Teachers Can Make A Difference

Across the Fence 303

School will be back in session by the time you read this. Teachers will be busy teaching and students will be listening intently to every word they say. I can “hear” all the teachers asking what planet I live on.

We’ve all had some good teachers and some “not so good” teachers along the way. Once in a while we even encounter a great teacher. These are teachers who have inspired us, have opened our minds, and created a fire in us to learn all that we can about life. I’ve had a few of those wonderful teachers. They made a difference in my life.

I’ve also had a couple of teachers who made me feel like I was the dumbest kid in class. It’s been proven time and again, that if you tell someone enough times that they’re dumb or can’t do something, they’ll begin to believe it and it becomes a reality. The same is true if you give someone encouragement and tell them they can do anything they set their mind to. Their confidence will begin to grow and you can sit back and watch them excel and achieve. A good teacher can make a big difference.

At our recent Smith School reunion, one of our teachers, Corrine (Fredrickson) Zable, mentioned that one of her teachers at the Normal School in Viroqua had been an inspiration to her. That teacher had given her confidence that she could be a teacher. We tend to forget that someone has to teach the students who are learning to be teachers.

The teacher, who had inspired and lit the fire in Corrine, was Naomi (Flugstad) Bekkum. It’s a small world, because Naomi has been a good friend of ours for many years. I never knew that she had been such an influence on Corrine, who was one of my teachers. I’ll put her in the “great teacher” category. I’m not alone in that evaluation. After listening to comments about Corrine at the reunion, it was easy to see that she had a positive impact on all of us who were lucky enough to have her as a teacher.

Now I find out that Naomi had been a big influence on her. I can’t help but think how much life is like a pebble that’s dropped in the water. The circles keep expanding outward, getting bigger, touching and impacting more people all the time. Never underestimate the impact your thoughts and actions may have on someone in the future, who doesn’t even know you.

Over the weekend, Naomi and her husband, Owen, were in Westby, and I had a chance to sit down with her and ask about her teaching career and what she remembered about Corinne, who had been one of her students.

Naomi grew up in Westby and I’ve known her family since I was young. After graduating from Westby High School she attended Luther College in Iowa, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education. She taught for several years in Minnesota and Wisconsin, before being asked by the Vernon County Superintendent of Schools to come to Viroqua and teach at the Normal School, also known as the County Teacher’s College. She said it wasn’t an easy decision, because she was teaching elementary vocal music and high school choir in Richland Center, Wisconsin, and really loved it there.

Luckily, she decided to accept the position in Viroqua, where she taught English, Music, Art, Library, and was in charge of the year-end trip. I have a feeling that not what she taught, but how she taught, made a world of difference, not only to Corrine, but to countless other student teachers. This is where that circle keeps expanding. Her inspiring those student teachers had an impact on their students, and I suspect, that circle continues to expand and touch other people today. That’s why teaching is such an important profession. It’s too bad they aren’t paid what a professional athlete or Hollywood star is paid and vice versa. Our priorities are questionable in my mind.

I’ve always had a questioning mind. Maybe that’s why I was never good at mathematics. Instead of two plus two always equaling four, I’m looking for ways to find a different answer. I was lucky enough to have some teachers who allowed me to open my mind and search for answers, instead of just reciting old dogma. Those were great teachers, who allowed me to expand my horizons and thinking.

When Naomi told me about the year-end trip the student teachers took each year, I could relate. She was in charge of a school bus load of students for three weeks. The students raised the money for the trip, stayed in school gymnasiums at night, and brought canned food from home to eat. Each year was a different location. One year they headed west to Colorado, Wyoming, Yellowstone, and the Black Hills. Naomi said this was the first time many of them had been across the Mississippi bridge in La Crosse. It was a great history and geography lesson for them. They saw things they had only seen in books before. That life experience opened their eyes, expanded the circle, and made them better teachers. Those circles keep expanding.

If you have a teacher, who made a difference in your life, pick up the phone or write a letter and let them know.