Werner Barth was the best teacher I ever had. A wiry man with a spring in his step, a sparkle in his eye, a gravelly voice and a thick German accent, Barth had a tremendous effect on me. Strangely, it had nothing to do with the topic he was teaching.
Barth taught statics - defined in one dictionary as “The branch of physics that deals with physical systems in equilibrium, in which no bodies are in motion, and all forces are offset or counterbalanced by other forces.” It was potentially one of the most boring subjects on earth.
But not with Barth as the teacher.
He loved to teach. And he loved his students.
He communicated ideas in ways that were fun and memorable.
One day, to illustrate the difference in direction between a positive bending moment and a negative bending moment, he stood on his chair and swung his hand up to his head. As he scratched his head, he said, “You can do this on the subway. That’s a positive bending moment.”
He then swung his hand down to his rear end. As he scratched, he said, “You can’t do this on the subway. That’s a negative bending moment.”
25 years later I still remember the difference.
What impressed me most, though, was his reaction when our entire class performed poorly on a test.
At that point he had been teaching for more than 25 years, longer than most of us in the class had been alive. But there was not an ounce of pride in Barth. At our next scheduled lesson, he pulled up a chair in the middle of the classroom, sat down and questioned us for an hour about how he could improve his teaching methods.
Even after years of learning, applying and teaching, he was still a student.
What I learned in that classroom had only a bit to do with statics, and a lot to do with a lifetime of learning, humility and working within your passion.
16 years after leaving the program, I tracked him down and called him out of the blue to thank him. He remembered me. “Ah, Larry…skinny guy!” He remembered all of his students by name, and kept in touch with many of them.
He told me about his retirement 14 years earlier, his recent hiking trip, and how he had beaten colon cancer a few years ago. He spoke with a positive attitude and an appreciation for life that surpassed just about anyone I’ve ever known.
When I grow up, I want to be like him.
It has been eight years since that phone call. I’m sorry to say that I have again lost touch with Barth, but I know we’ll meet again. And when we do, I’m sure he’ll have a sparkle in his eye.
Who is the best teacher you ever had?
David Rupert (4)
Just Sayin (4)
Liz McLennan (3)
ACA The Underground (2)
bill (cycleguy) (2)
Barbara Drewry (1)
Jennifer (1)
Julie Stewart (1)
Kevin Martineau (1)
Peter Graham (1)
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My guitar teacher changed my life completely. I’ve been taking lessons from him for 5 years now. If he was the typical 45 year old man who tried to be a rock star in the 80′s, burnt a bunch of his brain cells away, and still tries to look like Bon Jovi, I would not have lasted 5 weeks. But his kindness, patience, and laid-back-ness (probably not a word) made me feel comfortable. Now I’m going to school for music production, playing in two different gigging bands, and am making plans to pursue this music thing with everything I’ve got. It’s what I wake up every morning wanting to do. My love for music would never have been discovered if he wasn’t such a kind person. We’ve moved past the teacher-student thing, now we are just really good friends. Bill is one of my favorite people on the planet, and I’ll never be able to thank him enough for what he’s done for me. (sorry I broke blog commenting protocol and went really long. Bill deserved more than two sentences.)
Protocol, schmotocol. No worries, Ben. I’m glad you gave Bill the extra space.
And if laid-back-ness isn’t a word, it should be.
Thanks for sharing!
Hey Larry! I’m new here, but I’ve seen your name on several other blogs I follow and thought I’d come see what you’re all about – glad I did. Just added you on Twitter/RSS and look forward to connecting with you.
My best teacher was Mrs. Hofstra in 4th grade. She was the sweetest lady I’ve ever known and loved on us kids like we were here own. I can’t ever remember her raising her voice and she captivated all of us with the way she could teach and tell a story. I actually ran into her at Christmas this year… that was 20+ years ago and she still remembers me and came over and hugged me and said how proud she was of me. She is one of a kind.
Nathan recently posted..My Confession
Welcome, Nathan! I’m so amazed and impressed when teachers remember their students like that. What a pleasure to meet her again after all those years!
I love these kind of thoughts Larry. Great, great post. I could give a simple answer here, but I’ve literally written an article called The Greatest Teacher I Ever Had and put quite a bit into it a few months ago. If you’d like to read it’s at http://educlaytion.com/2010/09/24/the-greatest-teacher-i-ever-had/
I really enjoyed your recollection of Werner Barth.
Clay Morgan recently posted..An Interview With…YOU!
Wow, that is a great tribute to Ron Forsythe, Clay. Whenever I start to wonder if one person could really have an impact, I love to go to stories like yours and find out that the answer is a resounding YES!
A fantastic tribute. I’m going to list several:
- My Grade 2/3 Teacher, Mme Payment, for putting me in my own reading group with my cousin so we could read more interesting things and make up our own spelling words (I still remember us choosing “encyclopedia” and “fire extinguisher”). This was in the later 1970s in rural Canada, before it was cool to allow children to excel beyond the group.
-My Grade 8 and 12 ELA Teacher, Mrs. Kirk, whom I had a reunion with this past January. The two best lessons she taught were (a) how to write a sympathy note (something I now teach students), and (b) that all girls/women, regardless of aspiration, should pursue post-secondary education.
-My Third Year English Literary Criticism Professor, who gave me the confidence that I could think critically and write clearly
-My Geography-Education Professor, Dick Mansfield, who taught in the manner he wanted us to teach.
Leanne
Ironic Mom recently posted..Thing 1 and Thing 2- The Makeover Edition
That’s a very impressive list, Leanne. What a blessing to have so many great teachers!
For the record, my favorite spelling word is “phlegm”.
Ooh, you’re playing hardball, Larry. This is a tough question. I think I’m going to have to start at the beginning with my Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Danheim. I think she was about 70 when she taught me, but she was so spunky and full of life. She made me fall in love with learning. And when a boy embarrassed me on Valentine’s day by giving me chocolates and professing his love to me in front of the class she promptly put him into place.
Elizabeth Birak recently posted..Atmosphere
Way to go, Mrs. Danheim! Did she at least let you keep the chocolates?
We split ‘em.
Elizabeth Birak recently posted..Atmosphere
I love this post!
The illustration made me laugh.
And I want to live a life as a student, always learning.
Attaboy, Duane! From what I’ve seen so far, there’s always more to learn!
Mrs. Skinnell–in Kindergarten. She cared and it showed in a way that 5 year olds could understand.
seekingpastor recently posted..The Way We Walk
Mrs. Skinnell sounds like a fantastic lady. Nice to have someone like that as your introduction to school!
I have three….Mzzzz Gay Clarke from Grade Five English. She nurtured my love of reading and brought it to a whole new level. She had a read around the world contest and I won – I still have the book that I got to choose and she signed!
I doodled my way through high school, university, and church sermons. Not to be rude – but to focus. I’m thankfult that he not only encouraged me – but recognized what was going on.
It’s crazy though, even missing an exam, my marks were in the 90s. I Needed to do well – he made me try harder than any other teacher.
Then in Grade Eight I had an Art teacher named Mr. Davis. He was the best – tall, skinny, brown hair, glasses. I had a doodling problem – many teachers would tell me off for it. Not Mr. Davis. He recognized that it was my brains way of concentrating. If I didn’t doodle, my mind would wander. If I doodled, I’d be listening. He told me to always doodle
OAC. Mr. Burgoyne. Or Mr. B. Funny enough, my mom had him too for English in high school. He remembered her too. He challenged me to not be lazy with my reading or my writing. He always wanted better. He expected it, and rewarded it. Many did not like him because he was so tough – but I thrived in it. Getting bronchitis for a week and missing my exam made me get the second highest mark in the class – I was so annoyed! I was going for first
I did have an awesome Professor at Brock – statistics too. But my brain is farting on her name. She was great though – she even tutored me for free so I would get it. She became a friend to many in the class (she wasn’t that much older than us – a new Professor). I bumbed into her again at a friends wedding a couple years after Brock. She recognized me by name and asked me how things were going. While I still hate statistics – I appreciated her showing me that every student is important and worth spending time on.
I’m so glad that you had a teacher influence you – I think that they are in an honourable profession. Many don’t get the credit they deserve – but they do it anyways.
I love those teachers who recognize what their students are capable of and never let them settle for less. Funny you should mention about Mr. Burgoyne teaching your mom, Rachel. Barth actually taught my dad in night school about 25 years before he taught me. Pretty cool for teachers to have influence on multiple generations!
It was Mr. Halbert. He was my 7th/8th grade Language Arts teacher. I would get to school early, and was supposed to go sit in the gym until classes started, but my mom would drive me around to the back of the school, to where his class was, and he’d let me in. I’d bring the pastry, he’d have the coffee and we’d read the paper, and talk about world events, and I’d prattle on about my dreams. He never treated me like I was 13, he treated me like a colleague and friend. To a kid who so desperately wanted to be grown and feel my thoughts were validated and important, he wasn’t just a mentor, but a friend.
I haven’t talked to him in years, not since I graduated from college, but I would love to share breakfast and a cup o’joe with Jim any day.
Wow. That would make going to school early fun! Awesome story, Kristin!
Hi Larry!
I’m posting the link to a post I did about my favorite professor. I wrote it just as I was beginning my blog, but it still holds true. Professor Toni Flores opened the world to me. She helped me see something I had not seen before. She brought me into her life. I miss her terribly. Thank you for giving me another chance to honor her.
http://rasjacobson.wordpress.com/2010/06/01/toni-flores/
Renee Schuls Jacobson recently posted..I Tip For Great Grammar
Great tribute, Renee. The way she responded to the ants says so much about her. Thanks for sharing the link!
The best teacher I ever had was my 10th grade government teacher, Ms. Walters. She makes everyone of her students feel happy. She is someone you can talk to when your upset. I go to school early just to talk with her. All of the students she has this year and last still come back to see her. Ms. Walters is different from all the teachers I had in the past and now, what I mean is that she cares for others and she doesn’t gave up on her students. If it wasn’t for her I would have never broken out of my shell. I always wanted to be a history teacher, but really didn’t know what grade. Now I thought about teaching high school special ed. Which is what she teaches, which is the best kind of teacher. Shes more than just a teacher to me, shes more of a mom. I’m going to miss her next year, at the other campus, but I’m going to try to see her. I thank her for everything shes done.
How wonderful to have someone like Ms. Walters as a teacher. Thank you for sharing this with us, Gina!
This post was purely a delight!!! Teachers are such wonderful people and your experience showcases what exactly they have the potential to do! Shaping your mind was not a task to him; it was a priviledge! Such an amazing story. One I wish was repeated much more frequently around the world! Imagine the stellar leaders, doctors, law-makers, moms, dads, uncles, sisters, brothers; all the human race. Just loved this post. I do not have anyone in my family that were teachers but I just know they have an amazing potential to affect their fellow man! Thx for sharing this!
My pleasure, Terri. I’m glad you joined the conversation!
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