Readers remember their favorite teachers

0
252
Tell Us Your Story

In recognition of this year’s class of retiring educators who influenced the lives of thousands of students over the course of their careers, we asked readers to write about the teachers that most influenced them. Here is what some of you told us.

Teacher made schoolwork a fun adventure

In 1949 Mrs. Mabel Lowe taught fourth grade at Riley Elementary. She was an adorable, kind, grandmotherly type of teacher.

That year, she chose me to go to the Assembly (Study Hall) every day to get the time and report back to her so she could set her watch. Mrs. Lowe made me feel so special.

[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]

She also introduced us to geography. By the end of the year, we had adventured around the world by way of our textbook. We learned the customs, foods, language, climate, etc. of each country. She made our adventure fun as well as educational.

Karen Richmond Horton

Greenfield High School Class of 1958

Profound influence felt

in her own career

Mrs. Frances Hilbert was my inspiration for becoming a teacher. When I was in her second-grade classroom, I perceived her as being old. She wore her hair in a page boy, and It was completely gray. She molded children for 25-plus years after I was promoted to third grade.

Mrs. Hilbert was kind, caring and compassionate. Her students felt loved by her. We had fun every day! Besides learning Spelling, Reading and Math, Mrs. Hilbert taught us life lessons about sharing, being kind and always trying to do our best. As a teacher for thirty-one years, these are the same qualities I tried to instill in my students.

Susan English

Greenfield

‘She is the reason I

chose to be a teacher’

When I was in third grade at old Brandywine school, I was blessed to have Betty McCleerey for my teacher. This was in the mid-1950s, and there were two classes in each of the four classrooms. I am pretty sure our class that year was one of her first. She was the sweetest, kindest, most gentle person (other than my grandmother) that I had ever known. Plus, I thought she was movie-star beautiful. She never once raised her voice to us, and we had some real characters in that room of third- and fourth-graders! She taught me how to write cursive with a special Zaner Bloser pen. (Her own handwriting was amazing!) At Christmastime, she made each one of her students a full-sized red felt stocking with our name on it. I still hang mine every Christmas.

She is the reason I chose to be a teacher. I wanted to be just like her.

Marciann McClarnon Miller

Greenfield