Today marks the end of Teacher Appreciation Week. I am glad that they have a week to celebrate the people who, week in, week out, show up to do this tireless, often thankless job. Hence, the creation of Teacher Appreciation Week.
There is a teacher who stands on the sidewalk at the drop-off of my daughter's middle school. He makes sure that the kids are safe and that traffic moves in a constant flow. Before he was there, Drop-Off was a NIGHTMARE. Day after day he stands there in the rain, the cold, the wind, the sweltering heat from 7:45AM until 8:30AM. This week we gave him a gift card to Starbucks. I watched as my daughter got out of the car and walked up to him. When she handed the card to him, a smile broke out on his face, and I could tell he was surprised to receive anything. My daughter does not have him as a teacher. The only interaction we have with him is that drive-by each morning. I'm sure no student walks by daily and thanks him for making sure they don't get run over in the parking lot, but he still stands out there every day. I'm glad that, at least for yesterday morning, he felt appreciated.
Teachers make a huge impression on our lives. We spend countless hours with them. Some students spend more time with their teachers than their own parents. There have been several through my years of schooling that had a major influence on my life. At the risk of boring you, I'm going to use the rest of this post to mention them and thank them for taking the time to inspire me.
Gretchen Buise - 4th Grade Drama Teacher at St. Catherine's School
Gretchen was the first person to encourage me to audition for a professional theater production. I did, ended up being cast, and have acted ever since.
Archer DiPeppe - 9th grade - Directed my first high school show, Godspell
Mr. DiPeppe took a group of 10 students who could sing and created an experience that I had never felt before, nor have since. It was magical. He cared about us, and it showed. We, the cast and crew, were a family, and that's what made the show great. I still am close with several people from that cast, and still stay in touch with Mr. DiPeppe. Sorry, I still have a hard time calling him Arch.
Therese Morse - Forensics Coach - 9th - 12th Grade
I loved "Ms. M," that's what we called her. She came to Tucker the same year I did. She built a powerhouse Speech and Debate team. At every tournament, Tucker was the team to beat. She had at least one student, but usually more, compete in Nationals every year I was there. She spent hours with us making sure we were ready, hours she didn't get paid for.
Mary Jane Huffman - 12th grade English Teacher
My first experience with Ms. Huffman was as my homeroom teacher when I came to Tucker. To be truthful, I thought she was weird. Looking back as an adult, I'm sure she just didn't love the task of having to deal with a homeroom every day. When I got my schedule senior year and saw that I had her for English, I was not thrilled. Once I walked into her class, all that changed. She loved English Literature with every fiber of her being. She got excited about the Canterbury Tales, and Beowulf, and that got me excited. She made me love Literature and that was no easy task.
Jeff Saunders - Drama Teacher 10th - 12th grade
I'll be honest here. Jeff and I butted heads more than a few times, but he gave me opportunity after opportunity to perform. He appreciated my talent and desire to perform, and showed me that. I definitely didn't appreciate him at the time. I chose not to see the dedication and commitment he gave to the drama program at Tucker. I have a new appreciation for Jeff and what he did for us after seeing what my own girls experience in school as far as drama goes.
These are just a few names, but I hope I have jogged a memory of yours, and that maybe you'll find a way to say "Thank You" to a teacher who influenced you.
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