" Now, I didn't realize this at the time because I, along with the rest of the class laughed in disbelief, but boy was he right. .
Interesting teacher's equal engaged students. Mr. Guerra definitely marched to the beat of his own drum. In both appearance and his teachings, he was a bit unorthodox. If a student felt that he or she understood the material well enough, he would take volunteers to come up and "student teach" the class in the way we thought would be the most helpful. This included drawing pictures on the board, telling jokes that pertained to the material, and in one isolated incident, writing a silly, yet very accurate song about the revolutionary war. It is because of this, I believe that he had the ability (or what I later referred to as a magical gift sent from the gods of education) to really get his students engaged. Mr. Guerra excited us, and made learning seem so fresh. It was as if his teachings were the first we had ever received. His sense of humor spoke volumes and his personality was so bright, he could light up a room in the darkest of times. His inner light radiated, and we all felt the warmth of its glow. Mr. Guerra's students were not only excited about the material but also about coming to class. This, I thought frequently to myself, is how to be a good teacher without being perceived as a pushover.
No one ever really stops being a student. This is important for good teachers to remember. Mr. Guerra's teachings and sharing of the knowledge he had accrued over his many years in education, and also being a student himself at one point, was not just limited to the classroom. He was the kind of teacher that would invite students to his home. When I would visit, he would let me go through his book shelves and enjoy texts from all subjects as much as I pleased. He knew so much about so many things, that visiting his personal library became an addiction.
