Columnist Ruthe Deskin: Remembering influence of teachers

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, Dec. 28, 2000 | 10:02 a.m.

Ruthe Deskin is assistant to the publisher. Reacher her at deskin@ vegas.com.

Amid all the tales of excess Christmas spending, it is disturbing to read that our Clark County students are suffering due to a lack of textbooks in the school classrooms.

How can students learn or teachers teach without the necessary tools? I know teachers who spend their own money to properly equip their classrooms, and that is not right.

So how about some kind of huge promotion to buy books for our children? Bucks for Books would be a good idea. Of the million-plus people in Southern Nevada, if only half donated a dollar it would make a hefty start.

Of course there will be negative reactions to such a proposal from those who feel we give enough to our schools through taxation. Obviously that is not true if, in fact, there aren't enough funds to supply textbooks.

If someone would like to start a Bucks for Books campaign, call me for the first donation.

Education of our children is the most important task with which we have been charged.

Which brings me to teachers.

The current fare on television isn't what one would call inspirational, until a broadcast like the "Disney American Teachers Awards" show.

Recently I was channel surfing to find something worth watching. I landed on the 11th annual Disney "Celebration of education."

Outstanding teachers were being honored. The production was flawless as it progressed without delay, introducing the nation's brightest and best teachers. The high point of the evening was when a young and emotional Ron Clark was announced as the teacher of the year.

Almost every presenter recalled teachers who were special and played significant roles in their lives, causing me to remember some of the teachers who influenced many of the career choices I made.

Irene Barsaloux taught me to love the English language as she pounded out rules like, "Never end a sentence a preposition with."

Alice Halley was a stern believer that girls should be able to type, keep books and do shorthand. People always need secretaries and bookkeepers, she would say. My skills in those fields kept me employed even in the leanest of times.

Professor Feemster taught history and had no use for students who did not share his passion for the subject. He was loved for his idiosyncracies and his philosophy that "books are there to study, your minds are there to probe."

Then there was Harold Bailey, who was so handsome all the high-school girls had a crush on him. He taught us math in spite of ourselves.

Professor Al Higginbotham was my journalism teacher at the University of Nevada. He was always quite frank in his attempts to steer women away from that field because, "They usually get married and never have an opportunity to pursue a career."

Those of us who ignored his advice became special projects as he approached news gathering with the admonition, "Get it first but get it right."

There were others who, sadly, are long forgotten.

Teaching is truly a noble profession. We must not forget the important role teachers play as caretakers of our children's minds.

To all teachers everywhere, thanks for the past, present and future. If they only had books.