Who was *your* Mr. Holland?

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This is such a great idea for a thread!

Mr Foster, English, Year 9, was my Mr Holland. He was very enthusiastic, very interested in every student in the class and just a little bit cute! It was a mixed ability class and he made an effort to mix everyone up, so we sat with people we otherwise wouldn't have and helped each other as we went along.

He taught us Romeo and Juliet (before Baz Luhrmann) and made us act out parts, which was sort of weird but quite exciting too. We were the only class that year who studied haiku and the only class who watched episodes of Brookside as part of the English Language course on accents and dialects.

But best of all he gave me an A for my creative writing. I was an ok student, but that A meant the world to me. I remember going to parents evening and he just seemed genuinely excited about my project. He brought it out to show my Mam and Dad and talked about how I could develop my interest and what books I should be reading. I don't think I'd ever thought about reading for enjoyment until then, and I certainly wouldn't be without a novel now.

I was devastated when he left the year before I took my A-levels and I often wonder where he ended up, if he's still teaching, how old he was!

There was also mad Mr Scott who taught Social and Community Studies, and often got side-tracked with stories vaguely related to the topic, but still managed to make it so interesting that I went on to study Sociology at university. Mrs Mewes was my reception class teacher, and I thought every teacher in the world would be as sweet as her (I was brutally proved wrong in Year 1), and Mr Rostron, my middle school religion teacher will always stick in my mind, just for being genuinely odd!

But Mr Foster... definitely my My Holland.

Thanks for reminding me.

I guess I was lucky; there were several... but the one that the film made me appreciate the MOST was Herbert Rifkind, the band director at Chicago Vocational High School.

Herb Rifkind and Glen Holland couldn't have been more different; Rifkind had been a proud member of the US Marine Corps Band in Washington ("The President's Own"), but he LOVED the gang of Rock n' Rollers and Bob Dylan devotees in his classes and his huge marching band.

NO ONE was hopeless to Rifkind; I don't think he EVER rejected a kid who wanted to join his band. He taught EVERYONE enough to contribute, no matter how long it took.

They don't make teachers like that anymore.

I had two. My 9th & 10th grade art teacher, Mr. Bowman. There was also my journalistic writing/news staff advisor Mr. Smith who I had all four years of High School. I'm 36, and to this day I still hear them in my head with their instruction and patience in the things that I do. When I went on to college, there was not ONE art professor who taught me anything that Bowman hadn't already touched on. Both teachers have since retired from my old school, and it makes me sad for incoming classes that they won't have these men to teach them.

My Mr. Holland was my high school band director Richard Flores. I was abused by my biological father in junior high. Mr. Flores became my "dad" and he's still my "dad" even though I graduated 3 years ago. He made such a huge difference in my life and I don't know where I'd be without him.

My old band teacher, I really REALLY miss him. But I get to see him this Thursday :)

http://z7.invisionfree.com/Shy_Teens/ Check It Out!

Oddly enough, my "Mr. Holland" is the same man who made me watch this movie in the first place!! He was my music teacher/ choir director throughout high school and was probably one of the most amazing men ever! His name was Mr. McWilliams and was from Scotland and so he had a brilliant accent that just made you smile all the time, even when he was insulting you! I remember the day he made us watch this movie in my chorus class because he said it was "the story of his life." He was definitely a fan of the "tough love" strategy when it came to his students, especially those of us in the Concert Choir, but still got all of us to love him dearly as a teacher and a friend. It was because of him that I didn't mind 8 hour long rehearsals for our concerts or staying at school until 11pm for our CD recordings. He challenged us to sing with all our hearts and to develop a passion for all types of music. And he could literally play ANYTHING on the piano! He would hear a tune once and sit at the piano and play not only the melody but the harmony and made it sound perfect! It was astounding!

But probably my favorite part of having him as a teacher was seeing what he'd come up with next. He'd always bring in some sheet music from some impossible musical or a 15-minute long piece in Latin (that allowed no space to breath) but somehow always got a beautiful sound from us that blew us and the audience away every time. But I especially loved when he'd give us a Beatles piece to sing because you could tell when he was playing it on the piano that he loved that music as much as we did!

Oh! And he was the spitting image of Elton John, no joke!! He even wore glasses (but his weren't star-shaped, they were normal!) and he had a really pretty singing voice as well. I still see him from time to time but I miss being in his choir because it was one of the most enriching experiences of my life and I thank Mr. McWilliams for my deep and undying love of music and singing.

So that's my Mr. Holland.

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