In an effort to become a better teacher, I want to hear stories about teachers who inspired you to do well/achieve more.

Tell me about those people in your lives who taught you something!

Not sure if it is applicable but that teachers on Van Halen's "Hot for Teacher" video taught me a lot. Of course that was 1984 and I was 16 years old. Does that count?

In my sophomore year of highschool I had history right after lunch, I was very depressed and had insomnia so I would usually go to my history class during lunch and take a nap, or at least lay there with my head down. Sometimes I would read. I often overheard the history teacher on the phone discussing things teachers aren't supposed to do (sex, drugs, the hotness of students). He didn't seem to care that I heard any of this. I read the history book at the beginning of the school year and never did anything in his class but take tests. He generally didn't do much but try to flirt with the girls in class, or tell stories about how rich his father was and how he owned a mansion on the water in Hermosa Beach or someplace down in LA and that he would inherit it all someday and it's such a great place to throw a party and blah blah blah. Occasionally he would "lecture" (aka summarize the text book) and as part of that he would pause at various points to ask questions. If no one volunteered to answer he would call on someone. No one ever volunteered an answer to my recollection. So occasionally I would have to wake up and answer random dumb shit before I could go back to sleep. Never got a question wrong, he stopped waking me up eventually, probably because he told me I was wrong about something that the textbook was wrong about and I told him to go look it up (it was something inane like a date with a transposed number). I never got a question wrong on any of the history tests. I never did any of the dumb ass homework for that class because I generally didn't do any homework for any class unless I thought it was interesting. I got a D in history every semester that year. A semi-friend of mine who was an attractive party girl type and knew shit about history got an A+
She came to class tripping balls on acid more than once, and brought alcohol to class and drank it DURING CLASS more than once.

I wasn't necessarily inspired to achieve more "academically" by this teacher, but his class did play a role in teaching me valuable lessons about society and my place in it, and about the role of the education system in producing America's dysfunctional culture of semi-literate anti-intellectual self-absorbed consumerist drones. He did inspire me to seriously considered becoming a history teach for awhile, I may still do that someday.

I remember Mrs. McKenzie I had in ninth grade. She was a red headed fireball and probably the most inspirational person I ever had in my life. She taught freshman biology and wore these nerdy black glasses when she sat at her desk and made her look like a sexy scientist.

I had made outstanding efforts to do well in her class the entire year. I like to consider myself a perfectionist in the academic world, as I am never satisfied with anything that's not an "A" and a "+" by it. I made perfect scores on her first and second tests. I remember when she passed them back she would come up to my desk, bend over, slip her glasses just a tad down her nose and stare at me over the top of them saying, "Wonderful job, Philip. I wish all of my students were like you." She'd slip me a small, genuine smile that broke through her intelligent scientist facade. It was so exciting to see her pleased like that.

The last test was the most difficult test of the year. She announced to the class wearing these skin-tight jeans that showed off the body she knew she had, "This test, class, will be extremely difficult. I have never had anyone make an A on this last test before. It will test all your knowledge and everything you've learned this year. However, I know you will do well." As she said the last bit, she looked at me and winked. I HAD to do well on this test. I studied for days, never going out, never coming out of my room. I was glued to Biology and began to dream about photosynthesis and cell division. When the day came, I knew I was ready for this test. I went to school and I gave it all I had.

The next day in class, she passed the tests out one by one. As the rows began to fill with graded tests papers, the mourningful gasps and awe's began to get louder and I was getting nervous. I sit in the front and I am the last one to get my test usually. However, she never gave mine back to me. This wasn't right. I needed to investigate why I didn't have a test paper. As class dismissed, everyone quickly zoomed out of the room in anticipation of summer vacation. I sluggishly put my things in my backpack and made my way to her desk where she sat writing in her little notebook with her glasses on. I noticed my test paper under her journal reading a glimmering "A+".

"Mrs. McKenzie, I didn't get my test back... do you still have it, by chance?" I said this stupidly, knowing full well where my test was. She replied, "Philip, I've been teaching this class for about five years now" and moved her hand to rescue my test paper. "I've never had anyone that showed such attention and care to what I have to say."

I stood there and a smile grew on my face as she began to tell me how great of a student I was. She then, with a cute little giggle to herself, suddenly stood up and made her way to the door and closed it to free the room from the sounds of noisy students. She turned around and looked straight into my eyes and smiled and took out the hair band that held back the potential of her long, firey hair. It dropped to her shoulders and she took her glasses off. I stood there trying to anticipate her actions that were clueless to me. She slowly began to walk up to me not breaking eye contact the whole time. She sat me down in her desk chair.

"Mrs. McKenzie, what are you doing?" I said both nervously and kidfully trying to maintain a lighthearted mood.
"Philip, you've tried your hardest to make an A in my class and I genuinely appreciate that. I want to show you how thankful I am to you. I'm going to give you the chance to get a... different type of A now."

She began to unbutton her science coat and I began to sweat wondering if I am dreaming or if I suddenly walked into a White Snake video. She flung her coat across the room, and showed off her amazing body in a tight blouse. Her blouse was already unbuttoned midway under her coat, which exposed the outlines of her breast and bra. I was in heaven. As this progressed, I learned that there is always a reason to care more for science. I made love to my intelligent, red-headed bombshell of a teacher. She was passionate and delicate.

I still, to this day, hold her glasses in my possession which she gave to me as a reminder of our "student teacher conference." These are the glasses that teased me, and shrouded an intelligent, sexy woman. Oh, I will always remember Mrs. McKenzie and her biology class. I never saw her again after that day, but I will remember the inspiration she had on me forever.

Mrs. McKenzie, ftw!

Dear Bike: WHAT THE FUCK.

Mrs. Hatchner who taught freshman and sophmore Spanish...smokin' hot, and funny too...

And Bike should have started his post: "Dear Penthouse Forum,"

I lol'd :D (and was slightly aroused)

BUT BACK TO MRS C'S REQUEST

I had a ton of great teachers, though the ones that stand out to me most had great personalities to go with their great teaching style. Mrs Komar was my World History teacher my sophomore year of high school and I absolutely adored her. She had travelled to almost all of the places she taught us about, so when we broached a new subject (Rome, for example) she would bring in her own personal collection of pictures from her travels there. She would pass the pictures around for us to look at, then tell us a story about the place when she was there ("I remember a student falling into this fountain!", is one that leaps to mind) and then she would tell us about the place as history saw it. She also encouraged us to learn and appreciate different cultures and customs. She would host food festivals every other year or so (school budget kinda controlled that) where she would find the most authentic restaurants to cater a certain type of food (Greek, Middle Eastern, etc) for any student who was interested in trying it and sitting through a short informational lecture. She made me fall in love with history because she brought it to life for me.

She also let me off detention once because (and I quote) "You got a detention for bringing your backpack into chapel? Goldstein is a jackass. Just go home, I'll sign your slip."

She kicked ass :D