Miss Wentz

I teach French at a high school and at a university. I love teaching French. I love the language and the culture, but French didn’t have a real significance for me until I met a certain lady in the fall of 1974.

My parents had moved the family from the metropolitan area of Baltimore County to the rural farmlands of Carroll County. I was not at all pleased. We were living in the sticks! I could no longer walk to my friends’ houses. I had no freedom to come and go as I pleased. The house my parents purchased was miles from any civilization.

That fall, I began school as a freshman at Westminster High. Since I had taken French I in the eighth grade, I was placed in a French II class. I was the only freshman in the class because in Carroll County foreign language classes were not offered until high school. So, the first day of class, I hesitantly entered the classroom of Miss Rachel Wentz. Little did I know that day that this woman would have a tremendous impact on my life.

Rachel Wentz loved French, the language, the culture, the people. She loved everything about France, and it was evident the moment she opened her mouth. Her classroom was one of the best places in the world! We sang in French, we spoke in French, we read in French. Sometimes we would even discuss politics…in French! It was an amazing place to be.

I continued studying French through my senior year. I was one of three students in French V my last year of high school. That fall, Miss Wentz announced that she was organizing a trip to France for her students. She passed out papers about the trip, and for the rest of the day going to France was the only thing I could think about.

That afternoon, I rushed home to deliver the trip paper to my parents. I begged and pleaded to be able to go to France. My father took the paper and said that he would have to think about it. I prayed and prayed and was about to offer burnt offerings when one evening my parents came into my room and told me that they had decided that the trip to France would be my graduation present! I was going to France! And not only was I going to France, but my chaperone would be none other than my amazing French teacher!

That spring at graduation, I was given the foreign language department award for outstanding achievement in French. The award was presented to me by the department chairperson, Mrs. Reifsnider, who said to me “I never had you as a student, but Miss Wentz said you were wonderful!” And I thought Miss Wentz was pretty wonderful, too!

That summer, I spent ten days in Europe with Miss Wentz. She spoke French with every person she encountered on the street. She encouraged us to use our French, and when the group that I was spending my free afternoon with in Paris got lost, I did use my French! It was an amazing trip, one I knew that I would remember for the rest of my life.

I went on to college and majored in French because I got good grades. My original intent was to go to law school. But things happen and life changes. I think of Miss Wentz almost every day when I’m teaching. I sometimes ask myself what she might have done in certain situations.

Great teachers affect us tremendously. I am grateful for those whose classrooms I was able to share.

This post appeared in my column "The Empty Nest" on June 5, 2011 in the Frederick News Post.

Mrs. Hook

I thought this month that I would reflect on teachers who influenced me during my formative years. Today I would like to introduce you to my second grade teacher, Mrs. Hook.

It was a terribly difficult time for me. I was away from the home I loved and I was struggling with relationships. Yes, the second grade at Berkshire Elementary School was a difficult period in my life.

I remember sitting in the classroom and wishing that I could be at home, playing with my Mommy and my little sister and brother. They were able to do fun things while I was stuck suffering at school. A sick tummy often greeted me in the morning as I was anxious about having to go to that horrid place.

I was having a rough time with a certain Robin Horn. She simply would not say that I was her best friend. It was so important for me to have a best friend, and I thought Robin was the perfect one. She had the nerve, however, to tell me that she had other friends that she was considering for the title of Best. When I cried at recess about this, Mrs. Hook, my second grade teacher, hugged me and told me that it was possible for someone to have several very good friends, and that she knew that Robin and I were very good friends. She made me smile.

And Mrs Hook loved to read! Each afternoon after lunch time and recess, we would all gather on the rug near her rocking chair and she would read to us. I have to admit that this did make all of the stress and anxiety about going to school worth it. Mrs. Hook read us some of the most wonderful books. Mr. Popper’s Penguins, The Adventures of Pippi Longstocking and my absolute favorite, Charlotte’s Web.

I would sit on the carpet with all of the other children in my class, and we would listen to her read about Wilbur and Charlotte and their friendship. Mrs. Hook would change her voice for all of the characters. It was such fun to hear her read the part of Templeton the Rat. We would giggle and laugh when she read his lines.

Mrs. Hook brought all of those characters to life in that classroom. She mesmerized us with those books. I began to admire her for all of her energy and enthusiasm when it came to reading and literature. Her love of books inspired her to lead her students on wonderful journeys.

My teacher must have seen the light in my eyes as she read aloud to us. She must have felt my longing to play those characters. That fall, I learned that I had been chosen to play the lead in the school’s annual Christmas play, Mother Goose’s Christmas. Yes, I was to be Mother Goose! A second-grader in the lead! I was to find out later that it was Mrs. Hook who recommended me for the role. She saw that sparkle in my eye and heard it in my voice when I read out loud in class. She told the play’s director that I was a natural!

There was a fifth grader who was cast in the role of Santa Claus. He was somewhat threatening as he had been in the school Christmas play his entire elementary school career. He was loaded with experience and enjoyed sharing with me how terrifying it would be to be on the stage in front of all our schoolmates!

After the school performance, Mrs. Hook found me backstage. She gave me a big hug and told me how proud she was of me. My classmates were thrilled to have a “star” in their midst.

I managed to somehow make it through the second grade and go on to bigger and better things, but it was teachers like Mrs. Hook who made school worth all the hassles. She truly loved her job and the students she taught. I love books and reading, and occasionally being in a show, to this day.

Teachers have a tremendous impact on our lives, whether we realize in the classroom or if it takes forty-some years. The delayed realization makes it difficult to say thank you. But Mrs. Hook, if you’re out there somewhere, please know that your efforts were much appreciated, and I learned so much about life in the second grade!