Extra Credit

I was in a list making mode tonight, desiring to credit the teachers I had in my life, wanting to send notes of appreciation to as many as I could remember. Maybe it's not a perfect list. Maybe it should say more, or say less, or be presented differently but that's okay. I think it's the thought that counts here. So without further ado...here are the names of some of the people who influenced me from the age of 5 to my early twenties when I entered my own classroom and became a teacher myself.

Miss Thames...Thank you for giving me a wonderful start to school, for encouraging my reading skills and for coming to my rescue when I needed help pulling up my tights.

Miss Coombs...Thank you for wearing that amazing blue eyeshadow and for living next door to my best friend. You were like a celebrity to us both.

Miss Cummings...Thank you for having the same first name as me. I thought that was pretty cool. But I don’t think you spelled your name correctly with the “E” on the end.

Mr. Burnell...Thank you for making me and Cheryl your teacher pets. I’ll never forget the hilarity of being tied to my desk chair with a yardstick at my back. That will sound horrible to people who weren’t there but it was all in fun and a lesson in having good posture.

Mrs. Blood...Thank you for your kindness when I was traumatized for having to go to a new school, even if it was just one mile from my old school.

Mr. Burton...Thank you for making a box to house discussion topics suggested by students and for getting the entire class on board to support me when I was too afraid to wear my glasses to school in fear that I’d be made fun of.

Mr. Megno...Thank you for being an honest and caring CCD teacher, for answering the tough questions, and for everything you did for us kids.

Mrs. Angotti...Thank you for all the talks we had during piano lessons. Thank you for recognizing what I truly needed in order to stick with piano for the 10 years I took lessons with you.

Mr. Gonya, Mr. Thorpe, and Mr. Ordway...Thank you for not embarrassing me too much when I slipped in my first pair of wedged heels and landed in front of the three of you with my skirt flying up.

Mr. Huff...Thank you for being so supportive of my efforts to earn a place in the high school stage band even though we all knew I’d never win a spot over Sara-Sue and Jennifer. Thank you for coming to my house with a set of vibes the summer before my freshman year and suggesting I learn to play them. I am honored to share our birthday and I smile brightly each year when I receive your card.

Mr. Martin...Thank you for your guidance and for giving me the greatest piece of advice when you heard I was going to become a teacher.

Miss Ouellette...Thank you for enjoying us teenagers and letting us play flag football in gym class so often.

Mr. Deane...Thank you for allowing me the funniest of stories about taking Driver’s Ed with you. My students love hearing them.

Mrs. Martin...Thank you for suggesting Theater, Communication, and English to me as possible college majors. I wish I could thank you for talking me into doing that scholarship beauty pageant but despite winning as 2nd runner up, that is one of my most embarrassing stories of my past.

Mrs. Lacasse...Thank you for taking time to read my teenage books of poetry. The notes you tucked inside my books were so special. You were the most supportive teacher and you helped me develop my confidence as a writer.

Mr. St. Peter...Thank you for giving me my one and only “D+” in high school. I so deserved it. I learned my lesson and stopped flirting so much in math class. And I got a B+ the next quarter. Thank you also for being such a good father to my soul brother Paul.

Mr. DiFederico, Mr. Held, Mr. McDonald...Thank you for teaching me. I always found your classes interesting, challenging, and relevant.

Mr. Logan...Thank you for teaching me about poetry and for helping me improve my writing skills. I’ll never forget the day you put your ear to the cement wall and said you could hear the cement mixer.

To my science teachers--Mr. Porter, Mr. Trainor, and Mr. Pottle...Thanks for bearing with me and for letting Cheryl and I use the electric scale, Mr. Pottle.

Mr. Walker...Thank you for making time for me during 6th period study halls and for developing my love of theater.

Ms. Buzzini... Thank you for challenging my vocal range and for the time you devoted to private lessons. Thank you also for your sense of humor and for the energy you brought to our choral groups.

Professor Freeman...Thank you for working with me for four years as a music/voice minor and for the beautiful evening of song the night you invited my husband and I to your home to cut down a Christmas tree.

Professor Jacques...Thank you for insisting that your students turn in papers in their original handwriting. I learned so much from you over the course of the semester.

Professor Cole...Thank you for being the most challenging teacher I ever had in college.

Professor Benedict...Thank you for encouraging me as a writer.

Professor Steele...Thank you for the guidance in the three theater college courses I took from you.

Professor Street...Thanks for being one very cool cat. I loved your jazz course.

Professor Broyles...Thank you for making an exception and for taking a chance on me, a young 22 year old applying to a graduate program designed for older students, not those of us fresh out of college. I worked hard to make you proud of me. Thank you for awarding me a scholarship that allowed me to finish graduate school.

Professor Silvernail...Thank you for opening my mind to understanding the nuances of research.

Mrs. Davis...Thank you for being the best cooperating teacher and for trusting your students to learn from me.

And to Michelle, Kim, Peter, Peter, Susan, Sue, Gail, Steve, Roger, Jan, Mary...Thank you for the guidance and support you provided me when I entered my own classroom as a new teacher.