The Teacher
Note: I've moved my blog to my own web site - the new address is:
www.nonaverage.net/insomanywords/
Comments can only be left at the new location.
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His name was Mr. Siqueiros. I eventually discovered that his first name was Leo - Leo Siqueiros. And he walked fast - very fast. Being only in fifth grade, I would practically have to jog to keep up with his pace. But that’s not the only thing I remember about Mr. Siqueiros. I remember that he liked me. I don’t know why he liked me, or what he saw in me that caused him to show me favor. Perhaps he was someone who simply enjoyed working with kids. Perhaps my dark hair and brown eyes reminded him of himself as a young boy, or of a son that he wanted someday. Perhaps he could tell that I didn’t have anyone at home to encourage me. I don’t know which of these it was, if any. But he liked me, he encouraged me, he helped me. He went out of his way to help me, sometimes doing things like giving me rides to school events or having his wife make a sandwich for me (although one time she made me an “American-cheese-and-mayonnaise” sandwich, and since I don’t care for American cheese I couldn’t finish the sandwich, but I was too self-conscientious to admit I didn’t like the sandwich, so when Mr. Siqueiros and I were in his car I nibbled at the sandwich until a moment when he wasn’t looking and then I crammed the sandwich in the space between my seat and the passenger door, where I’m sure it was found at a later date. Sorry, Mr. Siqueiros). When I won a prize - $20 gift certificate at a craft store - for helping with a class project, he drove me to the store in his Dodge and waited while I picked my items. When my fifth grade year ended, I secretly hoped that Mr. Siqueiros would teach 6th grade the following school year. But he left our school, which disappointed me until I discovered that he had transferred to the local junior high as one of the Spanish teachers. So I had him again as my teacher in the 7th grade. But by that time I was a teenager preoccupied with teenaged things, and although I didn’t spend as much time with Mr. Siqueiros as I had in 5th grade, he always had a smile for me when I saw him the the school hallways. In 9th grade I moved on to high school and lost track of Mr. Siqueiros. Years later I heard that he might have moved to Arizona. Where ever he ended up, I have never forgotten him or his effect on me, which I think may be one of the best things anyone could say about a teacher.
And people have asked me why I walk so fast…..
www.nonaverage.net/insomanywords/
Comments can only be left at the new location.
*********************************************************
His name was Mr. Siqueiros. I eventually discovered that his first name was Leo - Leo Siqueiros. And he walked fast - very fast. Being only in fifth grade, I would practically have to jog to keep up with his pace. But that’s not the only thing I remember about Mr. Siqueiros. I remember that he liked me. I don’t know why he liked me, or what he saw in me that caused him to show me favor. Perhaps he was someone who simply enjoyed working with kids. Perhaps my dark hair and brown eyes reminded him of himself as a young boy, or of a son that he wanted someday. Perhaps he could tell that I didn’t have anyone at home to encourage me. I don’t know which of these it was, if any. But he liked me, he encouraged me, he helped me. He went out of his way to help me, sometimes doing things like giving me rides to school events or having his wife make a sandwich for me (although one time she made me an “American-cheese-and-mayonnaise” sandwich, and since I don’t care for American cheese I couldn’t finish the sandwich, but I was too self-conscientious to admit I didn’t like the sandwich, so when Mr. Siqueiros and I were in his car I nibbled at the sandwich until a moment when he wasn’t looking and then I crammed the sandwich in the space between my seat and the passenger door, where I’m sure it was found at a later date. Sorry, Mr. Siqueiros). When I won a prize - $20 gift certificate at a craft store - for helping with a class project, he drove me to the store in his Dodge and waited while I picked my items. When my fifth grade year ended, I secretly hoped that Mr. Siqueiros would teach 6th grade the following school year. But he left our school, which disappointed me until I discovered that he had transferred to the local junior high as one of the Spanish teachers. So I had him again as my teacher in the 7th grade. But by that time I was a teenager preoccupied with teenaged things, and although I didn’t spend as much time with Mr. Siqueiros as I had in 5th grade, he always had a smile for me when I saw him the the school hallways. In 9th grade I moved on to high school and lost track of Mr. Siqueiros. Years later I heard that he might have moved to Arizona. Where ever he ended up, I have never forgotten him or his effect on me, which I think may be one of the best things anyone could say about a teacher.
And people have asked me why I walk so fast…..
Labels: school teacher
posted by Ruben at
9:37 PM
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