Who was your best (or worst) elementary school teacher?
Submitted by Minnow.
I'll give you one of each.
My best elementary school teacher was Mary Mulligan in 3rd grade (Franklin Elementary School, Lehighton, PA). She stood out far ahead of the other teachers I had in elementary school (possibly all of my education) because she truly cared, set her expectations high, and provided you with the means and support to reach those expectations. If anyone here sees Mary, let her know that Shawn O'Brian wishes her the most heartfelt thanks possible. I don't believe I would be where I am today if it weren't for her.
My worst elementary teacher (and again, worst overall) was Mr. Peiffer in 4th grade. In his class I quickly learned (since he pulled me aside and explained this) that I would receive good grades simply because it was expected of me from my performance in earlier years. Knowing this I hardly tried to learn anything. This is the year I fell behind in math and never completely recovered. I tried and did reasonably well in successive years, but was never again outstanding when it came to my math courses. Another reason he was my worst teacher was the fact that he had taken swings at several students. Granted they were provoking him by taunting him, but talk about an overreaction! Now when I say swings, I'm not saying he tried to slap them with a ruler, I mean he tried to punch them and do serious harm. Thankfully they were quick enough to dodge. In one case his missed throw hit the bulletin board on the wall behind the student. It left a nice sized dent in the bulletin board. It was a bad year for me and other students, thankfully he was transferred away after that one year. I pity the students that may have had to deal with him since.
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