Great Teachers- Part 1 of 2

Today I was thinking abour teachers and professors that really had an impact on me, either as a direct result of their classes, or on a more personal level. I thought I'd do a little "Academic Shout Out" to some of the ones that helped me the most. I hope I don't leave anyone out; I've had a lot of great teachers over the years!

Tom Brinthaupt, Middle Tennessee State University- Tom was my advisor for my M.A. in Experimental Psych. I took a couple classes with him, and really benefitted from his teaching style. Not a week goes by where I don't think about the concepts we discussed in his classes. He mentored my research, gave me opportunities, recommended me for recognition, and is just a great person. I still stay in touch with him through facebook, and am a peer-reviewer in the psychology subject area as a result of his prodding. :)

Harold 'Terry' Whiteside, Middle Tennessee State University- Dr. Whiteside taught one of my first and favorite classes as MTSU. It was all about Persuasion. In his class, I read "Helter Skelter," and was terrified. But I loved Dr. Whiteside's attitude, lecture style, and sense of humor. I kept all the books from his class and even look at them every now and again.

Dana Fuller, Middle Tennessee State University- Dr. Fuller taught my stats classes, and did an amazing job. For the first time in my life, I actually understood statistics! And even kind of enjoyed it! She was so fair, and always did a great job coming up with assignments and examples that would help me understand the purpose of what I was doing. People at MTSU say that it doesn't matter whether you take Regression or ANOVA first, but having taken ANOVA first, I disagree. I really think Regression is a little simpler, and so I was pleased that after taking ANOVA and then Regression, Dr. Fuller allowed me to audit her ANOVA class. I got so much more out of it the second time around!

John Lounsbury, University of Tennessee, Knoxville- I took a quantitative psych class from Dr. Lounsbury towards the end of my undergrad career at UT. In it, we learned about all sorts of psychological tests, and got to take several! Dr. Lounsbury made sure that every student felt motivated to learn, because he made it personal. He learned everyone's name after the first day of class (because he recorded our introductions with a video camera and studied it that night), and was kind enough to pull me aside to ask how I was doing with life in general. He really took and interest, and I appreciated it.

Lorraine Normore, University of Tennessee, Knoxville- Best SIS Professor EVER. She was so fair and direct. She was clear and precise; you knew what to expect. Then on top of that she made an interesting class out of subject matter that I feared would be dreadfully dull. The power to make cataloging enjoyable = epic win. She's hilarious. She even has an online fan club. All the students that I associate with are huge Normore fans. If you don't like Dr. Normore, then I don't like you. ;)

Amy Disch, University of Tennessee, Knoxville- I got a lot out of Amy's management class in the SIS program. She let us apply the things we were learning in class to our own experiences. It really helped things to click for me. I also really admire Amy's attitude towards librarianship, her involvement in SLA, and her willingness to serve. After I finished her class, we became facebook friends, and I've been able to call on her to review my resume and give professional advice that I can really rely on. Thanks, Amy!

Nancy Carden, Farragut High School- I took Ms. Carden's film class my junior year. It was one of the best classes of my high school career. I was exposed to things I never would've explored if left to my own devices. I learned so much. And as I understand it, Ms. Carden became a librarian after I graduated! No wonder I liked her so much!

Tracy Poulsen, Farragut High School- Mrs. Poulsen was just a student teacher when I was in school. I think she's an administrator of some sort (Vice Principal maybe?) now. She taught my Physiology class, and was amazing! I loved her sense of humor, I loved the opportunities she gave me. She was so respectful to students, and really bent over backwards to let eager students learn. I remember dissecting a cat in her class, and she let us come in to the school in the evening for extra study time with the cats that we were going to be tested on. One time, she even sent me to the office for a positive referral. The confidence she showed in me really helped me out.

Angela Emery, Farragut High School- I had Ms. Emery 2 years in a row. She made English class fun by giving fun assignments, telling jokes, and prompting creative writing. What was best though was that she was so kind! She knew who I had a crush on, and would even give me excuses to go talk to the boy. I wonder where she is now. Ms. Emery, where are you?

I still have lots of people to write about, but I need to wrap this up. So next time: Jeff Callahan, Ron Rogers, Frank Galbraith, Vicki Wells, Anita Gouge, Ken and Peggy Long, and maybe more!