The Very Worst Teacher I Ever Met [View all]

[MineralMan]

We had some extraordinary teachers in the tiny California town where I went to school in the 50s and 60s. Almost all of them took an interest in their students and tried their best to help them maximize their talents and abilities. Almost.

I'm going to tell a story about one teacher who did something no teacher should ever do. I'm not going to name that teacher, though. There would be no point to that.

I was a challenging student. I was always an "A" student, thanks to the genes I got from my parents. I was also a bored student. Because of that, I often did pranks, played tricks, and generally pushed the limits, beginning in the first grade and continuing through all four years of high school. I stayed out of trouble because I got straight As, mostly, and never did anything harmful or malicious.

Most of my teachers, to their credit and professionalism, recognized what was going on with me and challenged me to learn more and learn faster than the curriculum moved. So I did that, too. I read constantly and learned much more on my own than I did at school. It worked out pretty well, really. One very smart high school English teacher, who I also won't name, told me I didn't have to come to her class, and could spend that hour at the library, so I did. All she asked was that I write a short report once a week about what I was studying in the library.

I loved almost all of the teachers I had. Not all, but almost all. There was one, in particular, though, who did something that shocked me at the time. That teacher came up to me at the baccalaureate gathering just before graduation and said, "Richard, you'll never amount to anything. You will always fail in life." That's an exact quote. I could never forget his cruel words. I got an "A" in that teacher's class, too.

When I heard that, I thought about what the teacher said for a second or two, and replied, "So, I'll end up just like you, then?" A cruel response to a cruel thing said to a 17 year old high school senior. But, I was very confident that I would turn out just fine.

Later, I thought about what that teacher said a little more, and realized that it meant nothing, really. What I became was entirely up to me. However, I wondered how many students had heard something similar from a teacher and had it affect them negatively for years afterward. No teacher should ever say something like that to any student. It was a horrible thing to do. I'm still shocked by it.

Almost all of the teachers I had in that small town were outstanding. That is important to say again. Maybe that one bad teacher taught me to roll with the punches. Teachers everywhere have a very tough job to do and are underpaid for that job. It's a miracle that so many are good, dedicated teachers who care about their students.

Kudos to all the excellent teachers out there!