2015 Writers’ Blog Hop Week 3 – My favourite character
Picture from Young Pilot September 1980
Thirty four years later I can still picture him: my grade 7 teacher, Mr. Arthur Freeman. (The picture above was taken while I sat in his classroom.) He taught junior high for decades at Prairie Bible Institute. When I met him, his silver-grey hair masked his quick whit, keen mind, and ready sense of humour. His piercing blue eyes often clouded with tears as he implored us to learn from his mistakes. He believed in discipline and structure, but the virtue of love pervaded everything he did.
He often told stories to break down walls and build relationship. Stories of his early years; stories of raising his family; stories of how he and his wife prayed, believing God would turn the hearts of rebellious sons; stories of students coming back years later to make things right. Along with lessons of history and grammar, we learned the lessons of life. Mr. Freeman not only challenged us to memorize 100 verses and recite them with no mistakes, but he also did it himself. While we were allowed to recite individually with him, he recited in front of the class, allowing us to correct him.
Mr. Freeman not only taught us; he mentored us. This mentorship did not end when we walked out the door of his classroom. For at least ten years afterward he was my teacher, I received a bookmark and personal note from him on my birthday. I’ve heard from others that he did the same thing for them, and am assuming he sent those birthday greetings to every student he had in his class. If you do the math, that action alone speaks volumes.
I’m grateful for the amazing legacy he left for those of us who had the privilege of learning with him.
Did you have a teacher or someone else who mentored you? I’d love to hear about that person.
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This reminds me of a couple teachers I had. Very interesting post!
Great teachers build into their students and help create a better future. I’m grateful for several great teachers I know.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, Rose 🙂
Sorry I’m so late. 🙂
No problem, Andrea 🙂 Glad you could join us.
My fifth grade teacher, Mr. DePalma, at P.S. 16, Staten Island, New York, gave our class a homework assignment that would change my life. It was to write a fictional story on the subject of our choice, then read it aloud to classmates. I’d always been making up stories in my head. Now I put them on paper, weaving my classmates in as characters. The stories became popular and the rest is history, so to speak. Today I am a novelist and newspaper reporter.
Flora,
Thanks for sharing your story. Often it’s the small things that make a huge difference in someone’s life.
How did I miss this year’s blog hop?! 🙁
I will at least try to stay on top of reading the posts!
Hi Susan,
Sorry you missed out. Thanks for connecting again. You’re welcome to jump in to the blog hop any time you’re able to do so. Our next topic is sharing something we learned last year that’s helpful in our writing.