Stippling and Dragon Fighting

 After overcoming my grammar-phobia, I decided that this first article should pay tribute to the two men most influential in my teaching career.  I know that I would not be the teacher I am today if it weren’t for Roscoe “Frosty” Murdoch and John Burney.

My love for biology developed in an un-air conditioned, third floor science room.  I was Mr. Murdoch’s biology student sophomore year, spent junior year learning anatomy from him, and chose to be his student assistant senior year.  A lot of time has passed since those days, but I still remember how he treated his students—with respect and high expectations.  My classmates and I pushed ourselves to do the very best, because we knew that Mr. Murdoch believed in us.  I spent hours and hours stippling formal lab drawings, making sure I used enough contrast to exhibit the 3-D nature of the specimen.  No other teacher inspired me to test the limits of my capabilities.  I work every day to have a similar impact on my students.

The other man instrumental in making me the teacher I am today—Mr. John Burney (“Burney” to me).  I was fresh out of college and at my first school when I met him.  He was the school’s most-experienced biology teacher and a wonderful resource. I had a lot to learn.  In my naïveté, I believed that administrators would want to know about the system’s imperfections. Burney advised me that instead of worrying about administrative problems, I should focus on meeting student needs.  He said it wasn’t important to fight all the “dragons” out there—after all, administrations change.  The battles I should devote my energy to were in my classroom, overcoming obstacles to learning

So, here I am.  I’ve been teaching for almost 20 years and the importance of being student-focused still resonates with me.  Now, I’m not going to lie, I’ve gotten quite a few dragon burns along the way.  Regardless, I wouldn’t change a thing.

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