Thank you, teachers! We’ve been celebrating you all week long for your tireless dedication, enthusiasm for your subjects, and care for your students.
There’s still time to enter our Teacher Appreciation Week giveaway. Visit @soaring20spb on Twitter to enter by midnight PST tonight!
Celebrating Our Favorite Teachers
Lindsay H. Metcalf
My first-grade teacher, Deanna Garlow, has been a reassuring constant. Beyond the basics, she created community. Our class phone book was a lifeline — my first real opportunity to build friendships outside of school. Now Mrs. Garlow’s voice is piping through my fourth-grader’s Chromebook in the dining room, helping his class navigate the uncertain world.
Mrs. Garlow and Lindsay Metcalf, first grade, 1988
—Lindsay H. Metcalf, author of BEATRIX POTTER, SCIENTIST, illustrated by Junyi Wu (Albert Whitman & Co.), and FARMERS UNITE! Planting a Protest for Fair Prices (Calkins Creek); and co-editor, with Jeanette Bradley and Keila V. Dawson, of NO VOICE TOO SMALL: Fourteen Young Americans Making History, illustrated by Bradley (Charlesbridge)
Larissa Marantz
The teacher who had a major impact on my creative growth as an artist was Don Lagerberg at CSU Fullerton. His energy and charisma in the class was motivating and inspiring. He saw the potential in me, encouraged me to go beyond my comfort zone, and became a model for me as an educator in the classroom.
Keith Marantz
My favorite teacher in school was my chemistry teacher in eleventh grade. His name was Joachim Pfitzner. Imagine if Latka Gravas and Jake Gyllenhaal had a baby! He was outlandish and had a large obsession with German pogens, which he would politely coerce students to bring to him. That was an exceptional way to get on his good side if you weren’t. I’ll never forget him.
—Larissa and Keith Marantz, illustrator and author of CLYDE GOES TO SCHOOL and CLYDE LIKES TO SLIDE (Penguin Workshop)
Candy Wellins
When most people think back on their high school days, they don’t remember trigonometry class fondly. But I do. And it’s all because of my teacher, Mr. Dale. His lessons were like stand-up comedy routines, complete with props and songs. If we were working out a problem and wound up with a zero as a denominator, he’d bring out a kid’s toy siren and call in the math police. When we were learning how to graph parabolas, he created a song (sung to the latest big hit “Macarena”) called “Hey, It’s a Parabola” and had us all sing along. Mr. Dale’s lessons were so fun, we often forgot we were learning complex math equations (and really enjoying math class). I hope everyone has a few Mr. Dales in their lives (especially when they’re taking trigonometry).
—Candy Wellins, author of SATURDAYS ARE FOR STELLA, illustrated by Charlie Eve Ryan (Page Street Kids)
JULIE ROWAN-ZOCH
Julie Rowan-Zoch on her way to class at FIT, circa 1984 (Total extrovert, just didn’t like having her photo taken!)
Eli Kince pushed our design class extremely hard. Tears flowed often, but I adapted. My output soon garnered consistent praise, so I was really floored when my final grade was a B. When confronted he said, while I had performed well my work had not grown in comparison to my classmates. I brooded for a long time. Couldn’t he have challenged me more in class? What I eventually absorbed is what really made me grow: I have so much to thank him for, but I had placed too much value on a grade and the opinion of one person, professional or not. Getting floored and getting back up was a profound lesson, one for my entire creative life.
—Julie Rowan-Zoch, illustrator of LOUIS, written by Tom Lichtenheld (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
JOANA PASTRO
Joana Pastro and her mother
I was lucky to have many wonderful teachers, but today I’ll honor the very best one: my mom, Maria da Penha Pedrosa! While we lived in England she taught me the Brazilian curriculum at our kitchen table every day after school. Thanks to her love and dedication, when we returned home I achieved perfect scores on my report cards and was able to start fourth grade right away. Thank you, Mum!
—Joana Pastro, author LILLYBELLE, A DAMSEL NOT IN DISTRESS, illustrated by Jhon Ortiz (Boyds Mill & Kane)