[Stylist] A new prompt

Mon Oct 21 19:56:46 UTC 2019

Vegas,
That is an interesting comment.
I was born in 1928, and I was sixteen. So it would have been in 1944, I think. I don't think the teachers made home visits just for grades, or as a usual thing, but in my case, I guess Mr. Thompson thought it was necessary to a recruitment.
Though I am in my nineties now, I even remember that my mother showed him the crabapple trees and gave him some crabapple jelly. 
I do learn a lot from reading what all of you "young ones" write. I think that includes everyone on the list! 
Thanks for reading and commenting.
Jacqueline Williams

Clarity is just questioning having eaten its fill.
     Jenny Xie

-----Original Message-----
From: Stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Vejas Vasiliauskas via Stylist
Sent: Monday, October 21, 2019 12:38 PM
To: Writers' Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Vejas Vasiliauskas <alpineimagination at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Stylist] A new prompt

> 
> Hi Jackie,
> I really enjoyed reading about your teacher and how inspirational he was.
> On another note: I found it very interesting that teachers still made home visits. I know that I'm considerably younger than you, but I thought that home visits were more of an 1800s and early 1900s phenomenon. 
Vejas 
>  
> 
> On 20 Oct 2019, at 15:56, Jackie via Stylist <stylist at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Thanks to Annie. It is slightly different from her prompt. My goal 
> was to keep it to one page, and to possibly send it to The Reader's 
> Digest who has this feature regularly.
> Anyone want to join me? The Teacher Who Changed my Life  Jacqueline 
> Williams, Oct., 2019 The Teacher Who Changed My Life I was sixteen 
> years old, a junior in Riverside Brookfield High School in Hollywood, 
> Illinois. In spite of being active in athletics, and an excellent 
> student, I was extremely shy, lacking in self-confidence and an introvert.
> When I was enrolled in Social Science class, my teacher, Mr. Thompson, 
> asked the class to write their own philosophy of life. I loved the 
> assignment, as I read a lot, had many ideas, and I challenged many 
> traditional ideas, particularly about religion.
> He asked me to read my paper to the  class. I remember telling him 
> that I would rather not do  so. I was petrified. He was a sensitive 
> man, reassured me he would ask some others to read first. When it was 
> my turn, I got up in front of the class, and was shaking so badly, 
> that the paper in my hand shook and I could hardly read it. 
> Regardless, he praised me and started a discussion of some of the ideas.
> In about a week, he asked if he could contact my parents for a home 
> visit, and said it was about the debate club, which he sponsored. I 
> did not object, though I knew nothing about debating, or what it entailed.
> Mr. Thompson did come to my house and while I did not hear the entire 
> conversation, the gist of it was that he thought I would be a real 
> asset to the school and to the debate team.  He felt that with my 
> parents support, my personal confidence and development would grow if 
> I would join the club. He also asked me about my plans beyond high 
> school. This girl, with her thick glasses, felt like a real person.
> I vividly remember those next months. We were assigned topics, had to 
> research both sides of those topics, practice debating our fellow 
> members on the side we believed in, but finally we had to debate again 
> any side assigned us by Mr. Thompson.  Then we went out on the trail. 
> My confidence grew with each debate. I remember when we debated at the 
> University of Chicago, and our team received accolades and a trophy. 
> Mr. Thompson gave me special recognition back at the school.
> How did this change my life? Primarily, it taught me to think, and to 
> realize that there are always two sides, possibly more, to every question.
> It trained me in having confidence to speak out, think quickly in 
> terms of rebuttal, and to speak with respect to others' opinions.
>    My family was transferred to New York when I was in college, and I 
> never return to my old school for any reunions. I was in my late 
> seventies when a boyfriend took me to Illinois, and specifically to 
> Hollywood, for a visit. I was able to walk the halls of Riverside 
> Brookfield High. On the wall was a big beautifully framed portrait of 
> Mr. Thompson. I learned he was the tennis coach with a winning record. 
> This surprised me because he had a foot turned in a strange way which 
> caused him to walk with a severe limp. I wondered if this is why he believed that anyone could surmount problems, and
> he had devoted his life to helping others as he did for me.    
> 
> Jacqueline Williams
> 
> Clarity is just questioning having eaten its fill.
>     Jenny Xie
> 
> 
> 
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