I have had several teacher heroes in my life, luckily. My second grade teacher, Ms. Pachoud, was the first person outside of my family to tell me that I had anything besides ordinary potential and encouraged me to work in the area of spelling, which I suppose she saw as an area in which I was good. Mr. Bob Folsom, my math teacher in both seventh and eighth grade, was the first teacher to treat me as if I were just a regular person, carrying on conversations about music and politics for more time than I can recall, suffering my immature observations patiently. It was from him I learned the art of listening, making sure the other person had my undivided attention. Finally, there was Ms. Linda Harris, my high school FORUM teacher. She helped each of us in that class full of Sheldons to think outside the norm, to look at accepted things differently.
Each of these gifted educators pushed me in ways too numerous to count, all in the interest of making me a more well-rounded person.....
