Thread by @RadioFreeTom

So, today I told the story of one of the worst teachers I ever had, a high school math teacher who made my life miserable for a while. But I think I should balance that with a description of the two teachers who kept me sane in high school, because gratitude and all. /1

One (who I know reads Twitter now and then) was my high school English teacher, a leftist who didn't take an ounce of shit from me and made me defend every stupid right-wing thing I ever said. We had a blast as we read, really *read*, books like 1984 and More's Utopia. /2

He was a nonconformist and we were both, erm, irascible, and we became friends and still are, and I love him as family. He's a wonderful artist and gave me refuge at his apartment many times during the crapstorm of HS. /3

richardwbulda.com/p668705791

The other was my chemistry teacher, a tough middle aged man who nonetheless gave me a job as a lab assistant, and let me hang out and drink coffee out of beakers with him in the office (a big no-no in a lab), who challenged me to be better and more disciplined of a mind. /4

When that other teacher or the administration was trying to hunt me down for skipping class, he'd quietly answer the phone and say he hadn't seen me, even though I was sitting right in front of him drinking coffee. He then would go on as if nothing had happened. /5

Years later, I asked him about this. He shrugged and said: "They were after you. You needed a place to go."
He was like a second father to me and I probably would have flamed out of high school had he not been there. When he died about ten years ago, I cried for two days. /6

I also lucked out with a guidance counselor who knew the score about every teacher, good and bad. These men, and a few others who were about *rigor* and *self-discipline*, got me through a system in the 70s that was mostly built for conformity, rather than excellence. /7

So, yeah, I encountered some teachers who were my models for how not to teach, but others saved my sanity and I tried to emulate them in my career later. Gratitude is a short-lived emotion, so it's good to remember the people who made the difference. /8x