Mr. Wood

A few blogs ago, I mentioned the high school teacher who was instrumental in teaching me to think critically about what I was being "fed". Mr. Bill Wood taught Physics, Chemistry, and a "special" class. After spending two years in his classes, he is to blame for a lot of who I am. I would skip other classes to sit in the library and read; but I never skipped his classes. That was the only class time, since first grade when I learned to read, where I learned anything important.

During my high school years there was a big creationism uproar occurring statewide. He even testified in the court case. He encouraged us to look at the issue critically from all sides. He never hid his opinion, but had his students on both sides attempt to defend our own position coherently during discussion. He also led us in a study of advertising and the ways it influences our thoughts. I was always dreadfully bad at math, but he often gave me credit for being the only person in his physics class who understood the concepts being discussed. Even if I never got through a calculation without an error during the entire year. The main thing I remember from all his classes was this: while other teachers told us what to think, he emphasized how to think.

I heard through hearsay that he quit teaching within a couple years of my graduation. The politics of the "education system" are an obstacle to education, screening out the best teachers. Just another reason for the separation of school and state. Mr. Wood was the best teacher I ever had.

When I think of him I feel that he would be disappointed in me today. After all, I never made anything of myself. He would have told me I could do better.