I won't mention his name but a very popular teacher of mine sadly passed away two days ago. He turned up to work in a Harvy Davidson, wore pink glasses and had a large pony tail.
He was one of the last of the old fashioned teachers. Everybody behaved in his classes because all the pupils really liked him. Instead of teaching from books he used to do set up lots of experiments and make indoor fireworks, rumour had it that after I left one went wrong and he ended up burning his class room down, I am not sure if that was true but he hated all the OFSTED crap and paper work. He was just a damn good teacher.
What struck me is somebody has made a facebook page and 100's of ex pupils and teachers have replied to it. He left the school several years ago too. I am not sure how old he was but probably would have been in his mid 50's by now.
It feels like a part of my childhood has died with him, he made science interesting.
It is amazing the power of facebook too, without facebook I probably would not have found out until months or a year later.
He was the kind of teacher that could only ever work in a rough inercity school, he worked there as he really wanted to make a difference and he did.
|
Great post Rats and obviously a Guy whom you respected.
Martin
|
|
I cant remember his name, or even what he taught (it was a looooooooooooooong time ago) but he was welsh, so far left wing he made karl marx sound like maggie thatcher, and he taught me to be stroppy and question everything.
|
...he taught me to be stroppy and question everything...
Well, if he didn't succeed in anything else, he certainly succeeded in that. :)
I have no complaints about the teachers at my state grammar school, but can't say any had a great effect on me.
|
I can remember a lot of the guys who taught at my state Grammar.
I mentioned Mr Bayley, who gave me a love of the German lingo, in a different thread.
Co-incidentally, I met his daughter yesterday and we had a long chat, blocking up the Post Office ( I was finishing a mug of Ali's tea as well )
We chatted about old times and she was amazed and almost in tears when I told her there was a picture of her old Dad on 'tinterweb....she doesn't have these modern gizmos.
My old school has an active Old Boys website and most of the teachers are pictured.
I'm going to find it later and print her a nice glossy photo.
I was amazed myself when she said one of the teachers, French, I think, was still alive and living in North Wales...well into his nineties ! He seemed old when I left, 47 yrs ago.
Ted
|
Rattle I too think some teachers have had a good/big impact on me. And I can see how the loss of someone relatively young is very sad.
I had one brilliant maths teacher (not the head master at the school) and he made a difference. We were glad (in a nice way) when a poor maths teacher fell down the stairs and broke a leg. We got him again. We all agreed privately (pupils that is) that the injured teacher was really no good and we were better off without them. Sounds a bad attitude but we got a brilliant teacher.
Remember a lesson with a student science teacher trying to show us why you don't pour water on a burning oil fire.... nearly burned down the school! The flames so very nearly set fire to the suspended ceiling!
|
>>suspended ceiling!
>>
DON'T mention Suspenders to a schoolboy. OR me!!
MD
|
Given the effect that teachers can have on their pupils for the rest of their lives, teaching is sadly a profession too often underrated.
I was priviliged to have learnt from three of the best classics teachers of their time (1960s) - Harry Milner-Gulland, Denis Moylan and Theo Zinn. Between them they taught me to think - and believe me, as one who interviews graduates, that quality isn't universal even after a degree.
|
I remember my deputy head at school. He was massively scary when angry, but he got angry for a good reason, punished without flinching or backing off, but was totally fair and would have a joke with you in the right circumstances. He had prescence, even wore the old gowns like you see in the movies and this was in the 90's. Needless to say, he was missed by staff and pupils alike.
I recall on our school bus, some lads threw apples at a rival schools pupils. He got wind of it and each person who caught that bus was lined up out outside his office and interrogated individually. he offered anonymity should you have info, but he would ask you once and if he found out you knew something later on, it was curtains for you. He found out who it was, there was never any doubt he would.
A great man. Could show the police a thing or two :-)
|
There is now over 1000 replies and it looks like he was so popular they are going to have two funerals for him.
|
>> two funerals for him.
Two services surely.
|
Stu you hail from the South that wasn't Mr Buller was it...Tonbridge deputy head aptly named, i'd have thought he'd have been retired by your time but you've described him perfectly.
If you were misbehaving in assembly 'the stare' could freeze your blood from 200 ft, but a gentleman as they all were apart from Miss Henson...cold shower needed now.
|
|
No, mine went off to the West country to be a Head. Its such a shame these kinda folk arent welcome in the system anymore. Mores the pity.
|
I never had a life-changing teacher like that. I had so many teachers, having attended in all eight schools. Some were memorable, some pretty awful (including an ancient Irish nun who to my knowledge was still cutting six-year-olds across the knuckles with a metal ruler for no discernible reason twelve or fifteen years after she did it to me), some were pretty good, some were genuinely dumb, something I was able to detect from about the age of six. Of course I wouldn't have dreamed of saying so. You didn't back then.
Some fade in the memory and some remain, vivid as ever... Spuds, Miss Cliffe, Bubbler, Flue-Brush, Bush... just five among the hundred or so who tried vainly to knock, batter and jemmy some knowledge and wisdom into my head.
Of course the ponytailed, Hog-riding hipster Sheikh Rattolo mentions would have numbered among the best, and was only a decade ago or even less to the Sheikh. All credit to him for respecting the man. It's a precious commodity, respect.
|
I have fond memories of my religious studies teacher, a chap with a wild grey beard who (fortunately!) never touched upon the subject he was supposed to teach. Instead, the lessons were spent with him passing on his life stories and advice, with each story usually accompanied by an elaborate diagram on the board.
He's retired now - he must have known his subject because he sailed through OFSTED inspections, but he never taught me any of it! What he did teach me, however, has stuck with me my whole life.
Actually, I've just thought of the occasion he once touched upon religion. Quothe the great man: "Lad, you'll never find a pretty woman under a burka". And you know what? He was absolutely right!
|
|
Well we know where Avant went to school now!
|
If you can still remember there names after so many years they must have made an impact on your life and been good at there job.!
I can remember at least 5x good ones who had comon sense approach to teaching not all kids are bright at every subject but a good teacher helps them acheive the best they can do.
Morley high school, in Leeds west yorks. the class of 1987 i was 15 when i left started work at 15, 6 weeks before my 16th birthday glad to leave at the time but looking back now wish id have chosen another path but thats life.!
|
|
I remember the names of the bad ones too.
|
Bad ones? Me too, Rats. I wrote an expansive memory of abuse (physical and mental) I suffered at the hands of various teachers, but refrained from posting and have now deleted it as I did not wish to besmirch your positive thread. This was as recently as the 1980s that I was on the end of beatings at school.
Some good ones certainly helped me scrape through my education and secure a good university place, but really I can't say any had an outstanding, long lasting effect on me.
I could list many "nice" and "fun" ones. Perhaps I could mention my late Economics teacher, Mr Langley. He at least was honest enough to point out baldly my flaws and the reasons for why I would fail his subject in the public exams. I realised what I needed to do, scraped through and met him at a railway station a few days after the results. He was astonished that I had passed (even with the lowest possible mark, an E grade) and I thanked him for his honesty and for pointing me in the right direction.
|
I didn't do a lot of school tbh, I'm probably an Asperger anyway.
I remember Ms Raffen in primary school who caned me so badly on bare legs that my mother and sister nearly throttled her.
I remember Mr. Fleming the French master (good teacher)
I remember Mr. Preston (Bummer Preston)
I remember Mr. Wilson (good History teacher)
I remember the R.I. teacher who cracked up and ended up in the funny farm because of us!
|
We had an art teacher who was quite mad. He was an alcoholic and used to hit pupils regularly with any solid object which came to hand. He once even made a boy in my class eat paint because he took exception to his work. He was reported on numerous occasions but nothing ever happened until he failed to return after the Christmas holidays one year. It eventually turned out that he had been locked up for nearly beating his wife to death over Christmas. Nice man. A PE teacher was put away eventually for kiddy fiddling, he'd been at it for years but again no one in authority would listen to complaints. A maths teacher used to regularly pass out mid-lesson from too much morning exposure to whisky. Always a result when he did because if he remained awake he was often brutally violent. Again he was never censured for it.
Of course there were others who were simply outstandingly good teachers and of whom most would have fond and grateful memories.
Rough inner city school ? No, actually a rather well known and allegedly posh public one.
|
...put away eventually for kiddy fiddling...he'd been at it for years but again no one in authority would listen to complaints...
I've been in a couple of court cases in which the victims were initially caned for making complaints.
That was for abuse in the 1960s and 70s.
The pendulum has probably swung too far the other way now, with an assumption the child must be telling the truth.
I reckon there's bound to have been a teacher or two in recent years who has been locked up and had their life ruined because of a false complaint.
Equally, there were plenty many years ago who knew they could get away with it because no one would believe the child.
Difficult to know where the balance should be.
|
Same guy used to take us for rugby training. One boy had had an illness in infancy which left him with severe breathing difficulties. He was a bit fat and very unfit but a very pleasant and highly intelligent kid. System was that he had to bring a doctor's note every week to be excused PE. One day he forgot or lost it. Preposterously enough he was made to strip to his underwear and bare feet ( he had no rugby kit ) and forced to join the rest of us running circuits of the pitch in the snow. He ended up coughing blood. A group of us got between him and the teacher who was screaming at him to "get back on his feet and damn well run". We protested on his behalf and he was eventually allowed back to the changing rooms. We all got six of the best for our trouble.
Still, it made men of us didn't it..........
Mostly happy days despite the bad apples.
|
>>He ended up coughing blood. A group of us got between him and the teacher who was screaming at him to "get back on his feet and damn well run".
Teachers who are cruel should be shot. The huge problem then and now I am afraid is that I never know who is guarding the guards.
MD
|
I fondly remember Mr Vincent, a man who finally made me understand maths to the point where I went from bottom of the class in the subject to the top.
Mr Duckham, who was feared by everybody in the school including many of the teachers. He was known to regularly use his fists and boots on pupils, today he would be serving a jail sentence for his disciplinary methods.
And Mr Curtain, who did serve one after an mistaking a plain clothes police officer for someone of a similar persuasion to himself in a public toilet.
|
I have great memories of Mr. Plumber, a history teacher who had the rare gift of making his subject interesting, engaging the whole class, and making us learn. Very sadly he died of cancer during the second year he was teaching me, and the subject never had the same appeal after.
|
The death of this fine teacher has appeared in the Bolton Evening News apparantly. That is were he taught last. It also seems the rumours about setting the science lab alight are true :).
We've all been invited to the funeral but I probably won't attend as there will be people I don't want to see there.
|
|
I was probably much less popular at school than a taxman! Lets just say I got on with the teachers better.
|
>>> Lets just say I got on with the teachers better. <<<
We had the confessional the other day comrade :)
|
>> I was probably much less popular at school than a taxman! Lets just say I
>> got on with the teachers better.
>>
You were normal then, but had to put up with the feral cats?
|
His name wasn't Cappa was it ?
We had one like that, he used to foam at the mouth.
Edit
This should have appeared under Humph's post but somehow it went to the end.
Last edited by: MrTee43 on Thu 1 Apr 10 at 22:32
|
|
No, must have been two of them.
|
|
I once got a thank you xmas present from a headmistress for helping her sort out printing out the manuscript for a book. I got on with the teacher's fairly well. But I would have got into trouble if they knew I had a master key for all the doors in the school (don't ask!) but it was handy.
|
I would hate to think why that key may have come in handy!
.*********
It was a very crude system based on Novell which loaded a copy of Windows 3.1 via ethernet when you logged, the C: drive had no operating system on it.
I think that was the only time I ever really got into trouble. I would sometimes get into trouble for 'wagging' but I would soon put the jobsworth teachers right on that! I had permision to excuse PE, RE and Spannish on medical grounds!
OK I had no permision to excuse RE but the deputy head taught and said if we think its a waste of time we are welcome to go else where providing you're in school and another teacher dosn't mind looking after us!
The result was I spent most my final year helping the year 7s in technology.
Its a shame the school closed down but the exam results were shocking.
Ooops no idea what I said to make activate the filter!
Last edited by: RattleandSmoke on Thu 1 Apr 10 at 23:45
|
I recall a music teacher who turned out to enjoy the company of little boys.......I think he ended up enjoying the company of somewhat larger boys in the end !
A chemistry teacher was a complete and utter mental psychopath. he used the wooden arm of a chair to hit boys, it had a name, Wally. I saw him punched to the ground by a sixth former he was urging to ' bend over '
Nobody cared then, we all had jobs lined up.
There had been a murder of a teenaged girl locally. This teacher's name was constantly being put forward to the CID as the perpetrator...anonymously, of course.
His home number was found and his house was bombarded by boys making calls at all times of the day and night. You could tap the handset cradle in those days and make free calls in phone boxes. Not me, naturally !
The murder remains unsolved, sadly, 50 yrs on !
Ted
|
>>I think he ended up enjoying the company of somewhat larger boys in the end !
>>
A most unfortunate comment Teddy me ol' Mate.
MD
|
>> >>I think he ended up enjoying the company of somewhat larger boys in the end
In the secure environs of HMP Strangeways....of course, Martin !
Reminds me of that classic moment in the New Statesman.
Alan B'stard is shown into his cell after some sort of conviction.
Big Ron Tarr is there, with beard and wearing a basque and suspenders.
He welcomes B'stard thus..'.You're going to have a very sore bottom ' ! In a manly growl.
Ted
Last edited by: Pugugly on Fri 2 Apr 10 at 23:28
|
>> I would hate to think why that key may have come in handy!
It meant I could get into the one building as an A level student where I spent time when the building was locked. There was a computer room there ;-) It also meant I could walk from one end of the school to the other inside when it was raining :-) I could unlock the doors. I never hid the fact I could unlock doors - it was just nobody questioned it.
We were allowed to get keys as sixth formers to the computer room etc.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Fri 2 Apr 10 at 00:32
|
I could reminisce for hours on the colourful teachers I encountered. For example, aged "Johnny" Roscoe, who was clearly a generally well-controlled gay, but spent the lessons when he should have been teaching maths demonstrating various models and gadgets he had made, like a Wimshurst machine or a Van der Graaf generator. Then there was "Bullet" Alexander, who taught geography and was a terrifying disciplinarian who started his first lesson with a new class with the words "My name is Alexander. I hate you and by the end of this week you will hate me." Rumour had it he had been seriously injured in the war and had metal plates in his head.
However, I want to twist the topic inside out. I became a teacher myself and retired some time ago now. One student who made a big impression on me was one "Jez" Butterworth. Hugely talented and intelligent, he was cast by me as the male lead in a school play at the age of 15. The script demanded that he kiss the leading lady at one point; the trouble was, she was 18. The fact that he carried this off with aplomb impressed me hugely and he starred in various other productions. Prodigiously lazy, he performed well in exams without breaking sweat, though teaching him was a nightmare because of his inability to meet deadlines. However, I have followed his career since and, when I saw his sensational play "Jerusalem" in London recently, I allowed myself a little moment of self-congratulation to think I might have had some effect on his life beyond just teaching him.
|
>> Rumour had it he had been seriously injured in the
>> war and had metal plates in his head.
Until the WW2 vets retired in the eighties that sort of thing was common. Only after we were grown up and either met these men as adults or maybe read their obits did the horror of their young lives sink in. Our maths teacher "pop" Lee had been a prisoner of the Japanese. Others had various better or lesser controlled demons.
There were also some slightly younger men who had seen stuff on National Service. While two years square bashing in Aldershot might have been the norm others sent to Cyprus or Malaya and saw real action.
|
|
And there was Korea of course scores of NationalService guys went through what was a horrendous experiences beyond the grasp of many of us....
|
...Our maths teacher "pop" Lee had been a prisoner of the Japanese...
I once met a couple of ex-servicemen who had had some of that.
Their views on the Japanese, and Japanese consumer goods coming to this country, would get them locked up in today's climate.
|
In my mobile car tuning days, I orften met ex pow's, Burma star recipients etc.,
and I could never really get my head around the fact that their cars were Japanese.
|
RIP teacher - teachers who had an effect on you - MD
