I think that I will forever consider Mrs. Sullivan to be one of if not the best teacher I had at Culkin (and that surprises many folks).  She instilled in me a love of books, writing, reading, and all things literary.  She challenged me with her ideas and still today I find myself recalling things that she said in class, often just to inspire us to think and discuss.  She could be difficult, she could be controversial, but mostly she was, in my mind, brilliant.  Today and all of the days since my Culkin years, I read ravenously, and my children do as well.  In fact, one of my grandsons is an avid reader.  Mrs. Sullivan opened the door to the world of literature, and I am forever in her debt.  Now if I read something extraordinary, I often find myself wondering what Mrs. Sullivan would have thought of it.  I had the privilege and honor of caring for her when she was ill towards the end of her life, and even then she could make me laugh in one minute and cry the next.  I thank God for placing her in my life.

Mrs. Sullivan was definitely the best English teacher I had in school....I would have to credit her with giving me my ability to write things now.  She really had an unusual sense of humor though.  Sometimes she seemed delighted when boys came into school late for her class....she would send them straight up to hall to "see the man" and would chuckle as Pop followed them back down to the room yelling at them all the way.  She was a super great teacher.

I, too, have always considered Mrs. Sullivan to be one of the best teachers I ever had.  I think her ability to keep discipline and order in her classroom helped to make her the outstanding teacher that she was.  She could give you one of her steely looks and  immediately get your attention.  I was on the receiving end of one of those looks several times...mostly for talking.

Mrs. Sullivan's dry sense of humor made it difficult to detect when she was joking or when she was serious.  Unless you caught that twinkle in her eye or her slight smile when she was joking, you never knew exactly how to take her.

You are so right.  I always thought she had a "wicked" sense of humor......but I loved her and respected her.  We had a ball doing the senior play because of her!