Sunday, April 26, 2015

To Mr. Flynt With Love



James Flynt died last year.  He was the Social Studies teacher that I had in 6th grade (I was about 11 years old) and when I saw him just a few years ago, he still remembered me.  Not only did he know my face but he even remembered my name!  It made me think of some teachers that I really liked: Mrs. Faye Pemberton, Miss Elizabeth G. Sanders, Gwen Ellington and Jane McDevitt.   I had some bad teachers but I have erased them from my memory and it is only the kind ones, the ones who really cared about their students that I remember.  You may read Mr. Flynt's obituary  here.  It states that he was a retired educator and taught in Rockdale County for his entire career.  It SHOULD state that he was the most patient of teachers, trying his best to make a certain girl learn the difference between latitude and longitude!  I have a fond memory of him softly saying, "Those lines are just imaginary, Kay"...and that just brought to my mind the image of the entire Earth teeming with life and love. The lines are just there for us to measure and make sense of things.

 
Did you have a teacher that you remember with fondness?

You might think me corny to have the song "To Sir With Love" on here but it is appropriate.  I also had Mr. Flynt as a teacher a few years later, when I was 13 years old, so you see, from crayons to perfume...that is just about right!




Lulu starred in the movie "To Sir With Love" and sang the title song. (You can guess that I loved that movie!)   Lulu is still going strong, by the way, she just released a new album this month! 
 




28 comments:

  1. Teachers can be such important figures in a child's life. I have several who were big influences on me. A nice tribute to your Mr. Flynt.

    "To Sir With Love" is one of my fave movies too! Lulu's is and always has been a real pistol too. Yes, she is indeed still going strong! She had a small role in some of the later AbFab episodes and was great!

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    1. Thanks, Debra. Of course, you would love "To Sir With Love" too, you have such good taste!
      And my husband loves the "Ab Fab" shows, we missed the ones with Lulu I think. (Richard has a crush on Joanna Lumly!)

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  2. My favorite teacher was Mr. Wilson my Drama teacher in high school. Some of my old students have found me on Facebook and friended me, it's so good to see how well they've turned out.

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    1. There was a very well loved drama teacher at our high school also, Mrs. Wise. I never had her but she was very popular, very sweet.
      I bet you were a great teacher! Good for you!!

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  3. I love this post. I believe that those who teach, and give so much of their own time and effort to reach children and open the world to them, would really appreciate being remembered by some of those children. Teachers are undervalued. My 6th grade teach Mrs Holmes was the one who really gave me the love of books and taught me so much about finding knowledge in them. I will never forget her.

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    1. Ah, the love of books, that is a gift.
      I like the sign I saw on a bumper sticker, it said, "If you can read this, THANK a teacher!" Thanks for your comment!

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  4. I had several wonderful teachers when I was a kid. I loved To Sir With Love. I was 16 when it came out and everyone told me I reminded them of Pamela in the movie. lol I loved (still love) that song. And Sidney Portier was MARVELOUS in that picture. xo Diana

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    1. Oh, I remember Pamela from the movie, I bet you looked just like her, with the white gogo boots and everything!
      And I loved Sidney Poitier in that! I always think of him in the film, "In The Heat of the NIght", saying, with great feeling, "They call me MISTER Tibbs!"....great stuff.

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  5. I have never come across any of my teachers, and don't care to. None of them were even half as good as your Mr Flynt obviously was. I am glad that you had some good teachers! xx

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    1. Oh, I wish you could have had Mr. Flynt too! You would have liked him, he was a rather quiet teacher, but he was always thoughtful and seemed to treat all his students with respect. That is my kind of guy!

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  6. I love this and I think it is a wonderful tribute to what he planted in your heart.

    Of course I welcome you linking to my Monarch posting.

    I had "The Wonderful Mr. Ummel," I even wrote about him for an English class. He changed my life and I loved him.

    S

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    1. Hello Sharon Lovejoy!
      So happy you like this little tribute to Mr. Flynt. He really deserved a better one than this, to be honest with you. Perhaps one of my fellow students will read this and leave a comment. That would be nice.
      I think you should tell us about your wonderful Mr. Ummell in a post, you know you want to!!
      And THANK you for your great post about the magnificent MONARCH!
      I was thrilled with the chrysalis tree, just AMAZED!!

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  7. Miss Hayhurst. Every child she ever taught felt like teacher's pet. She gave us all so much love along with an education. She knew our interests and which things we should pursue in the future. She was a wonder.

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    1. A wonder....what a marvelous thing to say about a teacher.
      Thank you so much for your comment. You know I think you are a great writer, I wonder how much she influenced and encouraged you to write!

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  8. Yes, i remember some teachers who were fabulous, and a couple that could have been Grand Inquisitors and head torturers in one!

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    1. I promise you I had some bad ones, but mercifully, I have erased them from my mind!

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  9. PS: re Lulu, you can see the recording sessions on Vimeo, here: https://vimeo.com/122084582 Fun!

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    1. I should had put a link to Lulu and shown her new songs, so I thank you for having this on here, Sara! xx

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  10. Looks like my earlier comment didn't get through - I had said I don't think it's corny at all to include 'To Sir with Love' here - I love it, really takes me back to those days. Funny how certain songs can really make you time travel to your younger days and all those feelings are new and powerful again. Thanks for sharing this!

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    1. Thanks very much, Sara. And you know, that song sounds just as good today as it did in 1968...or whatever year it was, can't remember now even though I did the post just last night! ! LOL. Now, don't you feel sorry for Mr. Flynt having me as a student? You should!

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  11. Some of my teachers I remember fondly, others not so. But in hindsight, I understand a lot more about them, also the less nice ones, now that I am more or less the age they were when they taught us.
    About 10 years ago (when I was closer to 40 than to 30), I went to an event commemorating 50 years of foundation of the elementary school where I went. I met my class teacher from years 3 and 4 (when I was 8/9 and 9/10 years old), and guess what - she not only recognized me immediately, but she also remembered my name!
    I liked her very much back then, and was impressed with her great memory for the children she once used to teach.

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    1. Christopher's kindergarten teacher told me this: Teachers remember the GOOD ones! So, you must have been a good student, little Meike!! :-)
      I really do feel sorry for any teacher that I ever had, and any of them that took up extra time with me deserves special recognition!

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  12. hmmm... Gwen Ellington.. that name sounds familiar... I keep telling her she needs to get on Facebook... I had tons of teachers that were great teachers... I even have a Masters in Education because I wanted to teach. I learned, however, that I did *not* want to be a teacher. There's a difference. So I've been working at bookstores for 13 years now, and love it. Heritage High was, at one time, packed full of amazing teachers, and Georgia College was as well. I've only had a few bad ones, and honestly,they made me want to be a teacher more than the good ones, as I never wanted students to have to go through that. Unfortunately, I wasn't a good teacher, myself, so I took another path.

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    1. Oh, just go on and be a teacher, we need more male teachers, Denzil!
      And then, one of your former students could do a post, "To Mr. Pugh With Love"!!!
      Gwen Ellington! My word, I can still remember some of the books that she had us read and a great many of the things that she had us write, she was a great teacher.

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  13. I was lucky enough to have more than one teacher who made that wonderful difference in my life. Mrs. Schneider in grade school, Miss Schwayze in junior high Sister Mary Patrick in high school, Dr. Weigel in college. Great to spend a little time remembering them today.

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    1. I bet you were a joy in the classroom, a teacher's delight!
      And you should recall a happy memory as often as you like, you can never wear it out!

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  14. What a gift to have a great teacher ~ I've had a few and I often remember them fondly. So very thankful for the ones that really, truly inspired me and recognized that I needed a little bit more challenge than the rest of my class and gladly got it for me. Beautiful tribute, Kay!!! May be coming down to ATL in October ~ you'll be the first to know!!! XOXOX

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    1. Thanks, Audrey! Of course, you would have had great teachers, and I bet if you had any bad ones, you would have dismissed them from your mind, after all, you are a lot like ME!! You know you are, ADMIT it!! HA!
      Roll on October!!!! DId you know that STONE MOUNTAIN is GORGEOUS that month, the trees will be changing color and you will think you are in the Smokey Mountains, honestly! We will HAVE to walk up the mountain together!!! Let me know! xxxxx

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