Edith: Ed Aguirre taught sixth grade and organized a trip for our class to visit Baja California (a three-hour drive south for us) for a week. It topped off a year of studying Spanish, Mexican culture, geography, and so much more. He was way ahead of his times in creating this kind of cross-discipline study. Mr. Aguirre put up with my goofy, over-assertive eleven-year-old self and encouraged me to keep learning and exploring. And now…we’re Facebook friends! Much later, my tech writing teacher Lis Strenger taught me to write sparse, clear text – and made it fun, too.
Liz: I had some amazing grad school teachers, some of whom I keep in touch with also. Jeff Seglin, who taught me all things publishing, and Jessica Treadway, who taught me how to write a novel (and some of it stuck!) Those were some of my favorite years.
Julie: Ms. Holbrook was my reading teacher in elementary school, and she was wonderful. Mr. Hathaway was another great reading teacher. Mr. Shriner was a high school history teacher I enjoyed. I’ve been really blessed to have had a number of great teachers, but these three stand out.
Sherry: I had a lot of wonderful teachers, but I have to thank Mrs. Kibbie my third grade teacher. I left first grade in the top reading group, but by the end of second grade was at the very bottom and I didn’t like to read. (My second grade teacher was a nightmare.) Mrs. Kibbie sent home extra reading for me to do. My love of reading came back and I was saved.
Barb: I was lucky in my young life to have a lot of great teachers. The one I want to thank today is the late Anthony Garvin who taught me American Civilization my first year at the University of Pennsylvania. Garvin was a brilliant teacher. Every lecture was interesting and entertaining, but it wasn’t until I put my pen down having filled my last blue book in the final that I realized what the course was about. It answered the question, “Who is an American?” “What makes us Americans?” In these days of caravans and travel bans, I think back to it so often. That course truly shaped the person I am.
Jessie: I was lucky to attend a school system for middle and high school that valued creative writing. In middle school one of my English teachers, Mrs. Rief, made me feel I really had aptitude in that area. When I reached high school Mr. Tappan did the same. Both of these teachers had a hand in the writer I have become and I feel very blessed because of their presence in my early years.
Readers, do you have a teacher or early mentor that was a help to you? Leave a comment for a chance to win two paperback copies of Murder in an English Village; one for you and one for someone you would like to treat!