Day 2 Gratitude: a Sandstorm of Gratitude (IYKYK)

In my second day of gratitude, I would like to stick with showing gratitude towards some of my high school teachers.  I have once again not included names for privacy purposes.  I loved my time at Amarillo High School – attribution goes to my fellow students and the wonderful teachers.  In the interest of space and time, I will list out only a few that I am especially grateful for:

• 11^th Grade American History Teacher: History came to life through brilliant lessons and deep discussions / knowledge.  Success measured by all students being engaged, and many many students passing the AP American History exam.  If you know me, I love American History and can trace it back to this specific class.
• 11^th Grade English Teacher: This teacher taught multiple classes.  And all the students in those classes would read typically 25-50 pages each night for 9 months.  Vivid discussions, use of multi-media – in the 1990s no less.  Created portfolios versus exams.  Wrote college essays versus generic essays.  Learned to present (and by extension prepare for college interviews).  Learned about tragedy and poetry, paintings and museums.  Had the privileged opportunity to visit Europe with 8 other classmates under his purview and bring everything learned to life. *
• 12^th Grade Calculus Teacher: This was one of the toughest teachers I had at any grade level (including two Masters programs).  He was retired but came back to teach a couple of Calculus classes given his love and knowledge of the subject.  Students that barely made it through advanced algebra and advanced geometry struggled but eventually mastered calculus.  For my classmates who pursued liberal arts degrees, this was their final mathematics class as most, if not all, passed the Advanced Placement exam.  Outside of series / advanced series, he covered almost everything that was covered in my undergraduate Calculus II class at Columbia University.
• 12^th Grade Economics Teacher and Peer Assistance Leadership (PAL): The PAL program is around having high school seniors with leadership potential work with elementary school students who are struggling.  Sometimes it is tutoring, but more often mentoring.  Showing them that there are people who care.  It is a great program and the teacher that led it was extremely good.  She was also my economics teacher and wrote the recommendation letters that got me into college.  The one semester economics class made me want to become an economist.  Two great experiences, one great teacher.
• 10^th Grade World History & 12^th Grade Government Teacher:  We all learned so much about world history and government, especially in an election year (1996).  But one of my favorite things was Friday current events where we would take 45 minutes (or however long the class period was) and talk about what is happening in the world.  The class rarely stayed in the textbook – lots of real-world applications.  We had fun group projects and really came away with a deep understanding of the world and our government.
• 4-Year Latin Teacher: I have stayed in touch with this teacher who had me for four years and my brother for three years.  Over those seven years, her family and our family became friends.  We translated Virgil’s Aeneid, learned about Roman history and culture, had fun, and loved it.  Students did well, and we had a lot of fun.
• Academic Decathlon Coach: I did not participate in any high school sports, so this was the closest thing I had to competitions.  The Coach was the special education teacher for my high school.  (On a tangent, special education teachers are truly the human personification of angels.)  She pushed us to learn and be smart and cared about us as students and individuals.  She helped us to grow, mature, experience life and push boundaries.  The nature of the program is that they have to have students that have A averages, B averages, and C averages.  So even if some students have made some mistakes or struggled, there is an opportunity for them to shine bright in this academic competition.

As mentioned above, I really would be justified to list out all of my teachers.  I fear the person that I would be without them.

I am grateful for all of my teachers.  It says something that people I have not seen in 29 or more years are still the ones I think of start-off giving thanks.

* This teacher passed away last year.  His former students travelled from around the world to attend his funeral and memorial services.  Huge loss for our community.