When my sisters and I were in high school, we all took Latin from Mrs. Sleeper. She was in her early seventies at the time but acted like the youth she taught. She seemed to sprint around the room rejoicing in a language she loved to teach. She must have been exhausted by the end of the day. During class this slight woman with a bun wound around the back of her head would share conjugations of verbs and Latin phrases like they were a part of her. I not sure she really taught Latin. I think she must have lived it. Mrs. Sleeper wore only purple clothes. She said, “Purple is the color of royalty.” She drove a huge red boat-like car named Vesuvius. She took students around the world to visit ancient ruins every year. Mrs. Sleeper filled her students with the knowledge and love of the living dead language she loved.
Many of you will have started school by now. (When I taught in Virginia, we started right after Labor Day. ) I really hope that your children will have teachers this year like Mrs. Sleeper. I remember so much about her and the subject she taught because she was so joyful about what she taught. She was fun and innovative. Mrs. Sleeper kicked her trashcan every time we talked about an irregular verb. She had us make movies and write plays about characters from Roman times. She gave deep smiles to you when you answered a question correctly or she passed out a test you had done well on.
Whether your child’s teacher wears purple, red, yellow or green, I hope she or he has a great joy for what they teach.
Did you have a Mrs. Sleeper in your life or your child’s? Please tell me about them in your comment.
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Yippie for teachers who bring subjects alive in so many different ways. Funny I remember my Latin teacher the same way and it makes me smile when I see new words that with the help of all that Latin I can guess what it means.
Having a teacher who really loves what she does (both what she teaches and who she teaches) is extraordinary. My psych teacher was like this and I’ll never forget him.
My Mrs. Sleeper was my 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Pearson. She was the reason I became a teacher in the first place, because she made learning so much fun. She would give you a book if you were one of 5 or fewer kids who aced a test. It was the biggest reward to get to come up and choose out of her box of brand new books. Her classroom library was gigantic, and she passed out stuffed animals to snuggle with when she read aloud. On my recent trip back home, I found my report card from her. It was hand-written, containing not only my academic standings, but also comments about my personality, how much she enjoyed having me in her class, telling my parents funny anecdotes about me. Her heart was huge and she really passed her love of learning on to her students.
I so hope mine do too! What a treat!
I also took Latin in High School! It’s a miracle I passed the Regents exam for it but I did 🙂
Mrs Sleeper sounds fantastic! A creative and enthusiastic teacher can be the most important influence a child has in their life.
Sounds like a great teacher! Gotta love a lady who loves purple -it’s my fav. color too 😉 Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier today!
I personally don’t remember a teacher that sticks out like that but my husband and I are very happy with my sons teacher this year. She is very bubbly and seems to care about the kids individually and I love that and I know that’s hard for a teacher. Love the story and thanks for stopping by my blog.
I had a French teacher in High School, Mr. Arnold like that…God Bless the Mr. Arnolds & Mrs. Sleepers of the world!
I sure did but Mrs was a Mr.. does that count??? A math teacher back in 1969 0r 70…Wow am I old !!! ;0)
Gods Blessings all over you ~~~Hugs Dena
Beautiful story!
Mrs. Sleepers reminds me of my son’s kindergarten teacher. The kids loved her. She motivated kids to do well with little gifts bought with her own money. What a gem!
Mine was my 11th US History teacher. She would have close our eyes and paint the most incredible pictures in our minds. We all worshipped her. I recently got in touch with her through FB and told her how much she touched my life. I think she appreciated being appreciated!
My third grade teacher was just like Mrs Sleepers. Isn’t it amazing what a difference a teacher can make in the life of a child?
Unfortunately I never had teachers like that ! They did their job and that was it. No relationship whatsoever. Nowadays it’s completely different.
Hi! Thanks for stopping by my blog! I’m now a follower 🙂
She sounds delightful…Like Auntie Mame with a roll book!
I didn’t have a teacher like this. I wish I had!!
=)
I had more than one; so did my kids. Now my daughter is a Mrs. Sleeper. I couldn’t be more proud.
Great post! Thanks for the visit! My daughter just started at university and they have to wear purple the first week. It was fun to drive up there and just see a sea of purple.
I was blessed with a teacher like that but her passion was Shakespeare. I will be forever grateful.
I had a wonderful biology teacher, Mrs. Petty, who I loved. She was one of the reasons I went to nursing school and I returned to her class several times, over the years, to talk about what nursing meant to me.
My middle son had an outstanding teacher for kindergarden and first grade, Mrs. Rapozzo – she continued to follow him for years, though she had retired, showing up at his high school graduation rehearsel since she would be away for graduation. She cared so much for her students and I think she is the reason he did so well all through his academic life.
Mrs. Sleeper sounds like an amazing woman! We really need more teachers like her these days! I think teachers like her deserve to be paid more than college professors and their fancy researches.
For me, I had Miss Barranic. She was an amazing teacher too 🙂 She introduced me to the world of books and made the written word come alive for me. I owe my love for words to her 🙂
Et tu____? Quid nomen est tibi? Mr. Day, 4 years hs Latin! Veni vidi vici babe! Fun post & thanks so much for stopping by my place…
My “Mrs. Sleeper” was Mr. George Toland, or Gee Tee as he liked to be called. He was my high school biology teacher. Very strict with high expectations. You couldn’t help but love the man for he taught with a generous heart. Thank you for the “rememberies”
Goodness gracious I took Latin for two years in high school and I loved it! I still remember a lot of it and I might even be able to read some of it!!! My Mrs. Sleeper was a wonderful biology teacher named Mrs. Patricia Unale. I learned so much from her and, when I taught school for 30+ years, I often drew from things I learned from her.
I had Ms. Al for 10 and 11th grade Lit. She was awesome and always made we want to read and study.
Love that your Mrs. Sleeper was so not sleepy! 🙂
Lots of yummy love,
Alex aka Ma What’s for Dinner
http://www.mawhats4dinner.com
My worst subject in school was math. I was truly awful at it. I had ONE teacher who was able to teach me math. And that was in the 8th grade. He was really, really awesome. I wish I could have taken him with me to highschool!
I too cherish Mrs. Sleeper moments…Carpe Diem, Gaude! She was instrumental in my volunteering to go to Japan with AFS. Did you know she had her private pilot license too? There was nothing she couldn’t do and she made me feel like I could too. She made such a difference in my life. Thanks for reminding me!
oh I was blessed… i had several Mrs. Sleeper’s during elementary and high school … my daughter has had one in high school and one in college … and my father was one! Some people are just born to be teachers … and i just love them all!
isn’t it amazing how 1 teacher can have that kind of affect that you remember them years and years later?
Even though they are few and far between, I can still name the teachers who had the best impact on me. Our kids, so far have been blessed with wonderful teachers who enjoy their job and take it very seriously. Teachers are a very special breed, and I appreciate them all.
Ah! She sounds amazing! Yes, it truly makes a difference when it comes to learning, if the teacher is loving and living what he/she teaches!
I agree with you…hope that there are more like Mrs. Sleeper :o)
Blessings & Aloha!
Thank you sooooo much for stopping over at my last post… I hope that I can get my violet one up! Our trip to see our kiddos was wonderful, but it went toooo quickly!…it’s back to work and havent had time to do any blog stuff til now…
I have a friend who only wears purple, too! Just found out she’s in a nursing home. 🙁
What a wonderful tribute. Sometimes, all it takes is one special teacher to inspire a lifetime love of learning. Mine was my 7th grade English teacher, Mr. Malcomb. He inspired a love of writing that I have to this day. Cait’s was her 6th grade band director, Mr. K. He is the reason that she is now a band director. Bravo on a great post. And if you write “commentlets”, I write “commentaries” LOL
Mrs. sleeper reminds me of the wonderful Latin teacher my daughter had–Mr. Little. He made the language and culture come alive.
There must have been some special requirement that teachers of Latin had to be more than a little odd. I had a Miss Fotheringham – large, with a lisp and stand-on-end hair….but she brought the dead language to life.
What a nice tribute! I’ve had many good teachers, but I don’t have one teacher that was GREAT! One teacher I had that really cared about students was Mr. Lugo. He taught high school Spanish, health, AND coached the wrestling team (I think he later coached the football team). He loved his students. He was easy on the eye. AND he had a bit of scandal–he married one of his high school students (after she graduated from college though). Tragically, both he and his wife ended up dying young–both to cancer. He passed away about 3 years ago. The community mourned his passing. After all these years, he was still a beloved teacher.
My Latin teacher was Welsh. I love all things Welsh, but I’m afraid that this particular teacher was hopeless! She tried to teach me French too! French with a Welsh accent… LOL
My English A level teacher was brilliant. He was bright and enthusiastic and had a passion for the books and plays he was teaching us about.
what a wonderful teacher…mine was Mr Burns, my music teacher third grade thru the eighth grade…He just loved what he did and made it a wonderful part of our lives. I was inspired by him to live a life filled with music….what a great post!!!
What a wonderful link to Rainbow Summer School.
I love stories like these about inspiring people…especially teachers who shape young minds and imaginations.
This really made me think…we moved so much as children that I cannot really think of any one teacher as being inpiring. I was always inspired by books more than people.
Thank you for this thought-provoking stop.
I really enjoyed your story.
A+
Mrs. Sleeper sounds fantastic! This is exactly the type of teacher I hope to be. Having finished school later in life, I think I may have a bunch of passion all pent up. I can’t WAIT to share it with a class of my own. My student teaching class thought I was wild and crazy sometimes, and I loved the way they responded to me getting goofy with them. Ah, how I wish ALL students had a Mrs. Sleeper in their lives!
Thanks for joining the Teacher Appreciation blog hop. I really appreciate you stopping by. This was a really inspiring post. Here is my story about the teacher who inspired me to become a teacher in case you didn’t see it: http://karenshealthylifestyle.blogspot.com/2011/05/where-i-am-today.html
I hope you have a terrific weekend!
Come join me on my journey to figuring out a healthy and happy life!
I took Latin, too! But my teacher was no where near as fun as yours. I feel inspired to wear purple today when I homeschool.
I now think purple is the color of joy! What an amazing teacher you had, especially one who could bring a dead language to life!
I never did have a teacher who was a one-color wearing type. Though my college Statistics teacher was so enthusiastic about stats, I still really love that subject. Seriously.
Though I am a follower, I found you on SITS today 🙂
I had a college professor who was really animated like that. People would beg to get into his class. I wish there were more teachers like that who made learning fun.
Wow…I have only ever heard of teachers like this in stories and have seen them in film, but never and I repeat never have I seen on in real life. I have despised every teacher I have ever met as they have been terrible. I am happy for you that you have such a great memory!