It's ironic that the years I took history classes, I'd name them as my least favorite. I just didn't care about all that stuff. But my World History teacher, Mr. Feuerhahn, he was a character and a half, and he made learning this stuff fun. We had to memorize HIS notes for the class, each day we'd get further through HIS notes, with examples and so forth, reading the book and so on. I remember more things about World War II still because of how he made us use rote memorization. A lot of it stuck with me. And when I went to college and took a U.S. history class then, a lot of what I learned in his class, I remembered. I actually enjoyed learning history in college, because by then other classes I was taking (Government, Adolescent Psychology and Sociology) explained paradigm shifts of thought and living in the modern world. I could understand better how things were linked together. Again it was about dates, which are numbers, and that is really key to how I remember a lot of things.
In my Junior year I had the opportunity to go on the Junior-Senior trip to visit all the cool places on the East Coast. From Annapolis, MD, to Washington, DC, to NYC. I would have LOVED to have gone, but it cost out of pocket over $1700. My family didn't have the money, and it would have taken every dime I had saved from my job working in the library. I knew I had to get my own vehicle the following year because my sister's Junior year would have her taking classes on another campus 1/2 the day and so we'd each need our own mode of transportation. So I had to regrettably nix going on that trip. I heard a lot about the going's on later. Sounded like a fun time.
Something that I chalk up to "live and learn" the hard way, was my taking 3 semesters of typing in High School. Had I known that when I went to business school later that I'd have to take that all over again, I could have filled my High School days with more art or maybe Home EC classes that I really could use after I got married. LOL
Of all my classes my Junior year, I'd say I most enjoyed Trigonometry. Mrs. Caples taught that and she was a divine teacher. I had her husband for Earth Science in the 8th grade. Both were from the South, not sure which state, but they both had similar accents. He was funny, she was pretty academic in her tone all the time. I respected that A LOT. She was the kind of teacher I wanted to be. It's after I took her class that I decided I would center my college education on Math. Teaching Math in High School. We'll get into that saga in future posts ahead. She got me involved in the Math Club and sparked my interest to join Mu Alpha Theta, a Junior College organization. The really cool thing was if I did all the requirements the rest of time at SCHS, I would graduate with honors and have the Mu Alpha Theta emblem on my diploma. That involved a lot of out of Math contests and several Math quizzes and having to keep a certain percentage on them. Even had I not met the requirements, the opportunity to go to Kirksville, Columbia and other state universities and compete against other bright Math enthusiasts was fun. The one odd memory I have is on one of the trips I had to share a room with Mrs. Caples. Seems another girl had to share our room as well. That was weird and as usual I didn't sleep well. Theme of my life while travelling! But again, I love numbers and to get out of town and do something fun, always a wonderful thing for me.
In my English class I had another good teacher, Mrs. Thiel. She was the strictest of all the teachers I remember having. But I again liked that about her. We had to study the great authors and poets of American Lit and I had to do a presentation on Henry David Thoreau. I remember again being nervous as heck, knees rattling behind the podium giving my speech on him. I think I got a good grade, but I remember hearing things that I needed to work on. I did like Mrs.Thiel's helpful criticism. I believe she talked me into joining the Future Teacher's of America club, as she was the sponsor. We got to visit a Montessori school, where they teach from age 18 months to age 12. And these kids were bright from the get go. Learning German from day 1! I really kept building on the dream of being a teacher with the classes I was now taking and the clubs and organizations I was getting into. Life was good and I couldn't wait after my Junior year ended to start my last year and keep the momentum going!
.....while in the middle of developing your skills and finding the things you are good at, your heart can lead you into things that seem so obvious you just don't consider anything else. And one of the things to learn is to listen to those that know how to train others, they see your strengths, they see your weaknesses. I had a lot more to learn and we have a lot more of the story to go, before the real life starts!
