Tell us about a teacher who had a great impact on your life, a teacher or prof you'll never forget. For me it was a physics teacher I had in grade 11. I was taking AP Physics, didn't understand a thing and did poorly on tests but always got a B if Mr G. saw me trying really hard. Mr G. didn't seem to care that we got the wrong answer if we were still learning something. He gave me the confidence to believe in myself. From him I learned that "90% of anything is just showing up."

Good stuff. Good thread.

For me. I’ve been lucky enough to have a few great teachers over the years.

But, if I have to stick to just one – I’ll have to go with my Dad.

He taught me to fly.

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1980 300D - Veggie Burner !

I always think of my third grade teacher. Mrs Taylor. Before her I was just a pain in the a$$ for the other teachers....talking all the time and disrupting the class.

She took an interest in me and thought I had potential. She had a table off to the side of the room with books on it. She said after we did our assignments we could go get a book and read it in class. Then write a one page report. After that we could read another book and write another report.

Soon I was an avid reader for pleasure. When I got the flue (still third grade) I picked up a copy of my older sister's book...Hucleberry Finn and read it while I was home sick.

She stands out. I had other teachers through the years that took an interest to an annoying kid too but she was the first and she is the one I always remember.

I should probably find out if she is still alive and write her a note if she is!

Tom W

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Mr. O'Connor, 12G English. He was the first teacher to ever really push me. I was a B student from 1-12 with little to no studying in a town known for it's education system (a trait that was less than helpful once I got into college ). Mr. O was the only teacher ever to encourage me to push my boundaries and creativity. Ironically he was a very quirky, liberal hippie (he used to sit at his desk and try to catch flies with his tongue like a frog) and I hated English. He used to rattle his sabres with the administration all the time and ultimately it cost him his job about a decade later.

We had some fairly heated political debates, both in and out of class. But for some reason he liked me, maybe because I didn't just sit there and stare at the ceiling and I would debate him. If passing in the hallways, he'd always ask how my other classes were going and would lay into me if I was procrastinating as usual.

If I had more teachers like him, I have no doubt I would have been a far better student. Especially in those post-secondary years.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Dad.
I'm very lucky.
And, we're both pilots. I don't have my IFR like he does yet, but I'll get there.

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85' 300D No inspection, No registration fees, Cheap insurance
"If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're going to see some serious %$&^."

I have a few. My dad who taught me to go out and get what I want, my grade school history teacher Mr. Allen and my flying instructor Jal Mistry.

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"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL

I had a prof who gave the same speech first day of class every semester. There is a lot of truth in this:

I don't give many "A"s in this class. I figure getting an "A" means you have to be pretty much perfect, and sooner or later you will screw up, and I will give you the "B".

Conversely, I don't give many "F"s either. To earn an "F", I figure you pretty much have to be a total loss, and no matter how hard you try, one day you will slip up, and show me that you have learned something, and I will have to give you at least a "D".

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags