I subbed today in elementary music which used to be my big jam back in the day before I became a mama. I enjoy the subbing every now and then especially in my area of subject expertise (is that grammatically correct?) Well if not you get my drift. And of course when I am in a music room - I get all the feels and my mind transports to the back when... And I will tell you what really makes my mind transport do the days of old is having a high schooler. I will tell you there isn't anything easy about raising teenage boys but I have loved having one of them in high school. I think it's because I absolutely loved high school. It's one of those time periods in my life I would do again because I loved it so much. I mean I liked high school more than college and I think that is probably saying something.
If you will allow me a proud mom moment here - my firstborn was recently asked to take over one of the leading roles in his high school musical "The Addams Family." Umm first of all he has no idea what a compliment this is to him, nor does he know how absolutely fun it will be, and to say I was over the top excited for him might be an understatement. I have a point and this is it - it just so happens that one of the directors for his musical was my director when I did musicals in high school - hence the extra sentimentality on my part lately. Soo I thought that for todays post I would tell you a few of the most influential teachers in my high school career.
1. Mr. Brian Williams ~ Mr. Williams was my high school choral director and friends he just really made me love music. He was an excellent choral director. Now I was for sure NOT the most talented singer in our high school but he always gave me a chance and gave me opportunities to grow. I most vividly remember our choral trip to Savannah to sing at GMEA -this was a big deal just trust me on that - I can still sing some of the songs from our repetoire for that performance. Actually I can still sing some Christmas songs as well. He was just a great teacher and instilled in me something I didn't know existed. He still teaches today. In fact if I ever decided to go back to teaching music (which is probably not really likely) I would teach high school chorus. To this day I get goose bumps when I hear a good choir perform. Incedently my high schooler also has an excellent choral director.
2. Mr. Scott Bennett ~ Mr. Bennett was the art teacher at LHS and while I was never a student of his. He was an excellent mentor. He did our morning announcements and maybe that is where I got to know him. I was president of our FCS and a class officer so maybe I made announcements for that sort of thing - who knows that was a long time ago - but I remember him. I remember his love for arts and for Jesus. He always told me I could never take art because drawing wasn't my forte so I best stick to music. I am not sure where Mr. Bennett is these days - but he is someone I always think of when I reminisce on my days at LHS.
3. Susan Simich ~ Simich (she's the director that has the pleasure of teaching my boy!) Simich taught me the LOVE of musical theatre (and if you know me at all you know I LOVE musical theatre) and how to act - I think she did her job super well! My dream job is to perform on Broadway LOL. This is very likely to NOT happen so the kitchen these days is my main stage and I can be any star I want to be. Simich was actually never my teacher in the classroom setting. She taught me at numerous dress rehearsals for shows such as "Man of La Mancha" and "Anything Goes" What I remember about Simich is that she loved life and she loved people! I am over the top happy she is still teaching and I am thankful one of my kids gets to experience her zest for theater.
4. Mrs. Federovitch ~ oh Mrs. Federovitch, she was my high school English teacher for 3 years!! I began with her my sophomore year and then went on to take Honors as a junior and AP English my senior year. I am not sure where Mrs. Federovitch was from but I remember she had quite the accent. She instilled in me a love for reading. While I know I wasn't the best reader in high school - hello Cliffs Notes (please tell me someone remembers these) I do love reading now. And I love all genres. She taught me to love words - hello Barrons Vocabulary. And she would probably be rather disappointed in my writing conventions - I promise she probably taught me better. I know she continued to teach English as she was my sisters English teacher as well. I am sure by now she has retired.
5. Mrs. Woerner ~ she may be last here but she is certainly not least. Woerner was by far my most favorite teacher in high school. She was our Senior Class sponsor teacher or whatever you call it and I had her for Gov't/Econ. She was a great teacher in both, but I probably loved Econ the most with my little Econ group - Keith, Sam, Annie and myself. I don't even know if I can put into words why I love Woerner so much except to say she invested in me. She gave me advice I sometimes didn't like to hear but needed to hear - I didn't always take it but in hindsight she was soo right about some things ~ LOL. I went to her room almost every morning before the actual bell rang. Again - I think it just comes down to she saw me, she knew me and she was for me. She invested her time in me and we all know time is money, and teachers are way underpaid. I still keep up with Woerner on FB and if you are a GA fan you should know her husband is the famous bulldawg Kent Woerner and Charlie Woerner a current tight-end for my beloved Dawgs - yeah that's her nephew - pretty cool little fact huh....
Well my timer says 29 seconds to go. This little trip down memory lane has been fun for me. I am so thankful that God gives us memories... as precious ones came to mind tonight. I don't know how I even remember all this jazz but my thoughts are there. Whether you were homeschooled, went to private or public school - we've all had teachers who made impressions on us - if you have a chance thank the ones you can. And while I'm here go Wildcats c/o 97
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