Was your very favorite teacher the one from whom you learned the most or the one whose personality you liked the most? What subject?

I am GOBSTOMPED SHOCKED that you would say that Shuhak! Stunned! We share so many things in common. I LOVED school. Yes I was painfully shy and wished I were invisible at times but learning? WOW. That has always been my carrot. Still  is which is obvious to anyone who knows me. In fact I remember my mom would "play school" with me when I was 3. When I went to nursery school at whatever age I remember expecting it to be like what my mom did with me at home. I WAS SO DISAPPOINTED! All we did we play take  naps and have snacks. I am not joking. So when my mom picked me up I told her I was not going back there. I was as furious as a little kid can get.  Isn't it funny what you remember? I think I threw a tantrum or had a hissy fit when she took me back the next day. Something I never did normally. The rest of it was a blur.I just blanked it out in my memory. I EXPECTED to be given paper and pencil and to have the teacher teach us the alphabet and how to print and how to write and give us books and have us read. Imagine my surprise to find it wasn't. Anyway thank you for your reply. My favorite teacher was my Philosophy teacher in junior college...Mr. Hallman. He is probably long-since dead but I LOVED that class. Happy Wednesday Shuhak! :)

Don't get me wrong, I love leaning.  School was boring to me because it was either too slow, too fast, or boring.  Between having a very active imagination, a mind that works at "warp speeds", and an incredible memory, teachers had a hard time keeping up with me.   I found teachers who spouted facts and figures (and only expected students to parrot them back) dull; that's not how I learn.  However, anything that was  presented via humor, or from a "fresh" perspective always piqued my interest (be it science, history...or even math).

You didn't SKIP a few grades Shuhak? That's what they did in my time. I know you are way younger than me..about my son's age. They put him in the MGM program...mentally gifted minors. In 4th grade! They provided after school programs for the MGM kids and in 4th grade he did his first programming for a computer. I don't get why you weren't put where your interests would be challenged? Thank you for your reply m'dear! :)

They tried to skip me past the 4th grade, but I was too "uncoordinated".  Instead, they stuck me in "advanced classes" (a mixture of 4th and fifth graders - nerds).  It was in that class that I really learned how to play chess.  The teacher was a really good chess player and challenged his student to try and beat him (I did, once).

One has to learn the curriculum set forth by the state.  When I went to school there were only 2 kinds of students - "mentally challenged" and everyone else.  That meant "slow learners" were mixed with "fast learners" (none of the separate classes they have today).  Since teachers were required to keep all the students at the same level and class sizes of well over 40 students, there was no way to "challenge" each one. 

Uncoordinated? I don't understand Shuhak. You mean physically? Geez I was always last to be picked on teams in the gym class and in fact no one ever picked me. When I'd stand there all alone AGAIN the teacher would just put me on a team so I'm not sure to what you refer. I don't have the right brain wiring to play Chess well. I cannot "see" future moves. My cousin Bobby and I used to play Checkers until he learned how to play Chess. Then he told me either I would have to learn how to play Chess so we could trade off playing the games or he would never play Checkers with me again. So I learned how but I do not recall ever winning a single game. I cannot visualize in advance what a room will look like if the furniture is moved around. I have to actually move the furniture around to "see" it. A definite defect. I also have no sense of direction and I can get lost in neighborhoods I know if I approach them from a different direction. Are those defects related? Spatial visualization? Thank you for your reply! :)

Uncoordinated as in my mind and body didn't "cooperate" (at the time).  As I look back, it probably looked that way to others as my mind has always been "fast".  
I know all about never being picked in gym class (and other team events).  No offence here, but girls were picked ahead of me.  I spent a lot of time on the "sidelines" watching everyone else.
I got so good at chess that no one would play me (after that class).

I have no problems with spatial visualization, and have nearly perfect sense of direction.  I honed my sense of direction when I became fascinated with meteorology.  I spent a lot of time observing the sky and nature around me - the position of the sun, which way the clouds were moving, which way the wind was blowing, and such.  

Oh my gosh! What a wonderful experience and memory. You do him great honor by sharing this with us Stu. I'm sure wherever he is he is smiling and I betcha he remembers you. Thank you for your very fine reply and Happy Wednesday to you. :)