Teacher Roll Call

[Sundae]

This thread is to celebrate teachers.

Most people have a teacher they remember as a positive influence on their life. Whether it was a teacher who believed in you and cut you some slack, or one who pushed you to achieve. You don't have to name the school, the year or even the teacher's full name, I'm more intersted in hearing the story than anything that could be googled.

Mine are

Mrs Hastings:
Year tutor age 8-9. Very strict, very traditional disciplinarian Catholic teacher. She introduced me to poetry, using a dictionary for meaning rather than spelling and the idea that personal writing could be more than, "I did, I said, I went..." She taught us the difference between simile and metaphor - it didn't sink in at that age, but it amazed me when my A Level class (16-18) needed to have it explained.

Mrs Collinge-Hill:
English Language & Literature age 12-16. Very sarcastic and acerbic, but with a real passion for literature. Taught me many things that were repeated at A Level (see above). Encouraged creative writing but bit hard when it was derivative, clumsy or cliched. Also occasionally my Drama and Religious Education teacher so my view may be coloured by the fact I was one of her favourites. Except being a favourite meant being pushed harder.