Has anyone stayed in contact with any of our teachers?   If so, do tell!

I can hear everyone groan about now ... physics and Mrs. Wilcox was my favorite. She taught me to not be afraid of physics and to embrace it.  I loved physics and the experiments we did in her class.  I learned by blood type was "O negative".  Does anyone remeber that?  I wonder what Mrs. Wilcox would think now about the foundation that she layed for so many of us...and that I still love physics and savor the interesting conversations after seeing presentations on the string theory with my friends who did go on to get their Ph. D.s in physics.  (This isn't a surprise to you is it?) 

And what about our art teacher?  I loved her.  What was her name.  Mimi.. So, she too set a foundation for the love of art that I have.  I wonder what she would think of my Japanese brush paintings.  They are now in homes across America...perhaps from her early encouragement for the appreciation of art.  And just for the record, I still have a little pink glazed tile that I made in her class from clay ... with a cat that I sculped in the middle.  It sits on my bookcase with fond memories.

Wish I knew where both of them are ... to thank them.

Julie

I loved having Mrs. Wilcox for Physics! I always loved science and she certainly feed that love. I credit her with why I work for NASA today working on the team designing the Lunar Lander that is part of the Constellation program. This is the program that is aimed at returning people to the moon, and which now looks like won't happen, which is such a bummer.

Interestingly what she did more than any other teacher, including those who were supposed to be teaching me the subject, was to help me realize that just because I was a science geek, that couldn't ignore spelling and grammer. I have always had a hostile relationship with the English language, especially spelling. You know "i" before "e" except after "c", weird. That is why I love math and science, where the rules are not just a suggestion.

Still she was determined to get me to pay at least some attention to how I was writing.  I remember her insistence that just because it was physics class didn't mean that we didn't have to use correct grammar and spelling. I can remember getting homework back with two grades on it, one for Physics and the other for English. Many of mine came back with an A/F.

I can't say that my English has improved as much as my Physics, but she more than any other teacher is responsible for my awareness that I have to at least make an effort to write well.

I would love to hear about any other teachers and where their lives took them after we moved on out of the tidy little universe of high school.

Jim

Mrs. Pye (English III) is still living in Paradise Valley.  received a Christmas card from her; she says there's a new principal at Saguaro, a no-nonsense educator who believes kids are in school to learn and not text or update social network sites in class.