This week, I'd like you all to try and write as much as you can about any teachers from secondary school (or university) that you have really good or bad memories of.
Tell us what you remember about them, why you liked - or didn't like - them, and what happened in their classes.
I had quite a few teachers I really didn't like. I went to a normal state secondary school - a free government school - and while some of my teachers were good, plenty weren't! There was a Geography teacher who had the nickname Johnny Headbanger - because he used to walk around the classroom while he was talking and every now and then, if he thought you weren't listening or paying enough attention, he'd grab your head (by the hair) and then bang it against the person next to you. It used to really hurt!
We also had a Chemistry teacher called Mr Leeds, who had a very short temper. Sometimes, while he was doing experiments, if students were talking, he used to throw things at them. One of my worst memories of secondary school was a kid in class called mark Rankin messing around at the back of the class, talking and being stupid, and Mr. Leeds throwing a metal late across the room at him. he threw it like a frisbee and it sliced Mark Rankin's head and then went through the window. The whole class was shocked and we sat there in silence. Mark Rankin's head was bleeding like crazy and we all waited to see what was going to happen next. Mr. Leeds then just said "Mark Rankin. Go and tell the headmaster why you broke that window" - and he then carried on with the experiment. Crazy!!
The best teacher I had at secondary school was a young English teacher called Sue Briggs. She was quite unusual in lots of different ways. Firstly, she insisted on us using her first name - Sue - instead of calling her MISS BRIGGS or whatever, so she was much more informal than most other teachers. She also treated us with respect and like adults, which made a big impression on me. She asked us for our opinions, listened to what we had to say and helped us develop our worldviews. She also loved literature and recommended lots of great books. She gave me a copy of CATCHER IN THE RYE, for example, by J.D. SALINGER, which totally changed my life. It wasn't something we had to study at school. She just thought I might like it and so gave me a copy.
When I started teaching, she was someone I often thought about and tried to be like.
I think that if it hadn't been for her, I probably wouldn't have become a teacher!
Looking forward to reading your stories.
Hugh
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