Thursday Two Questions/Light Master Teacher



By *r3M'S*



In Monday's blog, Light Master Teachers, I wrote about teachers who, as Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post's Writer's Group so beautifully put it, "hit the light switch and change one's life."

My Thursday Two Questions to you are:

Did you have a Light Master Teacher while in school or beyond?

If so, how did he or she inspire you?  If not, how could a teacher have made a difference in your life?

I'll be looking forward to your comments.

And if you'd like to further participate in Thursday Two Questions, follow the link below.

Light Master Teachers

Photo by Tom Kochel

In an article titled A sprig of verbena and the gifts of a great teacher, Kathleen Parker of the Washington Posts Writers Group wrote about teachers who "hit the light switch and change one's life."

For Kathleen it was James Gasque, an 11th grade English teacher, who stood up for her in class when her peers were making fun of her. "She can out-write every one of you any day of the week," he said.

Kathleen started that day to try to write well, and she thought of Mr. Gasque when, on April 12, 2010, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for commentary.

Two teachers who hit the light switch and changed my life were my high school English teachers, William Penna and Harvey Farr. Mr. Penna entered one of my stories in Stylus, our school's annual literary publication, and Mr. Farr made copies of one of my essays for every student in the junior class as an example of excellent writing.

I also had an advanced composition teacher in college, Ms. Hanson-Smith, who to this day doesn't know how much she encouraged me with what she wrote on one of my journal entries, "You seem so capable and self-understanding. Few people know themselves at all and you have looks, talent, and intelligence far in abundance of most people. So don't be afraid to use them well." 

I think of these teachers as I seek publication for my novel, Between Now and Forever, in which  a teacher "hits the light switch" and changes the lives of seven troubled middle school students.

Thank goodness for the world's Light Master Teachers.