Street Talk

Name your most memorable teacher?

My middle school drama teacher, Mr. Guilford. He was always very supportive of me when I was little, because I was very shy, and he helped me come out of my shell.
—Adria Coulson, 17, Student

I had a cool substitute teacher, Mr. Jumper. He told us to smoke weed before class one time, and we just watched South Park in the morning, it was an early class, like 7:30 in the morning. That was pretty funny.
—Jake Elliott, 35, K&D Landscaping, Watsonville

I’m going to say the emotion of grief is my best teacher. It’s constantly changing my life. It ebbs and flows. It teaches me to be present, and that peace is not the absence of suffering, it’s the acceptance.
—Bri Bierbaum, 30, Yoga/Dance Studio Manager

Mr. Rubin, my math teacher. He taught me about putting money into retirement and investing now to buy a house. He changed my life and taught me economical things even though it had nothing to do with the class.
—Max Moore, 18, Student

My fourth grade teacher, Miss Levy. I was advanced in math and English, so she made assignments just for me. I would also hang out with her outside of school. She was always there for me, especially when I was little.
—Solvay Medford, 18, Student

I met a little Italian guy back in the 80s — Lou Barbara. He knew all about Alpha waves, magnetics, and bio-magnetism, and he taught me everything. From him, I became a magnetic therapist.
—Richard Romano, 74, Magnet Therapist