Mrs. Palmer

Mrs. Palmer was my junior year English teacher in high school. She also taught both of my parents when they attended the same high school in the mid-60's... that should give you an idea of how long she has been around our school system (I am told around 45 years). She was an old school, gung-ho, school of hard knocks, in-your-face kinda of teacher that was feared by most students whether or not they actually took her class... and then they feared her throughout the year they sat in her classroom and learned from the fruits of her labor. Yes, she was tough and had a no-nonsense personality... but she was a Legend! Well, Mrs. Palmer passed away a week or so ago, but her gifts will live on forever. The paper estimated that she has taught over 8,000 students during her time… imagine if most of them took away from her class as much as I did!
I remember the first day of her class. I was seated in the second seat of the middle row in her classroom. Two guys in this particular class (who were known to be goof-offs) attempted some act of idiocy (I really cannot remember now what exactly they did) and you would have thought the planet tilted on its axis- her voice alone made grown men stop in their tracks. And when she barked, everyone jumped! She held nothing back when it came to disciplinary measures… seriously, just her facial expressions alone demanded respect. She was an icon… Period. Somehow, throughout a long year in her Literature class, I managed to pass with all A’s… it is true what they say about “teach and they will learn”. I have never considered English/Lit my strong suit- only math and science- more maths than science. But, in Mrs. Palmer’s class it was simple- pay attention and you too can excel in her class! I will admit that I feared her at first, but once I took her class and proved that I had the desire to learn, she quickly became a favorite! Of course, I really do not remember the many things we learned in her class- considering that was about 18 years ago but, the one pet peeve she DID instill in me is my habitual annoyance with dangling modifiers. I just know that every letter, memo, email, blog, etc. that I have composed in the last 18 years most definitely NEVER had a dangling modifier- that would just be sacrilege… and Mrs. Palmer would not have approved either. Needless to say, she definitely left her mark on me throughout my junior year of high school. She truly was one of the greatest teachers in my educational upbringing. I wish I could tell her that today.

HCHS Graduation- June 1, 1991