My favorite teacher, Mr Waldenberg, is retiring soon and his family asked if anyone had anything they wanted to say at the retirement. Of course I do (do I ever miss an opportunity to expound on a topic? The correct answer is no). Below is a small dissertation submitted to Mr Waldenberg for his review (absolutely my favorite teacher).
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We all have those teachers throughout our lives that impact us
in some way. We all have that one
teacher that when you look back on your time in school they are the one you
remember. Mr Waldenberg was that teacher for me. I was lucky enough to
get him two years in a row (no, I did not fail his class, I was a straight-A
student thank you very much). He had moved from teaching 5th grade to teaching
6th grade at the same time my class moved from 5th to 6th (coincidentally it
was also when Kellye, a great friend of mine but who also happened to be his
pre-teen daughter, moved from 5th grade to 6th grade. I think it was a deal brokered in the teachers
lounge to spare the rest of the faculty). The discussions on the playground
those first few days of school in 6th grade centered around "What?! You've
got Mr Waldenberg again?! That's not fair!" So yes, I was one of the lucky
few who got him two years.
Looking back on his classes I remember a lot of things...the
commercials we created, the archeological projects in his science lab, the
obstacle courses in his gym class. He made school fun and he made you
laugh. But most importantly, he challenged you, he brought you out of your
comfort zone, he made you get involved in your own learning and taught you that
learning is not just in the books...its all around us. Its outside along the
river discussing how plants grow, its on the bike rack learning how gears
worked, its going home at night watching TV but "pay attention to the
commercials because tomorrow we're going to talk about advertising".
Mr Waldenberg taught you that the opportunity to learn is all around you,
just go out and explore.
Make it fun, make it a challenge, and make it interesting.
Looking back, that's how I remember his style.
I was the shy kid in class. I hated speaking in front of a
group. Hat-Ed-It. I would mumble and look down at my feet and pray that a volcano
would erupt. Or the river would flood. Or any other kind of man made and/or
natural disaster would strike, saving me from getting up in front of my
classmates. There was nothing quite as mortifying to a shy kid than this.
But he made us do it...and I did it (I didn't really have a choice…Straight-A
student), again and again and again, until I realized all my friends were not
going to suddenly turn into zombies and eat me. And after a while it actually
became fun. Because he made it fun. He challenged you. And he made it
interesting.
20+ years later I speak in front of a lot of people a lot of the
time. I run meetings. I plan nationally significant “things”. I brief 3- and 4-
star general officers. All things a shy
farm kid from Ft Benton MT would never have dreamed existed. And every once in a while I stop and take
stock of where I am and look at the path of how I got here; there are certain
people who show up along that road. Mr
Waldenberg is one of those people on my road to where I am. The foundation he
laid for not only me but countless other kids has made us who we are and taught
us some invaluable lessons: have fun, challenge yourself, find something
that interests you, and if you're speaking in front of a group people, odds are
they will not spontaneously turn in to zombies and eat you.
Mr Waldenberg, congrats on your retirement. You have impacted countless
people throughout your years of teaching in ways we cannot begin to convey to
you. Be proud of what you've done...this world needs more teachers like you.
