Her name was Mrs. Campbell and whenever she wanted to tell us something that she found particularly important to our overall knowledge of the topic, she would get up on top of her desk in the front of the classroom and scream it at us. However, this was only one of her many methods of attack. Another commonly used Mrs. Campbell trick was to make up strange songs and dances to go along with important historical happenings.
On my first day of History class sophomore year, the first things Mrs. Campbell said to our class was "I want to be the teacher you remember in 20 years. However, I do not just want you to remember me because I was crazy, I want you to remember me by the things you learned." I can in all honesty say that I will never forget John Locke and Thomas Hobbes because of Mrs. Campbell jumping up on her desk almost once a week and screaming at the top of her lungs, "LOCKE IS KEY."
I don't want to make this lady sound completely insane, however, because her teaching method definitely worked. Our class average was consistently higher than all of the other history classes and my writing skills definitely improved as well due to her multiple surprise in class essays that she almost never graded, but always intensely revised.
Mrs. Campbell, I will remember you in 20 years.
And some people think history is boring!
ReplyDeleteThis is very cool and inspirational as I am one of those teachers who makes up songs to teach things, especially history! Thanks for sharing. Mrs. Campbell would be pleased I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteShe sounds like an exceptional teacher, Larkin....I'm especially impressed with her level of commitment and energy of Mrs. Campbell she was determined to be memorable because the subject she taught was worth remembering. As a teacher, I rather love that!
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