I have been meaning to post a blog for several weeks but have been so busy.  Finally today, I realized that I just need to do it. 

There has been quite a bit said and written by just about everyone with an opinion about teachers and education.  There is so much evaluation going on to see if students are learning.  But I want to talk about the intangibles.  Things that cannot be measured.  Here is a story about a recently deceased teacher of mine and how he impacted my life even though I haven’t actually had contact with him for more than 20 years.

At the beginning of Feb, I was notified by a facebook friend that my 5th grade Math/Social Studies teacher and later JV baseball coach Mr. Hege had passed away.  Here’s a link to his obit:
http://obits.pennlive.com/obituaries/pennlive/obituary.aspx?n=stephen-k-hege&pid=148277853

Notice that it says that he was a teacher for 39 years and had just retired after last school year.  If you visit the guest book, there are 68 entries.  He will be missed. 

Mr. Hege was a mountain of a man with even a larger heart.  This was especially true for elementary age kids.  His 6’4″ large frame and bellowing voice made an impression on all of us.  But what was his lasting impression on us? 

As I mentioned earlier, Mr. Hege taught math during an important part of my school career.  He used traditional methods, but he also sent us to the board to work out problems so that he could give us pointers.  He also played math games with us, and they helped to improve my confidence.  Later in life, I went to college to become a secondary math teacher and did that for 15 years where I impacted and was impacted by numerous lives.  That little seed that Mr. Hege planted led to so much. 

Mr. Hege also brought history to life.  We always enjoyed his class and it led to bigger and better things.  When I graduated from high school, I received the History award as the strongest student in my graduating class. 

Is this just a coincidence? 

Almost everyday in 5th grade at recess after lunch, Mr. Hege played 1-3 basketball with myself and 2 other of my classmates.  The three of us won our share of games and so did he.  We were always impressed at his ability to dunk, only to find out later that the rims were only 8 feet tall :).  In Middle School and High School, I played basketball and ended up as a co-captain my senior year and won the defensive player of the year for my team.  Later, I coached 7th graders. 

How much of an impact could a 5th grade teacher have? 

In high school, I played baseball as well.  As a freshman and sophomore, I played on the JV team coached by Mr. Hege.  There were about 10 second baseman and I was one of them.  I’ll never forget the day as a freshman that Mr. Hege let me pinch hit which gave me my chance.  I ended up tripling and breaking the starting line up.  As time move on, the other coach of the team felt it necessary to yell at me constantly to make me better.  My teammates and Mr. Hege knew this wasn’t the best way to motivate me, so they intervened.  I specifically remember hearing the other coach saying that he wanted to pull me from the game, but Mr. Hege believed in me and kept me in.  By the end of my time as a JV, I set the record for hits.  Without Mr. Hege’s belief in me and encouragement, I would not have been able to accomplish what I did.  To this day, I love baseball and am passing this on to my kids and hope to coach them someday.

Mr. Hege’s impact went beyond the class and playing fields.  He also participated in local play productions.  My first memory of Mr. Hege was when he played the Giant in Jack in the Beanstalk when I was in 3rd grade.  I later played a part in the school production as a 5th grader.

So how does a teacher mean?  I don’t think that there is a test that can measure the impact that Mr. Hege and the rest of the teachers that I had had on me.  I’m just so glad for all that they did to build the future