Re: Teachers to Remember

12/22/11 - posted by Frank Dunnigan

Like JoAnne and jb, my list is short and I've probably already given kudos to the most memorable, but I still remember these:

Mrs. Beckerman--Kindergarten at Parkside--taught us to share, take turns, and wash our hands--good advice for life.

Sister Michael Marion--3rd Grade at St. Cecilia's--drilled into us the basics of writing: opening sentence, middle sentence, ending sentences.

Mrs. Tobin--5th Grade at St. Cecilia's--diagramming sentences, day after day, week after week, so that our words made sense to others.

Sister Janice Mary--6th Grade at St. Cecilia's--fascinated a bunch of 6th Graders by reading aloud from The Hobbit every afternoon that Fall of 1963.

Father John Becker, SJ--English teacher at S.I.--another much-appreciated writing mentor, though he often censored some of my better article titles and photo captions in the school's newsmagazine as being "fraught with double meanings".

Dr. Kichiro Iwamoto--Sociology Professor at Santa Clara--one of the first who gave a detailed, funny, and reasonable explanation of "why are some people just crazy?".