As I write this, I'm at the University of Michigan in Angell Hall's Auditorium A, listening to Professor Juan Cole lecture on the Lebanese Wars of 1976-1989. On Tuesday and Thursdays this semester, Professor Cole is teaching a course entitled "America and Middle Eastern Wars." I may have graduated a couple of years ago, but being retired has its advantages, and I wasn't going to miss this series of lectures for anything. A couple of weeks in, it hasn't disappointed.
(I'm accumulating a list of juicy quotes -- “Americans have no historical memory, like a mild form of Alzheimers.” - “If you have 10 Marxists, you have 12 opinions.” -- which I plan on using as sig lines.)
So this leads me to think about teachers who have had an impact on my life.
Mrs. Servoss in 4th grade is the first teacher I remember. It was in her class that I tore through the SRS color-coded reading series, which propelled me to a life of letters. Mr. Mason, my 9th grade English teacher, read us "Great Expectations," a little bit at the end of every day, which opened up the world of Dickens and from that the 19th Century novel.
In a way, the most important teacher I had was my 2nd grade teacher, who suggested to my parents they might want to get my eyes checked. It turns out I was extremely nearsighted, and couldn't see a damn thing more than a couple of feet away. I vividly remember putting on my first pair of glasses and actually being able to see. If my other teachers opened up literature to me, she opened up the world to me. And I have no idea who she was.
Who was the most influential teacher in your life, and why?