Pray by MC Hammer

If you were to ask me who my favorite teacher of all time is was, off of the top of my head I might tell you Mr. West or Profesora Losada.  Most challenging would definitely be Mr. Ohman or Mr. Hinds and certainly Mr. Julien.  The most memorable teacher is Mr. Thomas, although I would have never said so at the time.  Today, without a doubt, he wins most memorable and I even would even say he is one of the most creative, out-of-the-box teachers I had. 

Mr. Thomas taught 8th grade Advanced Language Arts.  It was my first class of the morning and I was never late because I was in Jazz Band during the 7am slot.  We all gave Mr. Thomas a really hard time for some reason.  I am still not sure why.  Maybe it was because he challenged us.  Maybe because we got the sense that he tried too hard and trying too hard is something that 13 year olds can sense and immediately distrust.  The thing is, the trying too hard is what made him so awesome!   Once a quarter, if you ever decided you didn't care for an essay topic, you could write a "Sad Story" that was entirely fictional (although I suppose it could have been true) about why you couldn't write your essay.  I wrote this hilarious piece about my cat stealing my paper titled "And There was my Cat, Smashed Flat".  I know it was hilarious because Mr. Thomas spilled coffee on it, laughing so hard.  He had us journal every day, which I loved.  If we ever felt the need to write something private, we just had to tell him and he would not read that entry.  He was a published poet and he also acted and he would often incorporate these types of things into lessons.   He shared this film with us that was a one-man comedy act and it was hilarious.  I wish I could remember what it was called because I would love to watch it again.  Towards the end of the school year, we had to decide if we would take either Speech, Journalism, or "regular" Advanced English in High School.  He brought high school students in to share their experiences in each class.  What a nice thing to do for us, to help us make the right decision! 

Once in while, he would play music and sometimes we could bring our own music.  I remember very specifically the day I brought in a cassette with Pray by MC Hammer.  I remember watching everyone to see if they would be impressed by my taste in music (they were).  The cassette had been eaten and there was a part in the middle of the song that was all muddled.  To me, it had become part of the song and how it was supposed to sound.  I got a kick out of watching people's faces during the quick muddled bit of song.  At the end of the school year, a couple of the boys wrote in my yearbook and they all mentioned that we "survived" the year with Mr. Thomas.  I always went along with the crowd, even though I didn't always agree (peer pressure in action!).  But looking back, I can't stress enough that it wasn't a year to survive, it was a year to enjoy.  I think I should pay Mr. Thomas a visit someday soon to say thank you.  I hope he hasn't retired yet!