Here's something you might be interested in.
I'm not sure why when I blog, I like to title them with song lyrics. Often times, the lyric has nothing to do with what I'm going to write.
But, I had read in the L.A. Times last week, about how a drama teacher had three students that have been nominated for Oscars; Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Ben's little bro Casey (who many felt should've also been nominated for Gone Baby Gone, too).
The teacher, Gerry Speca, not only has the satisfaction of watching former students succeed at the highest level...all three have said they owe a lot to him. Ben Affleck even thanked him in the credits of a recent film, and gave him a cameo (I would've prefered a Camaro).
Speca decided to parlay this...he left teaching in the mid 90s, to try his hand at writing. That lasted five years, and now he's back at school.
A few of my friends that have been teachers for years, tell me it bums them out that more students don't return to visit them.
I find that odd. I had a kindergarden teacher, Ms. Danielson, that loved Elvis. When I played Elvis for a Halloween party, I went to visit her. I had a 6th grade teacher, Mr. Mankins, whose step son was murdered outside of Jack in the Box...I thought he was the best, and I went to see him once.
But, with high school teachers, we never developed that kind of relationship. You only have them for a semester, and you're in that room for only an hour a day. Not like elementary school...where I once drew a cartoon in Mankins class, of an office worker crumpling paper and shooting baskets into a trash can, before finally falling out the skyscrappers window. He asked if he could put the picture on the wall, and said I had the talent to be the biggest cartoonist or writer ever.
I didn't have the heart to tell him, I had seen that picture in a Mad Magazine, so it wasn't an original idea.
In a Wendy's a few years back, I saw my old high school basketball coach, Mr. Cunningham. His hair was all gray, and there was a lot less of it. I didn't say anything to him, though. He was with a few other people, and I just thought it would be odd for him.
I was once out to dinner with one of my friends that was a teacher, and someone said hello to him. He leaned in and said "I have no idea who that is." But, what made that worse...is that it was obvious to this former student, that he didn't know who it was. I said, "Next time, just act like you won the lottery, you're so excited to see them. And, they won't notice that you didn't say their name. Just throw out the cliche questions like 'What have you been up to?' Saying that, might even help you remember who they are, and at the very least, bide your time."
Of course, I'd rather win an Oscar and be talking about these teachers, as oppose to writing about them in a blog that I know they won't see.
I'm not sure why when I blog, I like to title them with song lyrics. Often times, the lyric has nothing to do with what I'm going to write.
But, I had read in the L.A. Times last week, about how a drama teacher had three students that have been nominated for Oscars; Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, and Ben's little bro Casey (who many felt should've also been nominated for Gone Baby Gone, too).
The teacher, Gerry Speca, not only has the satisfaction of watching former students succeed at the highest level...all three have said they owe a lot to him. Ben Affleck even thanked him in the credits of a recent film, and gave him a cameo (I would've prefered a Camaro).
Speca decided to parlay this...he left teaching in the mid 90s, to try his hand at writing. That lasted five years, and now he's back at school.
A few of my friends that have been teachers for years, tell me it bums them out that more students don't return to visit them.
I find that odd. I had a kindergarden teacher, Ms. Danielson, that loved Elvis. When I played Elvis for a Halloween party, I went to visit her. I had a 6th grade teacher, Mr. Mankins, whose step son was murdered outside of Jack in the Box...I thought he was the best, and I went to see him once.
But, with high school teachers, we never developed that kind of relationship. You only have them for a semester, and you're in that room for only an hour a day. Not like elementary school...where I once drew a cartoon in Mankins class, of an office worker crumpling paper and shooting baskets into a trash can, before finally falling out the skyscrappers window. He asked if he could put the picture on the wall, and said I had the talent to be the biggest cartoonist or writer ever.
I didn't have the heart to tell him, I had seen that picture in a Mad Magazine, so it wasn't an original idea.
In a Wendy's a few years back, I saw my old high school basketball coach, Mr. Cunningham. His hair was all gray, and there was a lot less of it. I didn't say anything to him, though. He was with a few other people, and I just thought it would be odd for him.
I was once out to dinner with one of my friends that was a teacher, and someone said hello to him. He leaned in and said "I have no idea who that is." But, what made that worse...is that it was obvious to this former student, that he didn't know who it was. I said, "Next time, just act like you won the lottery, you're so excited to see them. And, they won't notice that you didn't say their name. Just throw out the cliche questions like 'What have you been up to?' Saying that, might even help you remember who they are, and at the very least, bide your time."
Of course, I'd rather win an Oscar and be talking about these teachers, as oppose to writing about them in a blog that I know they won't see.