Girls Write Out
Thursday, June 07, 2007


She was nearly 6' tall with flaming red hair, a frame like a sturdy oak, and a deep voice that made 7th graders hunker behind their metal desks. Mrs. Caldwell was her name, and at the time I entered her English class, it was rumored she would've retired years earlier but enjoyed torturing middle schoolers too much to quit.



She labled attractive women "handsome", laughed at her own jokes, called us Madamoiselle, and tolerated no nonsense from anyone. But it was in her class that my love for the English language was born. She taught me the parts of a sentence, (something previous teachers had tried to teach me) and somehow Mrs. Caldwell made me care.




When I arrived at school early, she welcomed me into her classroom and gave me sentences to diagram on the board (for fun!) even though I'm sure she had stacks of papers to grade and weasly 7th graders to prepare for. She nurtured my love of English, and after a while, I realized she wasn't scary at all. So, thanks Mrs. Caldwell. And thanks to all the great teachers who care, inspire, and lead by example. Enjoy your summer break . . . you deserve it!
Denise Hunter  
posted at 8:36 AM  
  Comments (7)
 
 
Delicious Delicious
7 Comments:
At 9:22 AM, Blogger Deborah Raney said...

Oh! I had a "Mrs. Caldwell" too, Denise! She was probably in her late 60s and had a reputation as a real "witch with a b." Sadly, I never appreciated the things she taught me until it was almost too late. But before she died at the age of 90-something, I had an opportunity to visit her in the assisted-living center, and thank her for the wonderful lessons she imparted - skills I now use every single day of my life! Here's to all the unsung "Mrs. Caldwells" and "Mrs. Kohrses" of the world!

 
At 9:52 AM, Blogger Suzanne said...

AAAACK! I came in here to read something light and fun and got hit in the face with a jr. high nightmare....diagraming sentences for fun? The only thing worse than diagramaing sentences (for me) was being forced to play volleyball in gym class.

Someone give that girl some chocolate...

 
At 10:03 AM, Blogger allen etter said...

Sometimes being a teacher can be so thankless. My wife often is asked to do things above and beyond her job description. Students whose families are too poor to have cars ask her for rides to and from work at all hours and then they never even thank her. It's nice to see a post like this.

 
At 10:14 AM, Blogger Denise Hunter said...

Sorry, Suzanne! Take two truffles and call me in the morning.

Deb, glad you had a "Mrs. Caldwell" too. How wonderful that you got to thank her in person.

Allen, I can only imagine how thankless a job it is. Kristi's got a great heart.

 
At 10:42 PM, Blogger Kayla said...

Ahh, some teachers are amazing. Dr. Schray was my Mrs. Caldwell. She was known as being very sweet but her class was HARD. However, I came out of it loving medieval literature and joking around in Old and Middle English for fun. The life of a nerd appears to be sad but is actually quite fun.

 
At 7:15 AM, Blogger Colleen Coble said...

I wonder if teachers realize how much they change their students' lives? There are several Mrs. Caldwells in my life. They sure don't make enough money for what they do!

I loved diagramming sentences too, D. LOL

 
At 10:22 PM, Blogger Jaime Wright said...

Colleen, diagramming sentences drove me crazy because I loved to add commas all over the place and those little ... dot-dot-dot's for dramatic pauses. It didn't go over so well! LOL

My mom was my teacher; I was homeschooled. So, I'm slightly partial. But, I also was taught a lot of the joy of eating up literature by a retired schoolteacher in her seventies who would have me over for a weekend when I was in my teens just to discuss books. And she'd make sure she read all the ones I read just so we could talk fiction. Sweet memories. Thanks, Denise for helping me take a moment to think back ... ;)

 

Post a Comment

<< Home



The Authors
Kristin Billerbeck
Kristin Billerbeck is a proud Californian, wife, mother of four, and connoisseur of the irrelevant. She writes Christian Chick Lit; where she finds need for most of the useless facts lulling about in her head.

www.KristinBillerbeck.com

Colleen Coble

Colleen Coble writes romantic suspense with a strong atmospheric element. A lovable animal of some kind--usually a dog--always populates her novels. She can be bribed with DeBrand mocha truffles.

www.ColleenCoble.com

Denise Hunter

Denise Hunter writes women's fiction and love stories with a strong emotional element. Her husband says he provides her with all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too.

www.DeniseHunterBooks.com

Diann Hunt

Diann Hunt writes romantic comedy and humorous women's fiction. She has been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, chocolate, her dog, and well, chocolate.

www.DiannHunt.com

Hannah Alexander

Cheryl Hodde writes romantic medical suspense under the pen name of Hannah Alexander, using all the input she can get from her husband, Mel, for the medical expertise. For fun she hikes and reads. Out of guilt, she rescues discarded cats. She and Mel are presently taking orders from four pampered strays.

www.HannahAlexander.com

 
Subscribe
Enter your Email


Powered by FeedBlitz