| Commentary and Philosophy Non-Fiction posted May 24, 2022 |
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Dedicated to my favorite teacher
Ode to Mrs. Dixon
by Earl Corp
I truly believe the Teacher who made the biggest impact on me was my seventh-grade English teacher, Mrs. Armendia Dixon.
This was 1973 and Mrs. Dixon was the first African-American teacher in our county in Pennsylvania. Not that this is important, because it wasn’t to me. But it bears saying that I was raised by a very racist father.
Mrs. Dixon was cool and I think ahead of her time. She incorporated different learning experiences into her lessons. But not only that, she made each one of her classes a family. She was just teaching life lessons. Lessons I still carry with me to this day.
Our class held bowling excursions, went to a Pittsburgh Pirates game and held a class Christmas party on a Saturday night at somebody’s house. I remember that fondly because seventh grade me played Santa Claus.
While other English classes were diagraming sentences, ours was reading When the Legends Die by Hal Borland. We had to give informational speeches. I gave mine on tying knots. I remember another kid showed us how to do a European mount of deer antlers for his first buck.
I looked forward to fifth period every day to go and hang out with Mrs. Dixon. Her class was the highlight of my day. It was the most welcoming learning environment I have ever been in. None of my high school teachers or college professors possessed one tenth of the teaching talent Mrs. Dixon had.
It was because of her I wanted to be a teacher.
Fast forward 25 years and I was going through my Master’s Program at Edinboro University. And Dr. Armendia Dixon ran the student support center to include the tutoring center. I used to go and hang out with her. Believe it or not she remembered me. It was so great I got a chance to thank her for inspiring me to be a teacher.
She was thrilled to know that she had inspired me to become a teacher. I was teaching in Erie at the time and I asked her to come speak to our school for Black History month. If you want to talk about a barrier-breaking, glass ceiling breaker, door opener—she was it.
I didn’t know her full story when I was a kid. She was the first African-American teacher in a rural district in Mississippi in the 1960s. She hitched a ride to Erie one summer to visit her sister. She then became the first African-American teacher in our PA school district.
This made me even prouder to know her and to have had her in class. The lessons I took from her helped shape me as a person and I can’t ever thank her enough for the interest she took in a twelve-year-old and instilled a love of learning in me.
When she retired from Edinboro I was given the honor of speaking at her ceremony and introducing her. I still run into her as a part-time newspaper writer and she’s very active in several organizations.
I don’t know whether to say she has the Midas touch or she’s spreading the magic. Both seem fitting because everything she touches turns to gold and if you spend any time with her, you’ll come under her spell.
This was 1973 and Mrs. Dixon was the first African-American teacher in our county in Pennsylvania. Not that this is important, because it wasn’t to me. But it bears saying that I was raised by a very racist father.
Mrs. Dixon was cool and I think ahead of her time. She incorporated different learning experiences into her lessons. But not only that, she made each one of her classes a family. She was just teaching life lessons. Lessons I still carry with me to this day.
Our class held bowling excursions, went to a Pittsburgh Pirates game and held a class Christmas party on a Saturday night at somebody’s house. I remember that fondly because seventh grade me played Santa Claus.
While other English classes were diagraming sentences, ours was reading When the Legends Die by Hal Borland. We had to give informational speeches. I gave mine on tying knots. I remember another kid showed us how to do a European mount of deer antlers for his first buck.
I looked forward to fifth period every day to go and hang out with Mrs. Dixon. Her class was the highlight of my day. It was the most welcoming learning environment I have ever been in. None of my high school teachers or college professors possessed one tenth of the teaching talent Mrs. Dixon had.
It was because of her I wanted to be a teacher.
Fast forward 25 years and I was going through my Master’s Program at Edinboro University. And Dr. Armendia Dixon ran the student support center to include the tutoring center. I used to go and hang out with her. Believe it or not she remembered me. It was so great I got a chance to thank her for inspiring me to be a teacher.
She was thrilled to know that she had inspired me to become a teacher. I was teaching in Erie at the time and I asked her to come speak to our school for Black History month. If you want to talk about a barrier-breaking, glass ceiling breaker, door opener—she was it.
I didn’t know her full story when I was a kid. She was the first African-American teacher in a rural district in Mississippi in the 1960s. She hitched a ride to Erie one summer to visit her sister. She then became the first African-American teacher in our PA school district.
This made me even prouder to know her and to have had her in class. The lessons I took from her helped shape me as a person and I can’t ever thank her enough for the interest she took in a twelve-year-old and instilled a love of learning in me.
When she retired from Edinboro I was given the honor of speaking at her ceremony and introducing her. I still run into her as a part-time newspaper writer and she’s very active in several organizations.
I don’t know whether to say she has the Midas touch or she’s spreading the magic. Both seem fitting because everything she touches turns to gold and if you spend any time with her, you’ll come under her spell.
A Memorable Teacher writing prompt entry
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Writing Prompt Write an essay about a teacher who left an imprint on your life-either good or not-so-good |
 Recognized |
*The picture is actually Dr. Armendia Dixon.
* Sometimes words aren't enough to express what you want to say about a person but I did the best I could on this one.
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and 2 member cents. * Sometimes words aren't enough to express what you want to say about a person but I did the best I could on this one.
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