Challenge #23: Thank an Old Teacher

When I saw challenge #23: Thank an Old Teacher, I remembered a site that I saw a few weeks ago on my favorite designy blog, Swissmiss. It's called Thanks for Teaching Us, and it's a virtual collection of thank-you notes to teachers all over the world. Although I've kept in touch with a few of my teachers from over the years (thanks, Facebook), I've never actually taken the time to thank them for being so awesome...so what better time than now? I could write novels about my all-time favorites, but for now, here's a quick "you were a totally amazing teacher" shout-out to the cream of the crop (in no particular order):

Mr. Losordo, my 5th grade teacher who was basically the coolest guy ever and who might just take the cake for "favorite teacher of all time." I have the fondest memories of him playing his guitar and singing Beatles and Lemonheads songs to us with Miss Randall in class. When my brother was born midway through the school year (yes, we're 10 years apart in age), Mr. Losordo made a bet with me that he'd owe me $10 if he had Sean in class someday and couldn't remember how to spell Dzenawagis (unfortunately, Sean was assigned a different 5th grade teacher, mega bummer for both of us). Where are you now Mr. Losordo? I'm enlisting the help of the internet when I finish this post.

Mr. Ciborowski, my 8th grade history teacher who sparked a serious passion for history in me that had me wanting to follow in his footsteps and become a history teacher myself for a long time. Not only was he a great teacher, but he had solar panels and an energy-efficient washing machine (I remember many stories about this special "Sweedish" washing machine) in his house way before it was the norm. Plus, he could do the best pigeon impersonation of all time. You're the man, Mr. Cib.

Frau Butcher, my high school German teacher. Frau, it's shocking how much German I still remember to this day (ask my friends, I spontaneously break into German all the time). I always looked forward to coming to class on Monday mornings because we would all sit and chat about our weekends—in German of course—and because of this, I learned the language in such a practical way. You would have been proud the time I was in München and successfully found my way to the restaurant I was looking for by asking for directions "Entschuldigen bitte, wissen sie woe..." Vielen dank!

Ms. Welch, although you were never actually my teacher, I spent a lot of time in your classroom because you graciously volunteered to be the advisor of our Animal Awareness club. Not only did we love you because you volunteered your after-school time to help us with things like organizing greyhound racing protests, but you treated us like people instead of just high-school kids. I still remember the time you had us all over for dinner too, veggie lasagna! You're awesome, I only wish I could have actually taken one of your classes.

Many thanks to all of my wonderful teachers over the years—I wouldn't be where I am today without you.