Sunday, March 25, 2007

What is your first grade teacher's name?

This photo, taken inside the subway train yesterday, shows an advertisement for the NYC Teaching Fellow program The program was initiated in Spring 2000 to encourage people to become teachers.

New York City's school system severely lacks qualified teachers in the classroom so the program was created to provide financial incentives for young college graduates, as well as older, second career adults, to consider teaching as a profession. Some of the benefits include: a one-time $2,500 tax-free stipend during the summer training program, a starting salary of $42,512/year plus health insurance and retirement plan, and tuition assistance towards earning a Master's Degree in Education.

The tag line of the advertisement is: You remember your first grade teacher's name. Who will remember yours? So, do you remember your first grade teacher's name?

17 comments:

Kate said...

Amazingly, yes I do: Ms. (I suppose Miss then) Flora Rock!! Great name, isn't it?

Anonymous said...

I can't remember! Too many teachers...too many names to remember :O

Jilly said...

Gosh, no I don't remeber but I do remember my French teacher - Miss Alexander. She changed my life by giving me some responsibility (nature study monitor) and making me feel I had some worth. A wonderful teacher and I'll never forget her.

Teachers are saints.

Jilly x

Anonymous said...

I do remember her name. It was Sister Mary Paula and she was a nightmare!

stromsjo said...

I most certainly do. Who doesn’t? They’re making a good point really. Teachers make impressions. That’s not a small responsibility. Sweden has seen similar campaigns though not equally well phrased.

Irredento Urbanita said...

Here in Spain some pupils hit they teachers and these are really afraid of those bad children.

Anonymous said...

Oh this is magnificent. The name is never forgotten by people. Why is that? I know. I think I know. Maybe I don't know at all, but nobody knows much about their third or fourth grade teacher or their names. Why is that? I think it is the same for all firsts. Who was your first boyfriend? Or girlfriend. Who was the first person, besides your mother or father, that you closed your eyes to kiss?

My teacher was Miss Brown.

720 Pixels

Z said...

I can't say I remember.

J. Andrew Lockhart said...

My first grade teacher was Ms. Mcdaniel. That's about all I remember. :)

don said...

hummmm i know a lot of my teachers names. but the first one is the mother of one of my best friends now

Fabrizio Zanelli said...

I remember her very well. She was polite and overall I loved her handwriting. Her name Was Ms. Gorreta

Anonymous said...

I do remember! Mrs. Olsen.

She was notorious for being really mean! Everyone was afraid of her. But now that I think about it, I can't remember her actually being mean.

Annie said...

I don't remember my first grade teacher's name. In fact, I don't remember first grade. It must have been uneventful.

I do remember my second grade teacher's name, though. Mrs. White.

Maybe the first grade teacher had a long and hard name, one I just couldn't be bothered to remember.

kuanyin333 said...

Yes, it was Mrs. Sullivan, and I actualy liked her, one of the few I remember with fondness. BTW, I read your comment on someone else's blog about the Nora Ephron book...I loved it! Actually, I just gifted a friend visiting Maui this book knowing it would work to relax her...laughter has a way of doing that.

AinZ said...

Mrs. Poliak--she was great! That's a great campaign, but is that salary enough for NYC cost of living? teachers are so underpaid...

Unknown said...

yes. I remember my kindergarten teacher as well!

ooo.. your post has suddenly brought me back to my childhood memories, i am now thinking about all my teachers!

Todd HellsKitchen said...

Nancy Carver.

Now stand by and I'll sing you some of the songs that she taught me that year...