Tough as nails

Posted on by WritingfromtheheartwithBrian

I looked at the list again. 

On the plus side, I saw the names of a few friends who were going to be in my fifth-grade class with me. I was happy about that, but the negative side of the scale stood out in big bold face letters to me, and it spelled out the teacher’s name. 

I was going to be in Mrs. Wilson’s class (name changed.)

I groaned. I was looking forward to having the other fifth-grade teacher in the school building. She had both of my brothers and I knew all about her from them and was familiar with her older son who played on the high school football team. 

I was crushed. 

Wicked Witch of the West

I remember going to school on the first day and being a grump. I had heard stories about Mrs. Wilson and how she was tough and challenging to get to know. I heard she sent kids to the principal for not doing their homework. There were stories too that she had a huge paddle with spikes in her desk drawer and wasn’t afraid to use it. A kid at the bus stop said he saw a witch’s broom and cauldron in her closet. I figured he was lying, but a part of me wasn’t sure what to think. 

I walked into the class with my head down and worried that she might growl or take a bite out of me for the heck of it. I barely saw the smile on her face or the way she welcomed everyone to her classroom. 

Oh, she was tough and disciplined, she was tough as nails, there was no question about that, she was upfront about demanding your best work and was not one to “suffer fools lightly.” She liked to know what everyone was doing in her class at all times, but I soon learned that she also had a heart of gold and worried most about creating natural curiosity in each of her students. She cared less that we got the right answers and more about how we got our answer and the questions we asked.

I quickly got a chance to learn that one for myself.

In the first week, she asked me to read from one of our textbooks and I stumbled on a sentence. I had a stutter and it regularly came out when I was nervous or worried or having problems with school work. I expected her to critique my reading skills and load me up with three night’s worth of homework. Instead, she praised my effort and let me choose a Scholastic Book from a basket to take home and keep for myself.

A kind heart

The rest of the year went much like that, I expected one thing and she delivered something else completely. When I saw that I was in a safe environment, my imagination went wild and felt “free” to raise my hand and participate in class. In short, I felt safe.

I learned that while I worried about tough demanding teachers, I actually loved them and thrived in structured and disciplined environments, where curiosity was king. Of course, I also learned a valuable, age-old lesson too: Never judge a book by its cover.

What does curiosity look like for you? What are the ingredients that help you learn best?

…..

Please join in on the discussion on the HoTM site. In addition, please visit my personal blog at www.writingfromtheheartwithbrian.com to read the companion piece I wrote today or follow me on Instagram at @writingfromtheheartwithbrian.

All the best, Brian.

Images by Pexels.

27 thoughts on “Tough as nails”

  1. Pingback: Getting the wrong teacher – Writing from the Heart with Brian

  3. Oh….you had me with the ‘safety’ thought. It’s hard to take risks as a youngster…raising your hand, risking ridicule. A teacher who can encourage and embody an environment where you CAN be curious, express yourself? My kind of teacher. 🥰

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  4. This whole piece is great, but I especially love that Mrs. Wilson reward your efforts with a gift. It can feel so vulnerable to make mistakes in front of the class, so it’s such a gift that that teacher celebrated rather than chastised you. I’ve had several “tough as nails” teachers that ended up being my favorites.

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  6. You were lucky to have her as a teacher. She was so much better than the ones who ridicule their students for asking “dumb questions” or getting the wrong answer. My son had a teacher like that in elementary school. He was sent out into the hall for asking a question the teacher didn’t have an answer to. The teacher said, “You know you don’t know everything, Robert.” My son Robert answered, “I know that.” My son was being literal as younger people often are. It threw the teacher into a hissy fit.

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  7. This was a lovely post to read after the end of a long day. Teachers make such an impact on our lives – for better or worse. And how blessed we are when we get the ones that are kind hearted but also push us to do our best. I can see why she still has such an impression on you today.

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  8. Oh, what a great post, Brian! I especially liked, “When I saw that I was in a safe environment, my imagination went wild and felt “free” to raise my hand and participate in class.”

    That tie to being safe fostering creativity and confidence – that’s brilliant. Thank you for bringing us safely under Mrs. Wilson’s wing too! 🙂 ❤

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  9. As a former teacher for 31 years, many of those in 5th grade, I loved this story. Most kids wanted to be in my class, but you don’t click with them all. Children still respect and like their teachers if they know they’re cared for and the teacher genuinely cares about them. I take special pride in staying in touch with many of my former students. I have the luxury of living in the same city I taught in, so nearly every week I’ll run into one or more of them somewhere around town. I’ve been to graduations, weddings, and housewarming parties, and I did this long enough to teach second generation students. There are few things that make a guy feel older than sitting down for a parent teacher conference with someone who used to be one of your students. 😊

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    1. Wow, what a comment Pete. Yes, I can imagine that would be a strange feeling, seeing the parent you once taught. Credit for you for teaching so long and making a huge difference in others! My wife is a special Ed teacher. I get to see the other side of teaching: the tough days, frustrations with the admin, etc. It’s a tough job no question!!! Thanks so much for commenting!

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      1. Much respect to your wife and for all the other educators who fly under the radar each day giving of themselves. While I was studying to become a teacher in college, I worked as a teacher’s aide in a special day classroom. I was a one-on-one aide to a boy named Doug who had muscular dystrophy. He was at the point in his condition where he was losing his ability to walk and spent part of the day in a wheelchair. He was a big boy and when he’d fall (he wore braces that offered him some support), one aspect of my job was to help him back up.

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  11. Excellent, Brian. To me, curiosity amounts to asking the second question, not stopping with the words “That makes sense.” And, in today’s world, not walking with your head buried in your cell phone, lost to all of the human and man-made world you can see.

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