Comments on: Best Teacher EVER?

By: carolyn

carolyn — Tue, 13 May 2008 22:26:27 +0000

my best teacher was Sister Arlene at St. John Vienney in Kailua. I was only there for first grade but it is where I learned phonics. Sister Arlene had a big sign in her class that said “Think”. I have never forgotten her.

By: Richard

Richard — Sat, 10 May 2008 09:28:07 +0000

I never had him as a teacher, but I salute my father-in-law, Jack Yuen, who taught Civil Engineering at UH for 25 years. Unlike everyone else in his department, Jack didn’t have a Ph.D.–and was proud of it. What he did have–again unlike everyone in his department–was practical engineering experience. He would keep his classes enthralled with descriptions of his designing dams, or constructing city water systems. Indeed, he was one of the rare breed of professors who actually liked to teach more than perform research, and his students loved him for it. His thousands of students have filled engineering positions throughout Hawaii and the Mainland, and enriched our lives with their contributions. Sadly, he passed away eight years ago. An incredible man. An incredible teacher. Thank you, Jack.

By: hemajang

hemajang — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:19:00 +0000

MoOg…was that Mr. Steve Bradshaw?

I’ve had a number of inspirational teachers. I think a common trait among them were enthusiasm for teaching and caring attitude. In particular, Mr. David Thorne in high school was especially supportive of my school work. I recall during a parent-teacher conference, he said some very nice things about me to my mom. He was haole but spoke a little Japanese that impressed my mother to no end. He was such a positive, cheerful teacher but made me work hard. I didn’t want to disappoint him. I even worked on some projects at his home and got to know his local wife and kids. I still see or talk to him on occasion. I had him as a teacher over 40 years ago. I also see and have lunch with on occasion, a teacher I had even earlier in intermediate school. He later became a principal at McKinley HS. I don’t tell him about being an inspiration to me but as a feared teacher and the times that I got my ears pulled for bad behavior…ha!

I remember feared teachers more that inspirational…not sure which were more effective. I think the scariest teacher I had was Mrs. Blackadoor (sp?) in the 3rd grade. She was old, short white curly hair, kinda hunched over, never smiled, a deep gravely voice and had a reputation of whipping you with the water hose if you were bad. I never saw that but the image stayed with me throughout the year. This was in the 50’s so that fear was real.

By: just an opinion

just an opinion — Fri, 09 May 2008 22:03:14 +0000

don’t forget our first teachers, mom and dad, especially with this sunday being mom’s day. also, some of us may have been inspired and taught by coaches, just as much or even more.

By: MoOgooGuypAN

MoOgooGuypAN — Fri, 09 May 2008 21:42:56 +0000

I guess it all began with Mr. Bradshaw. He was one of my English highschool teachers who was extremely strick. Ever saw the movie “Lean on Me”? He had an attitude just like that principal, and just like that principal he believed in his students. Prior to taking any of his classes I was an average student of B’s and C’s. He had a way of teaching that inspired the mind and challenged the soul. He also began with the theory that everyone in his class starts off with an A, so I was stoked the first day of class. Me an A student? It must have paid off because I received one of my first A’s in highscool other than P.E. and I’ve never got an A in English before. I began to beleive that maybe I wasn’t average, maybe it was cool to be smart and not necessarily a nerd. From that point on my whole outlook on school changed and I began to appear on the Dean’s list and so forth. This very attitude carried on to my University years and helped make me what I am today.

Thanks for reminding me.