now as a mentor, probably the one who had the most influence on how I approached teaching later in my life, Mrs. Sweeney. She was the choir teacher while I was in high school, but also taught English in years prior, and in the years following. I really wish I could have had the opportunity to have had her for English, although she was a fabulous choral director.
The difference between most of my other teachers and Mrs. Sweeney was the fact that she very obviously cared about her students, not just what they were learning, but cared about them as individuals. She gave respect and got it back ten fold. Choir classes were huge back then, and concert choir probably had 50/60 kids in the room at once. No assistants, just Mrs. Sweeney and all of us. For the most part there were no discipline issues. I think I only saw her lose her cool once, and you knew she meant business.
She didn't have children of her own, and explained very early on that she considered her students her children, and we could feel free to come to her with anything, and many did. Most, if not all of the kids called her Ma, or Ma Sweeney. It was normal to see her attending to three things at once, pulling a pencil from her hair with one hand, while waiving to a student who was shouting "Hi Ma" through the door as they passed by the room.
I remember one particular afternoon before choir or Spartan Singers, when I was upset about some teen-age dramarama, and was just sitting in the auditorium lobby in an empty desk, staring out the window, and she walked by. She got about three feet past me, stopped, came back and gave me a hug. "Whatever it is, just cry. Let it out and you'll feel better." She was right.
Sadly, Mrs. Sweeney passed away a week ago. Tragically it was in a house fire, and they are still trying to figure out just what happened. There have been newspaper articles, and features on the local news about her, and about all of the lives that she touched. I am one of those lives. She taught me that a teacher can also be a friend, and confidant, and still be respected. No matter how many irons she had in the fire, she was never to busy for any one of us, ever.
I was very lucky to have had her influence in her life and have thought of her often through the years. God Bless you, Ma Sweeney, and if they let me in the pearly gates I hope that I'm lucky enough to sing with you again! ♥
http://www.superiortelegram.com/event/obituary/id/76033/
This past week I have spent a lot of time thinking about teaching, the people who taught me, and what it takes to truly be a great teacher. Did I have mentors along the way? Just a few, but I never really thought about it until now.
My first grade teacher, Sister Janet, was always so kind and loving. I had a rough time in the early grades, but I knew I was loved and accepted. My third grade teacher, Miss Ness, left you with that same feeling. My fifth/sixth grade teacher Mrs. Winek was so hip and interesting. You could tell that she really cared about us and about what she was teaching. She was the first teacher to encourage my writing.
In Junior High (middle school to you younguns) the only one who really stands out to me now is Mrs. Rusch. Probably, again, because she encouraged my writing. School paper, writing for the telegram, poetry contests, etc.
In High School there is also only one teacher who stands out to me now as a mentor, probably the one who had the most influence on how I approached teaching later in my life, Mrs. Sweeney. She was the choir teacher while I was in high school, but also taught English in years prior, and in the years following. I really wish I could have had the opportunity to have had her for English, although she was a fabulous choral director.
The difference between most of my other teachers and Mrs. Sweeney was the fact that she very obviously cared about her students, not just what they were learning, but cared about them as individuals. She gave respect and got it back ten fold. Choir classes were huge back then, and concert choir probably had 50/60 kids in the room at once. No assistants, just Mrs. Sweeney and all of us. For the most part there were no discipline issues. I think I only saw her lose her cool once, and you knew she meant business.
She didn't have children of her own, and explained very early on that she considered her students her children, and we could feel free to come to her with anything, and many did. Most, if not all of the kids called her Ma, or Ma Sweeney. It was normal to see her attending to three things at once, pulling a pencil from her hair with one hand, while waiving to a student who was shouting "Hi Ma" through the door as they passed by the room.
I remember one particular afternoon before choir or Spartan Singers, when I was upset about some teen-age dramarama, and was just sitting in the auditorium lobby in an empty desk, staring out the window, and she walked by. She got about three feet past me, stopped, came back and gave me a hug. "Whatever it is, just cry. Let it out and you'll feel better." She was right.
Sadly, Mrs. Sweeney passed away a week ago. Tragically it was in a house fire, and they are still trying to figure out just what happened. There have been newspaper articles, and features on the local news about her, and about all of the lives that she touched. I am one of those lives. She taught me that a teacher can also be a friend, and confidant, and still be respected. No matter how many irons she had in the fire, she was never to busy for any one of us, ever.
I was very lucky to have had her influence in her life and have thought of her often through the years. God Bless you, Ma Sweeney, and if they let me in the pearly gates I hope that I'm lucky enough to sing with you again! ♥
http://www.superiortelegram.com/event/obituary/id/76033/
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