My mother thought she was frumpy, lazy and didn’t teach the
fifth graders in her charge a thing. Yes, Ms. Bonet was grossly overweight, refused to wear a bra and her frizzy hair appeared not to have seen the inside of a
salon in some time. Some of her teeth
were a little crooked but she continued her wide smiles. Her dresses were far from stylish and in
those days a woman never wore slacks to work, not even the little girls like
me. So the thrown-together-look she
modeled gave her flapping arms, loud voice and bouncing pounds the appearance
of not caring; especially to a prissy woman like my mother. But I thought she was beautiful.
fifth graders in her charge a thing. Yes, Ms. Bonet was grossly overweight, refused to wear a bra and her frizzy hair appeared not to have seen the inside of a
salon in some time. Some of her teeth
were a little crooked but she continued her wide smiles. Her dresses were far from stylish and in
those days a woman never wore slacks to work, not even the little girls like
me. So the thrown-together-look she
modeled gave her flapping arms, loud voice and bouncing pounds the appearance
of not caring; especially to a prissy woman like my mother. But I thought she was beautiful.
She was the only
person I ever knew that owned a skunk for a pet and had a child without a trace
of a husband, another strike against her with my mother. But that amazing woman taught me how to open
the door to the world. She brought a
radio to class so we could listen to the reports of John Glenn orbiting the
Earth. I was the only little girl who
chose to listen. She thought that was
just fine. I later became a Solar System
Ambassador for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab.
It was her mission to teach us the U.S. states and capitals. I now teach world geography to college
students. Another magical
moment in her class was creating African masks.
Later in life I remembered her as I found myself floating down the Okavango Delta in Botswana,
Africa. The realization I
could create worlds of adventure came as a result of lessons on how to make paper mache
puppets. Soon we were writing puppet plays and performing them for our
parents. Next week my first novel comes out.
person I ever knew that owned a skunk for a pet and had a child without a trace
of a husband, another strike against her with my mother. But that amazing woman taught me how to open
the door to the world. She brought a
radio to class so we could listen to the reports of John Glenn orbiting the
Earth. I was the only little girl who
chose to listen. She thought that was
just fine. I later became a Solar System
Ambassador for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab.
It was her mission to teach us the U.S. states and capitals. I now teach world geography to college
students. Another magical
moment in her class was creating African masks.
Later in life I remembered her as I found myself floating down the Okavango Delta in Botswana,
Africa. The realization I
could create worlds of adventure came as a result of lessons on how to make paper mache
puppets. Soon we were writing puppet plays and performing them for our
parents. Next week my first novel comes out.
Ms. Bonet still
pushes me forward to become the next best thing. She truly was a teacher that affected my life in a positive way.
pushes me forward to become the next best thing. She truly was a teacher that affected my life in a positive way.
0 Responses
What a nice tribute to someone who made a difference in your life.
And I thought I was old because my greatest space memory was the moon landing. 🙂 Sounds like an interesting life. It's amazing what a good teacher can do. Even when we're older, we still remember the good teachers in our lives.
We always remember the good teachers.