I attended an Ivy League university and a prestigious medical school…still, the best teacher I ever had, the person who taught me to think critically and worked to teach the best damn writing skills ever, was my high school English teacher. I think of her frequently these days. She had us read Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language” in 11th grade and I am forever grateful. Thank you, Miss Hart.
i majored in a STEM field in college, but my two favorite teachers hands down in HS were:
* my 11th grade US History teacher who helped us understand whatever period in history we were studying through the political cartoons and the literature and theatre of the day. I am still a big lover of good political cartoons - especially the subtle ones!
* my 12th grade English teacher who started off each class with a brief discussion of current events - this was the year after NIxon resigned because of Watergate. She always gave us thought-provoking assignments (for which Cliff Notes** would be useless). For Catcher in the Rye she had everyone write a fictional story (based on a real life experience) in the style of JD Salinger - and with the student's permission, she read some of the best ones out loud. I know several of my fellow students went on to study journalism!
** If you are young, you may have to "google" Cliff Notes; I'm sure their business model imploded with the advent of the internet!
I have a PhD in Psychology, and I'm 48 years old, but the teacher who probably had the most impact on me was also my 11th grade AP English teacher. He introduced me to so much great literature (including Flannery O' Connor, who I love to this day), and how to think critically about ideas. We read Malcolm X and Native Son! In a small town in Arkansas! I worry English isn't really taught like this anymore, and most students don't even read entire books. It scares me.
I come from a long line of public school teachers in my family too, and while I don't teach grade school, I am now a professor as well in a medical school. I'm biased, but I think teachers are the best.
Jess, thank you for sharing your “fire in the belly” and stories about how your community shaped your activism.
Surely, others attended the same schools and heard the lessons and read the same literature.
Doesn’t it make you wonder how they missed the points that should have been taken from the educators that were your classmates?
I grew up in the capital city of a southern town that was somewhat liberal in my day.
In the forty years since I graduated from college and lived away in a neighboring state, my hometown has become a brainwashed Fox News and Trump worshipping Land of the Zombies.
We were critical thinkers and saw value in that. In two generations that seems lost.
I don’t have much hope of that changing, given that its education system is near the bottom in the nation these days.
I am crushed to learn that the school system saw fit to retaliate against you by firing your husband.
This is pure evil in our midst. I am grateful to be able to read your newsletters and to know that the teachers are doing the hard things. They always have.
And the system knows that if try yo sue to get your job back based on discrimination you don't have the finances as aa regular person to even try...so sad Jess that they are that small minded. It just shows they don't really care about the kids.
I'm just hoping that the "neighbors recognize you in line at the grocery store" also holds true to the extent that they know who that nameless superintendent was and know what she did so spitefully!
Kinda like Jesus with all his talk about feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, healing the sick, loving your neighbor ( who is his mind is everyone).
When a teacher stands in the front of a classroom and looks out, they see the all of differences in this whole world and they take a deep breath and realize that you need to open your head and heart to be able to get your job done and help this giant quilt of children learn, however possible. That is why teachers have compassion and understanding for the current situation. They can not be closed minded, they have to understand the nuance of every situation, every minute.
Well said! And some of the kids are so challenging, from the rich kid who knows he can get away with anything to the kid who comes in late because she had to work overnight to help her family buy groceries and she falls asleep in class. Or all the students who can't afford to participate in sports in a school where sports are a big deal and all that the community talks about.
There's something else about good teachers that hasn't been mentioned yet. They are not afraid of encuntering and interacting with a room full of other people, even shall we say adolescent people who have agendas of their own. They aren't afraid of dealing with individuals in a group. They aren't afraid of standing up to people who have some power over their lives. These are some qualities of Tim Walz and his wife that I recognise. My mom was a master teacher and knowing her and knowing her friends taught me a lot about dealing with people.
I enjoyed watching Tim Walz attempt to read his teleprompter and then do an almost imperceptible scowl and move to speaking his mind in his own words. He was a practiced professional with high school students, and it showed. Mrs. Walz as well.
Thank you for one of the best essays I've read in a long time on love of others. I was privileged to teach English to new immigrants from mostly African nations. I would always plan easy reading assignments on our history. It was important for them, mostly mothers of school aged children, to learn about the great Black Americans. But as I researched for easy reading materials, it was me who was being educated. Will be on the streets protesting ICE every chance I get.
Thanks for this post Jess. I’m a retired teacher from a district outside of Detroit. I attended with all my teacher friends . It makes us feel hopeful spending time with like minded folks.
Katy, I'm glad you can spend time with like-minded friends. As Jess stated, I am living with the "burden of enforced silence." In my home, my community, my town, my county, and my state, I have expressed my anger and my disbelief that Trump's propaganda has saturated the people around me. I have almost bit my tongue in half to keep from losing friends and causing scenes. I have neighbors of 30 years who have helped us in so many situations, and with whom we've had many enjoyable experiences, but by expressing my opinion about Trump, I have alienated several.
I left my position as church pianist of 25 years after realizing that the members supported Trump, despite his unChristianlike words and deeds.
When Trump first slithered on the scene, I was told that if people in my town and county knew I despised Trump, they would come and hang me. What???
I wish I was as brave as Jess, but at 78, unless I move, I will continue to live in enforced silence.
I am a retired teacher, and Donald J. Trump is the opposite of everything I tried to teach my students about being good citizens and using their knowledge to help others to have a better life. How parents and grandchildren can hold him up to their children as someone to admire and want to be like, is beyond my understanding.
I saw this quote- "Those who can, do. Those who can do more, teach." Here's to all the teachers who did more!
So sorry for your situation. Hugs to you. I'm a 76 year old retired teacher and I never once cared about my students political beliefs. I cared and helped all of them .
Annette, I taught several boys from a family in which the father was a drug addict, wife-abuser, neglectful parent who spent money on drugs and left the family with no lights, water, heat so many times. I tried to give some comfort and stability to the boys, several of whom were later imprisoned for various crimes. One of the boys committed suicide. I saw the oldest son at a grocery store several months ago and he said that school was a refuge from his home life and that I acted like I cared about him and his brothers and his situation. I couldn't do enough though to counter the constant fear, neglect, and dysfunction of his household circumstances. We all try, don't we?
Maybe one of those unfortunate kiddos have taken some of what you gave them to heart. 👍❤️. And I bet you they remember you as one of their fav teachers, I HAVE NO DOUBT AT ALL!! KUDOS TO YOU, PAM. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DID!
Susie, thank you for your kind words! Often, teachers can't see immediate positive results,and that's why I have always enjoyed sweeping, raking, vacuuming, and anything where I can see some immediate achievement. :) We never know how we influence children and what impacts we may have on them. We can only hope and work to do the best we can for them.
As a retired teacher, I think of the parable of the sower in the Bible. We scatter the seed and much depends on the ground on which it falls. I would add that much depends on the weather. We do what we can.
I'm so sorry to read about your community, Pam. I hope & pray this virus of ignorance, hatred and violence (even if only threatened) is treated and eventually eradicated. God bless the teachers!
I feel we live in the same neighborhood! The reality of retaliation is too great for me to speak out in any way. I have a farm and my animals depend on local folks like vets literally to stay alive and I cannot alienate them. My grandkids have 4 more years in school but till then, they would be retaliated against if it were known I did not support trump ( not selected for sports teams or anything, not made class president, and be the subject of treats of physical violence and maybe even actual violence). I never thought America would come to that.
Pam, let me help you figure this out.... why supposedly "Christians" would support someone as evil and cruel as Trump!?!? I asked the same question of my husband, years ago, when Dump was running for his first term, my husband said "Because they're HYPOCRITES"!! Well, DUH. I COULD'VE HADA V8!! 😏.
Hi Jess: I cannot help but notice a striking gender disparity in the protests that I attend. America desperately NEEDS caring and (com)passionate women to continue speaking out and leading the way. Education is the opposite of ignorance, and (wilfull) ignorance is the primary cause of bigotry. A female educator combines the best of both worlds; God Bless You All, and we will keep fighting the Good fight.
I regret that Virginia is a long way from Missouri--somehow I believe that we would get along just fine, in person. Keep writing, Jess--we have to try to make progress one person at a time.
I'm a teacher, a professor, from a long line of teachers and I've often wondered how critics think I'd be able to teach effectivly if I had bias against my students for who they were or was not open and excited about new ideas. Thanks for writing about this.
I had many wonderful teachers who made me want to be a teacher. Perhaps the most unusual at the time was my American History professor at Mizzou in 1968. He was the first black professor at the university. One of our required readings was Malcolm X. Looking through different perspectives was so important.
I attended an Ivy League university and a prestigious medical school…still, the best teacher I ever had, the person who taught me to think critically and worked to teach the best damn writing skills ever, was my high school English teacher. I think of her frequently these days. She had us read Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language” in 11th grade and I am forever grateful. Thank you, Miss Hart.
I’m reading “Politics and the English Language” based on what you said about it, and I’m glad I am. Thank you 😊
i majored in a STEM field in college, but my two favorite teachers hands down in HS were:
* my 11th grade US History teacher who helped us understand whatever period in history we were studying through the political cartoons and the literature and theatre of the day. I am still a big lover of good political cartoons - especially the subtle ones!
* my 12th grade English teacher who started off each class with a brief discussion of current events - this was the year after NIxon resigned because of Watergate. She always gave us thought-provoking assignments (for which Cliff Notes** would be useless). For Catcher in the Rye she had everyone write a fictional story (based on a real life experience) in the style of JD Salinger - and with the student's permission, she read some of the best ones out loud. I know several of my fellow students went on to study journalism!
** If you are young, you may have to "google" Cliff Notes; I'm sure their business model imploded with the advent of the internet!
I have a PhD in Psychology, and I'm 48 years old, but the teacher who probably had the most impact on me was also my 11th grade AP English teacher. He introduced me to so much great literature (including Flannery O' Connor, who I love to this day), and how to think critically about ideas. We read Malcolm X and Native Son! In a small town in Arkansas! I worry English isn't really taught like this anymore, and most students don't even read entire books. It scares me.
I come from a long line of public school teachers in my family too, and while I don't teach grade school, I am now a professor as well in a medical school. I'm biased, but I think teachers are the best.
As a former English/History Teacher, I couldn't agree more! By the way, my wife and I attended two different protests this past weekend.
Jess, thank you for sharing your “fire in the belly” and stories about how your community shaped your activism.
Surely, others attended the same schools and heard the lessons and read the same literature.
Doesn’t it make you wonder how they missed the points that should have been taken from the educators that were your classmates?
I grew up in the capital city of a southern town that was somewhat liberal in my day.
In the forty years since I graduated from college and lived away in a neighboring state, my hometown has become a brainwashed Fox News and Trump worshipping Land of the Zombies.
We were critical thinkers and saw value in that. In two generations that seems lost.
I don’t have much hope of that changing, given that its education system is near the bottom in the nation these days.
I am crushed to learn that the school system saw fit to retaliate against you by firing your husband.
This is pure evil in our midst. I am grateful to be able to read your newsletters and to know that the teachers are doing the hard things. They always have.
And the system knows that if try yo sue to get your job back based on discrimination you don't have the finances as aa regular person to even try...so sad Jess that they are that small minded. It just shows they don't really care about the kids.
I'm just hoping that the "neighbors recognize you in line at the grocery store" also holds true to the extent that they know who that nameless superintendent was and know what she did so spitefully!
Keep up the good work! Our democracy depends upon it.
What I stand for is doing Good not Evil in this world.
If that makes me a Liberal then that’s a Good thing.
It’s almost like being “woke” is actually a good thing, huh?
Kinda like Jesus with all his talk about feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, healing the sick, loving your neighbor ( who is his mind is everyone).
I'm sure some of the "liberal" churches' nativity scenes this year caused some of the racist MAGAs brains to explode!
Yes, because it means awake.
When a teacher stands in the front of a classroom and looks out, they see the all of differences in this whole world and they take a deep breath and realize that you need to open your head and heart to be able to get your job done and help this giant quilt of children learn, however possible. That is why teachers have compassion and understanding for the current situation. They can not be closed minded, they have to understand the nuance of every situation, every minute.
Well said! And some of the kids are so challenging, from the rich kid who knows he can get away with anything to the kid who comes in late because she had to work overnight to help her family buy groceries and she falls asleep in class. Or all the students who can't afford to participate in sports in a school where sports are a big deal and all that the community talks about.
Well, there are narrow-minded and damaging teachers, but they aren't the good ones.
Nicely stated!
This is interesting. I do not consider myself an activist. I am a former teacher. I show up at protests.
I think that makes you an activist, friend. Solidarity.
Yes, DSN. YOU ARE AN ACTIVIST AND THAT'S WHAT THIS COUNTRY NEEDS IN THIS MOMENT. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. STAY STRONG AND RESIST.
Great article today! Just shared on FB. Thanks, you are inspiring!
As a retired teacher, I can testify that what you say is true. Its not politics, its love.
There's something else about good teachers that hasn't been mentioned yet. They are not afraid of encuntering and interacting with a room full of other people, even shall we say adolescent people who have agendas of their own. They aren't afraid of dealing with individuals in a group. They aren't afraid of standing up to people who have some power over their lives. These are some qualities of Tim Walz and his wife that I recognise. My mom was a master teacher and knowing her and knowing her friends taught me a lot about dealing with people.
I enjoyed watching Tim Walz attempt to read his teleprompter and then do an almost imperceptible scowl and move to speaking his mind in his own words. He was a practiced professional with high school students, and it showed. Mrs. Walz as well.
Tim is sharp. And Tim is a GOOD person.
And you can tell the students love Tim Walz. He has the HEART OF A TEACHER.
(I should have recalled that they also taught me to proofread so I wouldn't make unintended and potentially rude typos!)
It happens to the best of us Sarah. 🤗
Retired professor here. Champion of teachers. Activist, too. I hope you are OK with me touting your work in my most recent Substack post. 💜✊
Please and thank you for your work
Thank you for one of the best essays I've read in a long time on love of others. I was privileged to teach English to new immigrants from mostly African nations. I would always plan easy reading assignments on our history. It was important for them, mostly mothers of school aged children, to learn about the great Black Americans. But as I researched for easy reading materials, it was me who was being educated. Will be on the streets protesting ICE every chance I get.
❤️
Thank you, Bernadine, from one activist to another. 👍
Stay strong and resist.
Thanks for this post Jess. I’m a retired teacher from a district outside of Detroit. I attended with all my teacher friends . It makes us feel hopeful spending time with like minded folks.
Katy, I'm glad you can spend time with like-minded friends. As Jess stated, I am living with the "burden of enforced silence." In my home, my community, my town, my county, and my state, I have expressed my anger and my disbelief that Trump's propaganda has saturated the people around me. I have almost bit my tongue in half to keep from losing friends and causing scenes. I have neighbors of 30 years who have helped us in so many situations, and with whom we've had many enjoyable experiences, but by expressing my opinion about Trump, I have alienated several.
I left my position as church pianist of 25 years after realizing that the members supported Trump, despite his unChristianlike words and deeds.
When Trump first slithered on the scene, I was told that if people in my town and county knew I despised Trump, they would come and hang me. What???
I wish I was as brave as Jess, but at 78, unless I move, I will continue to live in enforced silence.
I am a retired teacher, and Donald J. Trump is the opposite of everything I tried to teach my students about being good citizens and using their knowledge to help others to have a better life. How parents and grandchildren can hold him up to their children as someone to admire and want to be like, is beyond my understanding.
I saw this quote- "Those who can, do. Those who can do more, teach." Here's to all the teachers who did more!
So sorry for your situation. Hugs to you. I'm a 76 year old retired teacher and I never once cared about my students political beliefs. I cared and helped all of them .
Annette, I taught several boys from a family in which the father was a drug addict, wife-abuser, neglectful parent who spent money on drugs and left the family with no lights, water, heat so many times. I tried to give some comfort and stability to the boys, several of whom were later imprisoned for various crimes. One of the boys committed suicide. I saw the oldest son at a grocery store several months ago and he said that school was a refuge from his home life and that I acted like I cared about him and his brothers and his situation. I couldn't do enough though to counter the constant fear, neglect, and dysfunction of his household circumstances. We all try, don't we?
Maybe one of those unfortunate kiddos have taken some of what you gave them to heart. 👍❤️. And I bet you they remember you as one of their fav teachers, I HAVE NO DOUBT AT ALL!! KUDOS TO YOU, PAM. THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DID!
Susie, thank you for your kind words! Often, teachers can't see immediate positive results,and that's why I have always enjoyed sweeping, raking, vacuuming, and anything where I can see some immediate achievement. :) We never know how we influence children and what impacts we may have on them. We can only hope and work to do the best we can for them.
As a retired teacher, I think of the parable of the sower in the Bible. We scatter the seed and much depends on the ground on which it falls. I would add that much depends on the weather. We do what we can.
I'm so sorry to read about your community, Pam. I hope & pray this virus of ignorance, hatred and violence (even if only threatened) is treated and eventually eradicated. God bless the teachers!
Thank you, Karen!
I feel we live in the same neighborhood! The reality of retaliation is too great for me to speak out in any way. I have a farm and my animals depend on local folks like vets literally to stay alive and I cannot alienate them. My grandkids have 4 more years in school but till then, they would be retaliated against if it were known I did not support trump ( not selected for sports teams or anything, not made class president, and be the subject of treats of physical violence and maybe even actual violence). I never thought America would come to that.
Pat, I feel your pain and sympathize with you! I'll go to my grave not understanding how "good" people can support such evil words and actions.
Pam, let me help you figure this out.... why supposedly "Christians" would support someone as evil and cruel as Trump!?!? I asked the same question of my husband, years ago, when Dump was running for his first term, my husband said "Because they're HYPOCRITES"!! Well, DUH. I COULD'VE HADA V8!! 😏.
Pam, great quote and more true than the other one we usually hear. Thank you!! ❤️
You're welcome. I was given a coffee cup with that quote on it by a former student.
Pam, what a heartfelt gift from a grateful student!! ❤️ WOW. SOUNDS TO ME LIKE YOU DEFINITELY MADE A DIFFERENCE IN STUDENTS' LIVES. 👍 CONGRATS!! 😌
I am so sorry Pam. I wish we lived closer.
Thank you, Katy. I have one friend who has seen the truth about Trump from the minute he started campaigning in 2105. We commiserate with each other.
Yes, very important, Katy. We are not alone in this time.
Hi Jess: I cannot help but notice a striking gender disparity in the protests that I attend. America desperately NEEDS caring and (com)passionate women to continue speaking out and leading the way. Education is the opposite of ignorance, and (wilfull) ignorance is the primary cause of bigotry. A female educator combines the best of both worlds; God Bless You All, and we will keep fighting the Good fight.
☮️KG
I regret that Virginia is a long way from Missouri--somehow I believe that we would get along just fine, in person. Keep writing, Jess--we have to try to make progress one person at a time.
☮️KG
Thank you, Jess. With great appreciation from a retired English teacher who continues to speak up❤️
Thank you for your activism. You inspire us all. Signed...a former teacher (40 yrs)
I'm a teacher, a professor, from a long line of teachers and I've often wondered how critics think I'd be able to teach effectivly if I had bias against my students for who they were or was not open and excited about new ideas. Thanks for writing about this.
Good to see this! Ben Samuels, with zero evidence, says that all Democrats are hiding and none want to run for office. He needs to open his eyes a bit
The rural Democrats I know are standing up in spaces that aren’t always safe. Ben needs to look around.
I had many wonderful teachers who made me want to be a teacher. Perhaps the most unusual at the time was my American History professor at Mizzou in 1968. He was the first black professor at the university. One of our required readings was Malcolm X. Looking through different perspectives was so important.