A few words about teachers

When you enter the world of blogging, the first thing you learn is courtesy is almost non-existent.
When people disagree with you, they often do not believe it is enough to state the reasons for that disagreement. They also have to launch personal attacks. I accept that as part of the game, though I regret the lack of civility in the blogosphere. What should serve as a starting point for enlightened, even spirited discussion, usually turns into name-calling.
Again, I have accepted that. Usually if someone verbally attacks me, someone else will come on the site either to defend me or just to verbally attack the other person. It usually runs about 50-50.
I have no problem with some local journalists, both of the print and broadcast varieties, who denigrate my style of reporting and commentary, and take advantage of every opportunity to let me know. They can say whatever they want; I'm just happy they continue reading The Turner Report.
That being said, one of the commenters crossed the line earlier this week and I waited to say anything, hoping that someone else would pick up the sword and join the battle.
The comment was left on my post about the KSN crawl and its mixing of the story of the deaths of a soldier and two journalists in Iraq with the birth of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's baby. The commenter said:
"Maybe Randy could find something legitimate to do with his time instead of ragging on the REAL journalists in our area. You know what they say: those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach."
Readers did reply to the journalism portion of the comment and I appreciate their responses, but so far no one has responded to those last eight words, one of the most hideous and baseless sayings in the English language: Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach."
Everytime I read George Bernard Shaw's famous quote, or hear someone saying it, it angers me. It did long before I ever stepped foot in a classroom.
A good teacher could be a success in any field he or she chooses to try, but I don't know of any successful people who made it where they are without good teachers influencing them somewhere along the way.
I was fortunate in my schooling to have had good teachers in elementary, junior high and high school, and a few more in college. I hate to start naming names, because I will leave people out, but these people deserve the recognition. Unfortunately, many of them are no longer with us.
I was fortunate enough to have good teachers all through elementary school. We didn't have kindergarten at Midway, but I was lucky enough to have Mrs. Minnie Weems as my first and second grade teacher. I recently read that she is still hanging in there at age 93.
The rest of my elementary teachers were also skilled. Mrs. Nettie Cummins, Mrs. Sue Cole, Mrs. Irene Relf, and my teacher both for sixth grade and then later for English in seventh grade Mrs. Jean Rowe. No one who took Mrs. Rowe's class will ever forget how she brought "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" to life reading from the book with her pronounced Southern accent.
At East Newton High School, I was lucky enough to learn from Mr. Charles Goade, whom I had for two classes, world history and comparative political systems. Mr. Goade was an excellent basketball coach, but he was an even better classroom teacher.
Science was never my favorite class, but Mr. Bill Keith kept me interested for an entire year. He even turned me into a B student in his class by the end of the year.
My English III and English IV teacher, Mr. Don Bogle, selected me for the "Fife and Drum," East Newton's school newspaper, when I was a junior, and afforded me numerous opportunities to develop my creative writing skills in class.
I was lucky enough to have Mr. Burney Johnson as a teacher for three years, taking civics my freshman year, and Spanish I and II my junior and senior years. Though I was the recipient of several of his 1,000 word punishments my freshman year, there was never a time when I didn't know I was in the presence of an excellent teacher.
Perhaps the teacher who influenced me the most was Mrs. Janice Matthews, now Janice Johnson, who was my speech and drama teacher during my sophomore and junior years.
Up until my sophomore year, I was unable to pronounce words that began with the letters "th" and had the sound found in words like thick, thin, and Thursday. Mrs. Matthews took the time to put me with a speech therapist (it was the first year East Newton ever had one) and my problem quickly vanished.
Later that year, Mrs. Matthews decided that East Newton was going to put on its first musical, the old Cole Porter classic, "Anything Goes." I didn't mind the singing, but I was not looking forward to the dancing. She talked me into trying out for the play. When the musical tryouts were held, I sang one line and the music teacher with virtually the same cadence as Bette Davis, said, "This boy will not sing in this play."
And I didn't, but Mrs. Matthews still gave me the third biggest part in the play as Moonface Martin, Public Enemy No. 13, the comic relief. I didn't sing and my dancing was limited, but it was a big moment for me and it was all due to Mrs. Matthews.
The next year, she showed enough faith to try me in a dramatic role and that, too, was successful. Unfortunately, she was not there my senior year, but her influence continued. Becky Hildebrand and I took one of her favorite duet act selections, from Archibald McLeish's Pulitzer-Prize winning play, J. B. and qualified for the state speech tournament during the District Speech Tournament at SMS. The best thing about it, was despite the fact that Mrs. Matthews, who by this time was teaching at Kickapoo High School, was no longer our teacher, she was there to watch us. She told us, "You're not in my classroom any more, but you will always be my students."
Those words remain as clear to me now as when Mrs. Matthews said them 32 years ago and they are the words I told my students at South Middle School earlier this month, and have told my students at South and at Diamond Middle School each year since I began teaching.
When I did my student teaching in 1981 at Diamond, I was fortunate enough to have Mr. Randy Switzer as my supervising teacher. I still use some of what he taught me.
I was lucky enough at Diamond to work closely with a crew of eighth grade teachers who not only imparted information, but also took a genuine interest in their students. Mr. Grant Reed's projects made American history come alive and spent hours of his time tutoring students. Mrs. Renee Jones conveyed her love of literature and high expectations for proper grammar usage, and actually had her students writing novels as a classroom assignment. She also sponsored a Student Council which collected more than 1,500 books to stock the school's first library. Mrs. Nancy Berry not only taught math and algebra to her students, but also managed to show up for nearly all of their activities.
For the past three years, I have been fortunate enough to work with the faculty at South Middle School. In fact, I spent the last two days with most of them, attending a seminar at Joplin High School. These teachers are there because they care about the children and want them to succeed.
Let me just mention a few of those teachers:
-Mr. Rocky Biggers, who is in the class next to mine, not only teaches American History, but each year he works with his eighth graders on Project Citizen, which gets them involved in helping the community.
-Miss Sheri Medlock, the eighth grade reading teacher, has sponsored reading and creative writing clubs, without pay, to benefit her students.
-Mrs. Valerie Doerr, the math teacher, probably spends as much time tutoring students, and e-mailing and calling parents as any teacher I have ever seen. She takes every route possible to make sure her students succeed.
-Mr. Jason Weaver, whom I have assisted as quiz bowl sponsor for the last two years, takes students to Florida each spring break as part of a Living Classroom project. He also takes the time each year to write personalized letters to each of his students at the end of the school year. In the classroom, he makes world history come alive.
-Mrs. Linda Weaver- I don't know of any teacher in any school who fights to improve reading as much as Mrs. Weaver. Each year, she holds a successful reading promotion, and she fights to keep reading at the forefront of everything we do at South.
-Ms. Joyce Wall- The successes Mrs. Wall, a special education teacher, has had reaching troubled kids who could not be reached by any other teacher, is legendary at South.
I probably should go down the list and keep naming teachers, and I will apologize to those whose names I have left out, but the point has been made.
These are people who are not only successful teachers, but they could be successful (and many of them have been) at anything else they attempt.
I have been lucky to have been associated with excellent teachers for most of my half-century on this earth. Only someone who never paid attention to his teachers would actually believe that quote, "Those who can, do. Those who can't teach."
Those who can, do...and they owe it to those who teach.

(Photos: From top left, Mr. Burney Johnson, Mr. Bill Keith, Mr. Grant Reed, Mr. Rocky Biggers, Mrs. Linda Weaver, Miss Sheri Medlock)