My First Grade Teacher
The world lost a great teacher this weekend. She was my first grade teacher, Sally Korobkin. Or more appropriate to me, Mrs. Korobkin.
It's been a long time since I was in first grade, but we had kept in touch over the years. Always a card and a note at the holidays. I visited her house several times as an adult, and she was at a party at my parent's house in 2006 to meet my boys.
I loved school when I was little, and especially I loved first grade. Mrs. Korobkin was so loving and nurturing. I had exceptional academic skills, and she encouraged those, even arranging for me to get a few assignments from the next grade. In particular, I remember her letting me learn to write cursive a year early!
Yes, I was a geek. Getting to learn cursive a year early was a really big deal to me!
I remember her love of art, especially Andrew Wyeth. We always did neat art projects in class. Now whenever I go to the Greenville Museum of Art, I think of her in the big Wyeth exhibit. One year I bought a postcard of one of the pieces and sent it to her, since I knew he was a favorite. (I think she even mentioned that Andrew Wyeth sent a hand-written note to our class!)
Mrs. Korobkin started her teaching career in a one-room schoolhouse in Pennsylvania. Oh I always thought that was so neat! I could just picture her as a teacher on Little House on the Prairie! She wrote all of her memories about that experience for me, and I remember doing a report all about Mrs. Korobkin and her one-room schoolhouse.
But what I will remember the most about Mrs. Korobkin is how encouraging she always was. Even so many years later, she always wrote about how special I was. She cried tears of joy every time she saw me. She always made me feel like perhaps she thought I was as special as I thought she was.
Here is a picture of me and Mrs. Korobkin from the party in 2006. I'll miss you. God bless...
It's been a long time since I was in first grade, but we had kept in touch over the years. Always a card and a note at the holidays. I visited her house several times as an adult, and she was at a party at my parent's house in 2006 to meet my boys.
I loved school when I was little, and especially I loved first grade. Mrs. Korobkin was so loving and nurturing. I had exceptional academic skills, and she encouraged those, even arranging for me to get a few assignments from the next grade. In particular, I remember her letting me learn to write cursive a year early!
Yes, I was a geek. Getting to learn cursive a year early was a really big deal to me!
I remember her love of art, especially Andrew Wyeth. We always did neat art projects in class. Now whenever I go to the Greenville Museum of Art, I think of her in the big Wyeth exhibit. One year I bought a postcard of one of the pieces and sent it to her, since I knew he was a favorite. (I think she even mentioned that Andrew Wyeth sent a hand-written note to our class!)
Mrs. Korobkin started her teaching career in a one-room schoolhouse in Pennsylvania. Oh I always thought that was so neat! I could just picture her as a teacher on Little House on the Prairie! She wrote all of her memories about that experience for me, and I remember doing a report all about Mrs. Korobkin and her one-room schoolhouse.
But what I will remember the most about Mrs. Korobkin is how encouraging she always was. Even so many years later, she always wrote about how special I was. She cried tears of joy every time she saw me. She always made me feel like perhaps she thought I was as special as I thought she was.
Here is a picture of me and Mrs. Korobkin from the party in 2006. I'll miss you. God bless...
posted by Susan | 8:33 AM
1 Comments:
I have a favorite teacher as well, who is now in a nursing home. Mrs. Weichman, who was my English teacher and Speech teacher, was a "tough old bird", as we called her in high school ... however, she told me once she expected more from me because I just had more to give! ha! She also cared, and told me she cared enough to make me do things over, so I'd better care enough to do it right the first time! Again, she was tough -- but always fair. And I knew she cared.
I visited her last year before she passed away, and she cried that I'd take time to visit her -- although we always kept in touch at Christmas time and I visited her 5 years ago when her husband died. I know what you mean, about making a person feel they were special.
Hugs to you, and may we all have a favorite teacher that invoked half the feelings that you obviously feel. The world is always a better place for having those wonderful teachers! I so hope and pray that others will remember to thank and acknowledge to their teacher, how wonderful they were and their memories of them ... as not everyone tells their teacher. They need to be told and reminded of everything they did for us.
God bless you and God Bless your first grade teacher!
/dawn
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