This week, I picked the topic: Who was your favorite teacher (any year of school) and why?
Before reading ahead, first see what everyone else had to say on this topic:
When I was growing up, I had some good teachers every now and then. However, none of them did for me what Mr. Fritz, my freshman English teacher (who was a “freshman” himself), did.
On orientation day, Mr. Fritz (or Bill, as I refer to him these days) stood out from all the other teachers I met. He had long blond hair that flopped onto his face, and seemed very young and energetic. I only got to see him for ten minutes that day. He told some fascinating stories about his travels and adventures, including time spent in Africa. When I walked into his classroom the next day, there was a man standing at his desk with short blond hair, looking all clean cut and professional. I asked him if he was the substitute. He explained that he was still Mr. Fritz but had just gotten a haircut. I guess the long hair look wasn’t working for his teacher persona...
In the beginning of the year, we had to write a creative paper about “Tom Sawyer,” the required summer reading. I am not a fan of required reading and was also not a fan of “Tom Sawyer.” (Not because it’s not chick lit, just because it wasn’t my cup of tea…and this was a mild summer requirement. The rest were worse.) However, I decided to have fun with the assignment. I don’t even remember what I wrote, but apparently Mr. Fritz had a ball with it. He decided to give it to the head coach of the Forensics team and I received a letter a few days later, personally inviting me to join the team. I took them up on their invitation and Mr. Fritz happened to be one of the coaches. I decided to do original comedy, which was bold of me. I didn’t have much to work with, at first, but he helped me make my piece into something I would have fun with throughout the Forensics competition season (the meets were on Saturdays). He also laughed a lot, which gave me the confidence I needed to stick with it.
After winter break, I auditioned for a play. I hadn’t felt comfortable on stage in the past, as I would get all shy and giggly or would have a hard time projecting. However, thanks to Forensics and all the time Mr. Fritz spent coaching me, I felt good about my auditioning abilities and I then landed a part in the play! It was a small part, but there are really no small parts...only small actors. I felt like I could take on the world while being involved with that production. I still got to see Mr. Fritz, as I was in his class again the following semester and he was leading the crew for the play.
Over the next few years, I stayed on the Forensics team with Mr. Fritz as my coach. I ended up in his class again junior year. While it’s not his fault that most of the stuff we had to read didn’t interest me at all, he tried to keep things light and fun, even by showing “Star Wars” at one point. When it came time for term papers, I felt stuck with how to proceed. He was very patient in guiding me in the right direction and even allowing me to approach the process in a different way. I was grateful for his assistance and his flexibility in the matter.
While he was my favorite teacher, I also was hard on him at times. It was probably because I got too comfortable with him as a coach or because I was a highly stressed out teenager. I would get mad if he had to miss or reschedule Forensics practice, even if it was for something legitimate. He also tried defending me when someone in the class wasn’t nice to me (something I had been used to for a long time) and I would get mad at him for getting involved. Deep down, I appreciated the fact that he cared at all and I felt bad about getting mad at him. I don’t remember other teachers coming to my defense like that.
When I graduated high school, I was sad to leave him behind. However, I got to judge at speech tournaments during my winter breaks and also would stop by to visit him when school was in session. After I graduated college, I got to judge more often and saw him at quite a few tournaments. That winter, I gave him "Tuesdays with Morrie" as a gift and a note expressing how much I appreciated what he had done for me, even when it didn’t seem that way on the outside.
I hope Mr. Fritz knows the impact he has had on my life and that he is continuing to have that impact on the lives of other students. A real teacher doesn’t just write on the chalkboard. (Or are they just typing on a computer and magnifying it on a screen these days?) They get to know their students and find ways to bring out their strengths and make school memorable for them. Mr. Fritz exemplifies what a real teacher is to me.
1 comment:
Way to go Mr. Fritz!
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