Celebrating Teachers

Many teachers have influenced me and inspired me over the years.  But if I were to choose just one who had an impact on my teaching philosophy, love for learning and my feelings about the power of teachers to affect lives, it would be my junior high English/Language Arts teacher Betsy Travis.  Mrs. Travis was an expert and enthusiast of classic literature and exposed me to the works of Chaucer, Homer, and Shakespeare before I was thirteen years old.

My mother, a native of Sussex, England and teacher herself, idolized Betsy Travis and when I would complain about the hard work she would tell me how lucky I was to have a teacher like Mrs. Travis.  It would take many years before I would see how Mrs. Travis and her high expectations influenced me.

One Christmas my mother wanted to do something really special for Mrs. Travis.  My mother was an artist and wanted to do more than buy the traditional ?apple mug?  She selected a poem, ?A Robin Sang in England?, copied the poem in calligraphy,(ink and quill pen- no markers) added art work and then framed the art.  Mrs. Travis loved the gift. The poem resonated with her and she was touched by my mother?s sentiment. 

The following April I showed up to school and to Mrs. Travis? class with a tear stained face and on the verge of hysterics.  When Mrs. Travis asked me what was wrong, I told her that I thought my mother had died that morning.  My mother had a heart attack before school that day.  My father rode in the ambulance with her and I didn?t know what to do.  I walked to school and straight to Mrs. Travis.  Within an hour my father showed up and took me home.  Our worst fears were realized. My mother was gone.

I don?t remember the next year very well.  I know that Mrs. Travis was there for me and supported me but it is all a blur.  I was fourteen years old.  Fast forward to 1994. I was 30 years old and pregnant with my first daughter, Halle.  A group of women from my hometown, friends of my mothers, threw me a baby shower.  I walked in and sitting front and center was Betsy Travis.  I was so thrilled to see her and to share with  her that I was a teacher!  The day was perfect.  We laughed, told stories, had cake and then we opened presents.  I couldn?t speak when I opened Mrs. Travis? gift?it was my mother?s framed poem, ?A Robin Sang in England? and with the poem was a card that read:

Dear Baby Girl Mangrum,

Your grandmother Robinson was a very dear person loved by everyone who knew her.  When I had the privilege to be one of your mother?s teachers, your grandmother did two pieces of art for her to give to me as a gift.  Today, on this special occasion, I want to share with you one of those precious gifts.  May you treasure it as I have these many years.  The robin is a symbol of spring- a new awakening.

With much love,

Betsy Travis

            Teachers touch us, inspire us, love us and care for us.  I have been blessed to have teachers who acknowledged the person I was and helped shape the person I would become.  In memory of my mother and my beloved former teacher, Betsy Travis, I share this story and hope that it inspires my students to be teachers who make a difference in the lives of their students.  I hope that I have made a difference as well.

It was a beautiful fall afternoon.  Anna D?Nello and I were playing four-square in the school yard for afternoon recess.  Suddenly, we saw our 5^th grade teacher, Mrs. Kalabsa walking toward us with her coat buttoned tightly around her and her black leather purse hanging from her shoulder.  Our school yard was adjacent the local shopping area that contained a marvelous old dime store that carried just about everything.  When Mrs. Kalabsa reached us, she told us she was heading to the dime store to pick up some supplies for a craft we?d be doing later that afternoon.  Then, to our surprise and delight, she invited us to join her!   As we walked through the crunchy leaves with our teacher, we felt like Queens.  It was unbelievable to us that our teacher would request our company on her most important errand!  Waltzing through the isles of the five and dime with our teacher, and having her ask our opinion about what color felt and pipe cleaners to purchase was beyond special.  It was the stuff great bragging was made of!  Naturally, after our errand we skipped nonchalantly back into the classroom, making a huge show of helping Mrs. Kalabsa with her packages and telling all about our unexpected adventure. 

I never forgot about that afternoon errand with my 5^th grade teacher.  From that day forward, I felt a special bond with my teacher that was strengthened through that simple personal connection.  Mrs. Kalabsa may never have known what a huge impact her offer of kindness meant to a small girl that dreamed herself of becoming a teacher one day.  Through the years, I?ve tried to follow her example and connect with my students?big and small?in a real and personal way.  I believe (and some of my students have retuned to tell me so) it?s made all the difference in the world.  Thank you, Mrs. Kalabsa.

Mr. Richard Shafer was a wonderful human being, and he was an awesome teacher. Without question, Mr. Shafer was one of the most demanding and rewarding teachers I was lucky enough to experience throughout my formal education. During Mr. Shafer's 10th grade English class as well as through my work behind the scenes during the plays, I finally learned that doing and being your best was not only possible, it was expected. Nothing less than that would do, and I still prize the commendation cards that I earned from Mr. Shafer for those reasons. I had managed to drift through lots of class time before that without being pushed or pushing myself to work that hard. I know that I was able to share some of those same high expectations with my own middle and high school students throughout my teaching career, and I also set those same high standards for my four sons. I am so grateful that I had such a wonderful example of fine teaching to follow. I know that I was never so well organized or so completely well prepared as Mr. Shafer always was when he came to class, but I really tried. Years after I had them in class, many of my own students admitted that even though they thought I was terribly demanding when I taught them, they were finally mature enough to appreciate what I had tried to do, and that they really did appreciate my efforts. Lo and behold, I actually had expected them to learn and to be able to share their knowledge about the material covered in class. I had demanded that they think critically and well, learn and apply English grammar really well, write really well, and speak English very well, even on their feet during those dreaded public speaking assignments. It is part of the same legacy Mr. Shafer gave to me, and I am delighted to have been able pass it on. Mr. Shafer will always be an invaluable part of my University High School life and beyond.

I remember being a fourth grader at a new school - a city school instead of a small country school. I remember feeling intimidated and self-conscious. And I remember meeting Miss Stairs - young beautiful, energetic, and above all intellegent. She was passionate about learning and pushing one's self to be all that one could be. I remember how hard I worked for her approval! I remember the thrill of the challenges she constantly lay before me. She made me believe that my hard work mattered - that I mattered. Her love of learning has never left the recesses of my soul- her drive to persue excellence still burns within me. Miss Stairs first set me on a journey of life-long learning that has been the single most rewarding endeavor I have ever undertaken. To Miss Stairs, whereever you may be, I have not arrived yet, but I thank you for helping me to believe that one little child could make a difference in this vast world.

Reflecting back on my experience in public school, I have had so many great teachers; however, there are two who impacted my life in such a tremendous way. Ms. Williams, my English teacher in 9th grade; and, Ms. Palowski, my Peer Mentor teacher in 12th grade. Ms. Williams was one of those teachers who challenged her students to continue to think outside the box and was personal. In fact, her interest in me allowed my acceptance into the Academically Talented track at my high school. She would have dinner with her students and continued to motivate us to write and express ourselves. I remember reading Lourd of the Flies and Brave New World in her class; she was awesome. Ms. Palowski was an AP English teacher at my high school and coordinated the peer mentor program. Again, someone who inspired and motivated me to pursue writing and creative works in poetry. She bought me a journal from the Louvre Museum and entered my poetry in a writing contest. I wound up getting 3rd prize, had dinner with Maya Angelou and was exposed to a cultural experience that I would not normally engage in (I grew up in a very urban community). She would edit my college essays and it was with her assistance that I received a scholarship from Randolph-Macon Women's College (I didn't attend). Two awesome individuals who cared about their students, challenged us to see the world beyond our tainted lenses, and impacted my life in such a positive way.

Dawn Henderson

In honor of American Education Week (November 12-18), the NCSU College of Education invites everyone to join in celebrating all those special people who have touched and enriched our lives by teaching us.  From the school custodians, bus drivers, office or cafeteria workers to the classroom teachers, specialists, principals, coaches, tutors, and volunteers, maybe even a college professor who inspired you, please use this blog to honor a special teacher in your life and share her or his story.