A Teacher Who Changed My Life

A story about a teacher who actually made a difference during my troublesome formative years.

We've all heard stories about a teacher who actually made a difference in a student's life and inspired him or her to succeed.  That was one thing I had never experienced as I entered my sophomore year at Cradock High in Norfolk County, Virginia.  Teachers had all been quick to point out how stupid I was, especially in the field of mathematics, and even told my mother during a parent-teacher conference that I would never be able to succeed in math.

 

A lot of my difficulties in my early years in elementary school were due to my overall health.  It seems I succumbed to every childhood disease imaginable and missed a lot of school time.  Many times, I fell so far behind the rest of the class in my studies and when I was able to return, they had advanced far ahead of me, so catching up was difficult.  The teacher, already convinced of my inabilities, didn't want to waste the time with me to help get me back to where I needed to be.  I was usually given a "D," just enough to pass me on to the next grade where I could be somebody else's problem.  Ultimately, I was just living up to (living down to?) what everybody expected of me.

 

Entering high school, it was more of the same.  Freshman year General Math was required.  Remember, this was before computers and calculators.  Everybody had to learn to do long division, multiplication, addition, and subtraction by hand.  Remember subtraction? - borrowing from the next column when the subtrahend, the number to be subtracted was larger than the minuend, the number to be subtracted from?  I stumbled through the year with my usual "D" grade.  Yea!  I passed.

 

Then came the dreaded sophomore requirement - Algebra.  Oh, me!  In Home Ec, we learned pies were round.  Now I would be taught pi r square (only kidding - boys didn't take Home Ec in my day).  Anyway, I had always either failed or just got by in 9 years of General Mathematics.  How in the world was I ever going to succeed in my first year of advanced math?  I was in for the surprise of my life.

 

The teacher's name was Mrs. Karen Hartsough.  On the very first day of class, I knew something was different about Mrs. Hartsough.  For one thing, she made Algebra FUN!  Suddenly, Math was not just a boring column of dry figures, it became something fascinating.  Besides that, Mrs. Hartsough saw some potential in me others had never seen and did not pass me off as a hopeless case.  When I took my first test, I shocked the world and made 100.

 

About that same time, I began my lifelong love affair with the game of baseball.  I became obsessed with the numbers and statistics associated with the game.  I found them to be a good motivating tool for the players to excel to reach certain goals.  To this day, I still keep up with all the stats and help a local high school coach with the stats of a girls' basketball team - points, field goals (2-pt. and 3-pt. goals), field goal pct., free-throw pct., rebounds (offensive and defensive), assists, blocked shots, and steals - for single games, season, and career.  It is a very enjoyable activity.

 

I finished my first semester under Mrs. Hartsough with an A average, the only A I had ever achieved in high school at that time, though a familiar opponent was waiting in the wings.  Another physical malady put me out of school for an extended period again, causing me to fall behind the rest of the class.  Upon my return, though, Mrs. Hartsough worked with me and helped me to catch up.  It was difficult, as my second-semester grade was only a C, but my average for the year was a B, so I was greatly encouraged.

 

Thanks to Mrs. Hartsough (and baseball), I was never intimidated by mathematics again.  I went on to work in the accounting department of a large chemical company for 15 years until that company closed.  I have also worked part-time in the tax-preparation field, helping folks get their maximum refunds, as well as other math-oriented professions.  The bottom line is, yes, a teacher can make a difference in guiding a student's life path in the right direction.  By believing in me, she helped me to believe in myself.  Maybe I wasn't really as stupid as everyone thought I was.  Later, I took an I.Q. test and scored a 133, which puts me in the top 2%.

 

I've always wanted to personally thank Mrs. Karen Hartsough for what she did for me, but have lost track of her over the years.  I believe she was only at Cradock that one year.  Maybe she might just happen to run across this little essay, or maybe someone who knows her might see it and bring it to her attention.  She left an example every teacher should follow - TEACH!  Not just what's in the book, but life principles - take the time to dig out what's in her student's mind.  Thank you, Mrs. Hartsough, for being that teacher to me.

 

 

 

Reviews

[matrixmark]

This a really uplifting, exceptionally well written story. One which warms the heart. Such a great piece to read.

Great piece of work with such a lovely ending.

Mark.

[Samuel Dickens]

This is a great story, exceedingly well-written, and one that I can relate to. Whereas you had health problems that held you back, I had poverty, hunger, and almost no parents to support or guide me. I failed math, along with all the subjects except science. In my world of failure and low expectations, teachers were the only positive role models I knew. This is your story, not mine, so I'll not go on.