Mrs. Brown

Last week I saw a FB post about "favorite teachers". This immediately made me think about my favorite teacher, Mrs. Brown.

It was the summer before 5^th grade. My friends and I were peering in the open windows of the 5^th grade classroom at Red Cedar Elementary School trying to get a peek at the new teacher. Throughout elementary school, we had all been looking forward to 5^th grade and finally getting the only male teacher in the school to be our teacher. Mr. Harner was said to be firm but quirky. Apparently he had a love for bird watching that he had passed on to many students. Unfortunately, our class would never get to experience that. Instead, we were getting a new teacher for our last year at Red Cedar.

As we stood on our toes to spy into the classroom that summer, Mrs. Brown was in her room setting up. She noticed us and said hello. The group of us explained we were going to be in her class. We asked her a laundry list of questions trying to get to know her better to understand who we would have to deal with over this next year.  I believe at some point we began begging to help her set up and at some point I believe she let us do so, which was very exciting.

As the school year began, our early encounter with Mrs. Brown made me feel as if I was special. After all, not every kid had not been invited to enter the school over the summer to help a teacher set up! But it was more than that. Mrs. Brown listened. She paid attention. And it made me feel like I mattered.

Mrs. Brown’s daughter was Judi Brown-King (now Judi Brown-Clarke), a runner who had won a silver medal at the 1984 summer Olympics. Mrs. Brown would often tell us stories about her daughter’s career, her childhood and would share stories about the Olympics. It was the closest I’d ever been to a celebrity! And those stories always made me feel like I could achieve anything I set my mind to.

But while Mrs. Brown had a way of making us feel good, she also didn’t take our crap. Our class consisted of MAYBE 20 kids at one point. It was a tiny group. And at one point, our class was in a war. A dumb “turf war” of sorts where the class was split in half over the fight. Mrs. Brown wasn’t blind. She sat our entire class down and told us how ridiculous we were being. She told us we needed to grow up and get along. During the speech, she made eye contact with everyone of us. Including me. Something about that talk got to me. I think it got to the rest of the class too as the "war" ended shortly after.

My memories of 5th grade are now vague and fading. I can't be sure that each event happened exactly as I remember it. But I do remember the emotions of that year. And I remember how much I felt like I grew over that year thanks to Mrs. Brown. I learned to respect and appreciate others, no matter how different. I learned its important to set goals and try your best. I learned to keep my ego in check. And I learned that a hodge-podge of kids from all types of backgrounds and their teacher could work together and feel like family.

Mrs. Brown retired shortly after our class went through, spending only a short amount of time at Red Cedar. I couldn't help but laugh and wonder if our class' antics lead to her considering retirement. But then that also made me wonder if she remembered our class as fondly as I did. Either way, that class and that teacher helped to shape who I am today and I will be eternally thankful.

Thank you Mrs. Brown.