Who was your favourite teacher?
Who was your favourite teacher?
This is a question that I asked my Chinese students to answer in order to develop their English speaking skill. They were provided with these questions as prompts, given a minute to prepare what to say, and then they were to speak as fluently as possible for between one and two minutes.
Talk about your favourite teacher.
What was his/her name?
What did he/she teach?
What was he/she like?
Why was he/she your favourite teacher?
Why do you remember him/her?
To give them the example of what I was looking for, I answered those questions about my favourite teacher in front of the class.
My favourite teacher's name was Geoffrey Steele. Not only did he teach our senior high school class math and English, but he coached our football team and directed our school play. He had recently immigrated from England and had a great accent, wore a 3 piece suit and tie every day, and was very strict with us. If he caught us dozing during class, or made a really foolish answer, he would throw the chalk at us. I particularly liked him because he was so incredibly intelligent, versatile, and a true Renaissance Man. In the Shakespeare Play, Twelfth Night, I played the part of Sir Toby Belch. I can still remember some of my lines although it was more than 60 years ago. He knew nothing about (American) football, so he took the thick rule book home the night before our first game and the next day he knew almost all the rules by memory.
Around 40 years after I graduated he retired, so the school put on a banquet to honour him, and invited all his former students to come. There was no way I was going to miss it, so I went to the banquet, walked up to him prepared to tell him who I was, and before I could he looked up at me and bellowed out "Sir Toby Belch."
If after 40 years he could not only recognize me, but remember the part I had played in the school play, I knew I'd remember him for the rest of my life. He was my "Mr. Chips".
On games day at the school, trophies were given out, and as I was the school marksman champion, I was awarded the biggest trophy for a student the school had. Here is a photo of me being awarded with it by the widow of the donor of the trophy, with the Headmaster, Col. John Page, looking on.
Now I ask you, who was YOUR favourite teacher? Using the prompts above, tell us about the teacher YOU will never forget, and why.
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Can you remember a teacher you really liked? Maybe you didn't like ANY of your teachers, in which case, change the challenge to a teacher you really hated, and why.
This is really good. At first I didn't pay much attention to this topic, it seemed so distant. Then I started recalling my school years. I had some pretty good teachers. I have a top four and I will leave it at that top four. (BTW, after thinking about this topic, I realized how slowly they moved us along in our early school years).
1. 1st Grade, in the middle of the year my family moved. My new 1st Grade teacher was completely different compared to my prior teacher. I went from a dark, cold environment and a teacher who acted randomly to a bright and sunny environment and a teacher who engaged the class.
In all honesty, I don't recall learning anything from my prior teacher. I specifically remember learning American History, Basic Math skills, early Reading, and about the local Flora and Fauna during all day Field Trips to Streams and Wooded areas near the school. Ms. also drove Hot Rods to school. Manual transmissions to boot. I paid attention to those things even at that age. Ms. Hayes was a firecracker and enjoyed her job. She made school enjoyable. I saw her one time "in the world" after I had moved on to Jr. High. There she was in a medium metallic blue Chevelle SS 396. I looked inside the car and sure as the world 4 speed manual with a Hurst T handle shifter. I am sure the transmission was a Muncie M21.
2. 9th Grade, again we moved, but this time over the summer. My Algebra teacher was new to the school as well. I actually had Algebra the year before, unfortunately my new school didn't have anything else to offer me. Mrs. Saurman knew this and always added something extra for me and call it "extra credit". The extra credit was always available to the class. She came from a town my aunt had moved to. Then she worked as an engineer at a helicopter blade engineering/design/test facility not far from where my grandparents. I recalled driving past the facility watching helicopter blades spin. She was another one who engaged the class. She would get to know all her students. Again, the blinds on the windows were always open and the sun was always coming in. I always looked forward to going to her class.
3. 10th grade second year Latin. I went from being a C student to a D student. There were 3 other guys in the class that were in the same boat. Latin was our daily hour of humility from a GPA standpoint. You could always tell when one of our papers/tests were being graded. Mr. Nickerson would break out in laughter. But I will tell anyone who will listen, when in Mr. Nickersons class, you were with Julius Caesar and all his back stabbing.
For the last 4th and last grading period a new tack was taken for the class. The class would be divided into 4 teams competing against each other. The 4 captains were me and the other 3 ne'er do wells. There was a rotation where we each selected our team members one at a time. My first selection was my "secret weapon". Debbie. She was quiet and unpretentious. She also got 100% on every test, quiz and homework assignment. Only 2 people in the class knew this; Mr. Nickerson and me. We sat on the far left row. Debbie in the first and I was in the second seat right behind her. I could see every paper that was returned to her. Mr. Nickerson put the class ne'er do wells in the position of needing to know the subject matter and the relative strengths of their teams and competition.
The form of the competition involved 1 member from each team competing against each other in a specific subject matter area. In the beginning I selected the weakest person I thought I could get away with. The other teams started with their strongest regardless of subject area. Each team member only competed once. First round of competition, sure as the world, the 3 other smart people in the class were chosen to compete. I chose someone who I thought had a chance to survive. The gamble paid off. We didn't get a 4th place. So that was a win to me. Of course Debbie me a strange look, but she understood once I explained. As the competition progressed I was putting our stronger people against other teams weaker people. I didn't use Debbie until the very last round. She obliterated the competition. We took "the championship". Me and the other 3 captains wound up with Cs that grading period. One guess how the window blinds were set every day.
4. 11th - 12th Grade Gym Class and Track. Mr. Kelly's first year of teaching and coaching was my 11th Grade. He was a mid-West All American tight end who played his collegiate years at Miami of Ohio. After being drafted by the Redskins he suffered a neck injury and was told he should forget about football. So he went into teaching while he continued his education to eventually advance in the administrative ranks. He never hit the fact of his ongoing education and its importance.
I also was the top Marksman of our Match Team, however I never won more than 3 matches as by that time it was time to join the Track Team. Mr. Kelly did not blow the whistle, or shout and yell. When he needed to talk to everybody or just a group, he would gather folks around and talk/plan. After having been a runner in Jr. High I was tired of running and knew I was pretty good at Shot Put and wanted to learn to throw the Discus. By default our group was called the Heavy Duties, though none of us were Heavy Duty. But we were good Shot Put and Discus throwers. We were all good runners too. Four of us decided we wanted to form a secondary Mile Relay Team. We ran this by Mr. Kelly. He didn't shut the idea down. He put the ball in our court and said to talk to the host Coach and if given permission, to line up in the outside lane and go for it. I talk to the host Coach. He laughed in my face and said something like "sure, why not".
At the time of the race, I was our starter and took my position in the outside lane. The starter gun went off and off to the races. To be honest I wasn't pushing that hard. It was our first race and I didn't want any mistakes. Jerry, our 1st team starter blew past me at some point, then eventually a second guy passed me. I kept waiting for the 3rd guy to pass me, but I am not hearing any footsteps. I looked over my shoulder and that guy was still pretty far behind me. So I turned on some speed and and so did everyone else on the team. We beat that 1st string team. Mr. Kelly was ear to ear smiles. The host Coach wouldn't look at me. For the rest of the season, Mr. Kelly always arranged a running event for the Heavy Duties.
Mr. Kelly never tried to restrict our horizons. In fact he worked for the team to expand our horizons. He got us into AAU competitions held at local Universities and inter-County competitions. He would arrange for BBQs and picnics too.
I have more Mr. Kelly stories, but this is probably way past long enough.
BTW, outside, no window blinds.
Great stories. I especially enjoyed the one about the Latin class teams (a subject I had flunked myself).
Great story, dave, and very interesting. You have a lot of very influential Teachers who worked hard to provide students with the best education they could. You can't ask for more than that. (smile)
Thank you Buzz. Latin was an interesting subject for me. I never did well in Latin, yet it turned me into a "straight A" English student. If I had any other teacher besides Mr. Nickerson I would not have lasted the year.
I took French a couple years earlier and struggled with that as well, but not quite as bad.
Thank you Raven Wing. You are right, I had a lot of good teachers. I had to struggle to get the list down to 4.
Maybe sometime I can mention a few more, like Mr. Meyer my HS Physics Teacher and Ms. Beining my Fifth Grade Teacher.
Some people assume I speak French because I'm a Canadian where English and French are both the official languages. I only studied it for 2 years in high school and could never carry on a conversation in it. If anyone asks me If I speak French, I tell them: "Je parle Francais comme une vache d'Espagne."
LOL. What is the look on their faces?
Mostly blank, because they didn't understand. Only someone who speaks French would laugh.
Oh, I had three teachers who meant the world to me. To this day, I will still use their names as my passwords.
Are you going to let us know why you liked them?
Buzz, I like it
My favorite teacher was named William DeMarco and he taught US History. He made it interesting, made you want to read more, on your own. He was kind of like all of us in certain ways, although he wore a suit at all times it seemed. He took the bus to & from school, as I recall.
What I remember most was the first day in his class. He asked what is progress? Going right down the aisle, each student erroneously replied "change" until he came to the one who said "change for the better". I wont tell you who that was, except to say, he was handsome in those days.
Betcha, I know who it was!
When I was a freshman in high school I had a US history teacher named Mr. Sheehan. Small pugnacious Irish guy who was a plain talker. Kids got out of line he was in their face big time, which is the Catholic high school way for generation after generation. But he had a big heart and was a beloved teacher at the school for 30 more years after I left.
He was a WW2 buff and he spent half the school year talking about that war. Assigned us to read John Toland's book about the early months of the war in the Pacific (Bataan, Corrigedor) "But Not In Shame" , and Cornelius Ryan's "The Longest Day". I have been interested in WW2 history ever since.
I've always enjoyed watching WWII movies.
I have been blessed with having too many fine and influential teachers to name one.
I'm a lucky dawg I guess......
Make a list of the ones you remember, and I'll pick out one for you to describe.
I'm trying this again to check and see if it will post.
My favorite Teachers was my 7th grade math Teacher, Mrs Witworth. She was truly a Teacher among Teachers. I had trouble with math all during elementary, and getting low grades. I am one of those people that learns bet when showed as opposed to reading books and oral instructions. Thus, I was truly lacking in many basic math skills by the time I reached 7th grade.
It didn't take Mrs Wintworth long to determine what my problem was, as well as a few others in the math class, and resorted to making more use of the blackboards to show how problems were solved. My poor math grades had always been a source of embarrassment and fear for me, even though I got A's and B's in all other classes. Fear of math was very devastating for me and made me shy away from trying things that might involve any math at all.
Thanks to Mrs Winworth's kind efforts, I was able to grasp the necessary fundamentals of math and soon lost my fear of it. That helped open other doors for me and gave me confidence to seek more challenges.
I will always be truly grateful to Mrs Wintworth for her kindness and generous help. (smile)
Thank you. A nice story.
I'm glad she took the time to figure out your learning style, and adapt to it. I think a lot of kids have trouble with math because it's a bit abstract, and that's tough for visual learners.
She really was a great Teacher, sandy. It takes a keen eye and understanding or each child in a class to recognize their learning abilities. To simply label a child as stupid or lazy because they don't grasp the teaching method of the Teacher is truly unfair. i can see something done once and know who to do it. That aided me greatly when I took dance classes. The class Teacher showed us the steps and watching her for the first time I could master the steps easily. Same with art, someone could show me how to draw something and I could copy it right off.
Book learning I do for fun at my own pace, and that makes it enjoyable for me. (smile)
This happened to my younger sister in Algebra when I still lived at home and my daughter when she began Geometry.
My sister came home with an E for Algebra on the years first quarter report card. I was surprised. In all honesty she was not the most academic person in the world, but she wasn't stupid either. She told me the teacher confused her. So I told her to stop paying attention to the teacher. I told her to just get the nights homework assignment and any quiz and test dates coming up. I would teach her for the rest of the year. She got B's for the rest of the year.
My daughters situation was a little different. She was in 8th Grade but taking a High School level Geometry class. I noticed she was bringing home a lot of papers in the "C" range. She was frustrated about it so we talked. Again it was a situation where the teacher confused her. Because she was earning HS credit I could not completely eliminate the teacher from involvement. I could, however, eliminate the teacher from any instruction. The teacher still had to be involved to conduct, oversee and monitor certain tests. The meeting with the school administration was kind of funny. I had the Principal, one Vice Principal, the Teacher and the Guidance Counselor across the table from me. When I stated I would teach my daughter for the rest of the school year, they all laughed. But the agreed, with an assumption they knew what the outcome would be. Well turns out she pulled herself up to a B for that Grading period and got A's for the rest of the year, including mid-terms and finals.
Sometimes, some people just do not know how to convey things to certain people.
Glad your teacher was observant and adaptable.
Very true, dave. I am glad that you were able to help them both with their math problems so that they could over come their math hurdles and gain more confidence. My Mother tried to help me, but, when they changed to way things were taught in the schools, supposedly to make better students, she was pretty much lost as well.
In the 6th grade, the math Teacher didn't believe in hands on teaching. Her instructions were, for students to read their math books, and if they could not master the information it was not her problem. Needless to say, over half the class failed the first semester. How she maintained her tenure as a Teacher with that 'don't give damn' attitude toward her students was confusing. My Mother had me transferred to another Teacher who at least tried to help the students, but, her method was also confusing. (smile)
What a terrible situation. At least you got through it.
That's easy - Elizabeth A. Christman - book editor turned college professor in her 50's. A correcting pen that flashed like a scimitar but cut with scalpel precision at my writing attempts.
For years after - I thought that I wanted to write - only to realize that the joy I found in writing was not in the writing itself - but in writing for her.
Drawing Purple Trees
Dear Friend Buzz: Five way tie.
Three Rabbis, One English Teacher.
In chronological order.
1. Rabbi Oscar Klein. He was our family Rabbi growing up. If ever anyone led an exemplary life, it was him. He knew our heritage. He lived it in every way possible and positive.
2. Mr Robert Whelan. He taught me how to write.
3. Rabbi Fishel Pearlmutter. He taught me the value of loving everyone. He blessed our marriage. His was our role model. He taught me how to preach, and publicly speak.
4. Rabbi Sholom Ber Weinberg. He taught me the values of compassion, listening, and being supportive of others.
5. Rabbi Daniel Goldstein. He ordained me as Yoreh Yoreh, Dyan Dyan and Maggid. He conferred my Doctor of Divinity. When our son was born, he brought around the clock minyans for the Brit Meelah, and Pidyon ha Ben. There is nothing he would not do for anyone. Many morings, after Brachot ha Schachar and Scharit he would tell me when he woke up in the morning, even before washing with Nagelwasser he had the feeling that he could help someone he never met. To to day, that turned out to be true.
It is hard for me to specify all or even which was my greatest role model. I am blessed to have so many in my life who did for me individually more than I ever have and will do for others collectively.
Each in their own way taught and motivated me to do good wherever I can. How truly lucky am I?
Peace and Abundant Blessings.
Chag Succat Sameach.
Enoch.
Dear Friend and Mentor, Enoch, you have presented us with an over view of the kind of education that goes beyond basics of classroom education. Respect, consideration, compassion and willingness to help others are the basics of humanity.
One could not be more Blessed than you were to have such wonderfully dedicated Teachers and Mentors in your life. (smile)
Dear Friend Raven Wing: As ever we see the world through the same eyes.
To educate, from the Greek, means to draw out the best in us.
That is why you are a major role model and mentor for me.
Just by being yourself, you make us all want to do better, be better.
Now that's what I call teaching.
There is one more, my doctoral dissertation advisor who was and remains a mjor influence on me.
I did not and will not reveal his name.
That violates his privacy.
All the others I mentioned have walked on.
Stating their names, as this article requests doesn't breach confidentiality.
It confers legacy.
Peace and Abundant Blessings Always.
Enoch.
Dear Enoch, your very kind words deeply humble and honor me. (smile)
While the kindness, compassion and respect we show others may not always be returned by some, they can never say that it was never offered to them. And perhaps one day they will come to appreciate the offer.
I have always had the utmost respect and praise for the wonderful job the everyday Teachers in our schools do for the young minds who will one day be our leaders and those who help shape our world. And indeed, paying tribute where it is due to those who made such a deep impression on us as person and helped shape who we become is a great legacy to pass on to others.
I am sure that those you spoke of who have now walked on are smiling with gratitude from above for your sincere tributes to them.
IMHO, the best way to lead and teach is by example. While some people may not realize it, with everything we say and do every day, someone is learning from us. In that, we should all strive to be the best 'Teachers' we can be.
Peace and abundant Blessings to you and your family, Dear Enoch. (smile)
Dear Friend Raven Wing: Very well said.
Thank you.
E.
The best "teacher" I ever had was my grandmother. She taught me not to be afraid of the ever changing world.
That was a stark contrast to my parents who hated and fared change and were so unhappy most of the time because as they put it "Everything keeps changing",
Their unhappiness led to heavy drinking and soon poor health and ultimately their early deaths.
Thank GOD for grandmas !!!
Indeed, steve. My Paternal Grandmother was a wonderful lady who showed me nothing but love and kindness. She taught me many things that would not be taught in any classroom. She was nearly deaf and we had our own 'sign language' to communicate. She was full blood Cherokee and taught me many things about our heritage, culture and traditions. The importance of living with the earth and not just on it. The love and respect of all animals as our Brothers and Sisters. She also taught me how to cook, sew, crochet, garden and the beliefs of our Cherokee ancestors.
The most important thing she taught me was the value of life. Not just mine, but, that of every living being on Mother Earth. I will always be very grateful to her for the Blessings of her many teachings that made me a better person and one with Mother Earth and Father Sky. (smile)
THe lessons they taught are invaluable !!
I loved my grandmother more than I did my own mother and accidentally let it slip in front of her and others that grandma was my favorite person on earth... Mom didn't like hearing that. Too bad it was true. I hadn't said it to hurt her, I was just being honest.
The heart will not be silenced, it will speak for itself. While it might have hurt your Mother's feelings to hear those words, you were being true to heart. There is no guilt in that. (smile)
Thanks, I did feel bad that SHE heard me, I did not feel bad that I said it. It was true.
I dont think I've ever felt bad about saying the truth, to anyone about anything BUT, but a few times I may have a slight regret on who and when I had said stuff to.
Sometimes my timing is not the greatest...LOL
I am a free spirited person who says what's on my mind. NOW, NOT what and when you want me to. As I have gotten older, I have relaxed my tactfulness and quit sugar coating crap near as much, why bother sugar coating shit just gets it ignored anyway.
I am not a mean person by nature but reality usually isn't always pleasant either.
LOL
Wow How fortunate for you. Yes those are lessons classrooms dont teach much about for sure. Especially the life lessons you mentioned.
I was also fortunate, while my grandmother had some native American heritage she was pretty removed from it herself. I think we figured out I was only like 1/16th or 1/32ndth of something native American... Anyway, She did however have a great many life lessons I was eager to learn. She also had a love of all living creatures that I absorbed as well, LOL
To this day I'm damn glad its not up to me to kill what I eat. I dont like veggies that well....
Grandma was the yin to my yang of parenting though. My parents were quite different, they hated change and were not so happy of folks, she adopted and grew daily till a ripe old happy age of 93. Mom and dad ... 76 each.
Seeing that, I knew I had made the correct choice as a youngster ! (instinctively)
I shall always cherish my grandma, may she have a well deserved rest in peace. Mom and dad as well.
I'm sure I wasn't an easy raise. LOL
I'm sure that your Grandmother is smiling at the kind of person you have chosen to become. It is a fine tribute to your Grandmother. (smile)
Gary Braham. High school biology.
He was a newly-graduated teacher, but he fell into teaching like he was born to it. The man never looked at his notes when he lectured. I'm not sure he even had any. He didn't need them.
He was hilarious - some of his jokes are still going around, 25 years later.
His classroom was where all the nerdy kids like me hung out at lunch time.
His college major was actually math, so if you were having trouble with your math homework, he'd help. Same with chemistry and physics.
He didn't believe in multiple choice tests. His tests consisted of short essay questions, and long essay questions. Diagrams were encouraged. So we had fun, but he wasn't a pushover. He insisted that we learn.
I credit him with the fact that my college science courses came easily to me. Between him and my chemistry teacher (also excellent, but not as personable), many of my college courses were reviews of what I'd already learned in high school.
It's always great when Teachers can help make our lives easier, fulfilling and fun at the same time. Those are truly primary ingredients to good Teaching in my book. If the Teacher is boring or really isn't interested in whether or not all students learn from them, then they are a waste of time. If a student really wants to learn there is no reason they cannot be taught if the Teacher is truly interested in doing their job well.
Your Teachers were obviously really into being a good Teacher to their students. (smile)
He was.
I was blessed in my teachers. I had very few teachers whom I didn't like, or who were lousy teachers. Maybe one or two in 13 years of public school. Most were at the very least pretty good teachers, and several were like him - smart, dedicated, engaging, and able to convey difficult concepts in a manner that we could understand.
I had a few favs. Attended Catholic grade and high schools so three were nuns.
Fourth grade was Sister Mary Louis. She was smart and took an interest in her students, she encouraged my drawing abilities and was impressed with my fossil collection.
Fifth grade was Miss Rubin, sister of Jerry Rubin. Buzz, do you remember social activist Jerry Rubin. Any way she had a wonderful cynicism and we got along really well, coming from a family of cynics I got her humor.
In high school I had a wonderful Chinese nun art teacher. And there was my driving instructor named Windsor Strange. He was very attractive and flirted with us but was never out of line.
In college there weren't any standouts.
Fun article.
Great story, Pat. I never attended any Catholic schools, but, I had a couple of Friends who did, and they talked very highly of their Teachers. Some were very strict, but, their method of teaching was spot on. (smile)
Thanks Raven, it had it's drawbacks (had to go to mass EVERY morning) but there were lot of great teachers.
Thanks, Pat. Sure, I remember Jerry Rubin, I lived through the 60s and was very much aware of the Counterculture heroes. Didn't he coin the phrase: "Never trust anyone over 30"? (I turned 30 during the 60s. LOL)
It was funny that his sister was teaching in a Catholic grade school.
I thoiught that as well, but you didn't say she was a nun, so I accepted the fact.
Dear Friend Pat Wilson: A fun article indeed.
We are once more indebted to Buzz for this nice chance to share.
Your stories of these wonderful educators who are Nuns reminds me of two things.
One of the colleges at which I taught is a private four year Catholic institution of higher learning.
I was in the Business and Economics Department.
Most of the staff were from a teaching order of Nuns, The Sisters of St. Joseph.
Each day at lunch time I would sit with my friends and colleagues Sister Ruth, Sister Stella, and Father Frank.
Wonderful people all.
A running joke at our table was when Father Frank would say, "Come let us reason together".
Then Sister Stella would gesture for the salt and pepper shakers saying, "Come let us season together".
Smiles.
There is a group of hard riding Harley Davidson enthusiasts one of whom is a retied correctional officer.
At a wake for one of the group, he introduced me one of his siblings.
The meeting went like this.
Enoch, please meet Sheryl my Sister, the Sister.
Sheryl is also a Nun, you see.
Peace and Abundant Blessings to You, Yours; One and All.
Enoch.
Great story, Dear Enoch !
I had a college chemistry professor who was canned during my sophomore year. She'd been pretending to have cancer. She even had a student drive her to the hospital for her chemo treatments, because she was single and didn't have any family in the area. Turns out she'd just wander around the hospital for a few hours until he returned to pick her up.
Once it was clear that she was tolerating chemo way too well, the college did a little asking around. It turned out that she hadn't earned her PhD, which was a requirement for the position. She'd attended grad school, but hadn't defended her dissertation.
So they fired her, and tried to hush the whole thing up.
She was a damn good teacher, though. Just a little psycho, is all.
I had a Teacher like that in 4th grade. She was like a Fruit & Nut basket with wayyyyy too many peanuts. We never knew what subject we would be getting from day to day, or what she would look like. The class was reading and spelling, but, none of us complained if he decided to teach some other subject.
While she obviously had some issues, she was really a sweetheart and whatever subject she decided to Teach on any given day we learned well from her. One of her favorite subjects was beekeeping. I was never again afraid of bees. (smile)
She did wind up a few years later being let go, but, those of us who remembered her missed her.
That tickled my funny bone
I had a dental school pathology instructor who once got completely lost in the syllabus and tested us on the wrong material. It was stuff we hadn't covered yet. When he handed out the test, you could have heard a pin drop. Pretty much everybody thought they were screwed. I was such an overachiever that I had read ahead in the book, so I managed to pull out a B on that test, but most of the class got D's.
He had severe chronic back pain, and I think either the meds, or just not being able to rest affected his mental state.
I had another instructor who was so anal-retentive that if someone handed him a phone message on a Post-It and hadn't dotted an "i", he would dot it before throwing it away. Once the staff figured that out, they had a blast with it. They'd leave him all sorts of notes with I's not dotted and T's not crossed, then hide around a corner and watch him correct them before throwing them in the trash. The first day of lecture, he went into way too much detail about some health problems that caused him to have a frequent and urgent need for a restroom
I was hired by a Technical Community College in No Virginia when I lived there as an Instructor, and I was the only one in that school who was teaching the classes in all Microsoft 2007 Office apps, including Access, as well as Windows Vista at the time. The classes were 3 hours each, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, 5 days a week, with the classes on the apps and Vista varying each day. Since they had just opened the school there only 4 months before, everything was very new. However, none of their classroom computers at the time had Windows Vista on them, nor Office programs. So all the students had to bring their own laptops with the necessary software installed for each class they were taking, and of course mine had to have them all, which was no problem as I was at the time an MVP with Microsoft and had the software already installed on my computer and laptop.
Since I was the first and only one teaching the Vista and Office 2007 apps, I was assigned to write the syllabus for each one. I had never written one before but had read many, so I at least had some idea of what was required. It was my first time as an Instructor and was something I never dreamed in my wildest dreams that I would ever be doing. But, I truly loved it, and my students liked the laid back way I presented the material. They were all taking the class to move up in their existing occupations or trying to learn to get a better job. So I could relate to where they were coming from and worked with them with problem areas they would be faced with at work or in applying for a job. (smile)