Click me! Click me!

I’m off a-visitin’ today!

Renee at Lessons from Teachers and Twits has generously given Wednesdays at her blog to those who have stories to tell of a teacher who was particularly memorable or who had an influence in their lives. It’s her TWITS series: Teachers Who I Think Scored or Teachers Who I Think Sucked. And today, that’s where I’ll be. Just click on the smart, talented and lovely lady to the right!

I feel I need to offer a quick explanation of the teacher I chose to discuss. For many, including me, the first thing that comes to mind when we hear “a teacher who had an influence” is our favorite teacher, or the one who made a positive impact on us. When I started brainstorming to write my guest post, I was certainly starting with the positive role models I had over the years.

I am, however, a contrary girl, and it wasn’t long before my mind started to wander off to some of the more terrible memories I had from school.

There is value, of course, in focusing on the positive forces in our lives. This does not mean it is safe to ignore the negative ones. We need to glean something meaningful from all of our experiences so they can help us to always move forward instead of remaining stagnant.

I ultimately decided to write about a bad memory, not because I’m a pessimist or a complainer or a killjoy. I knew that the great teachers would be well-represented in Renee’s TWITS series, and I wanted to be sure that alternate points of view were also presented. I also found that the lessons learned from the negative experiences seemed more clearly recorded in my mind, and perhaps these were the lessons I learned more completely.

So I wrote about a teacher who shook my confidence at an age when I didn’t know how to defend myself. It was a blow from which I did not soon recover.

But recover I did, and for proof, go click the link and read! What are you waiting for? Go!