i recently remembered how awesome one of my fifth grade teachers was. mr. hanson was his name, and he made us 5th graders feel really freaking great. he treated us like people, he wanted to know our opinions, he told us stories and wanted advice. he was such a good teacher- he made me feel capable and smart. he motivated us- learning our times tables (in math) was the biggest adventure ever. he had a list of who finished them first, and i was number 11. back then i was so confident in math. i remember missing a day of school and having to make up a test the next day in recess. i came into his room and he said okay, here's the test, put it on my desk when you're done. and then he left the room, and his copy of our math book was lying open on his desk and yet i didn't cheat and i think he trusted me that i wouldn't cheat. i remember i only missed one problem on that test. it felt so great. i remember sometimes feeling brainwashed by him- i am not sure why. i know he didn't brain wash us, i think it was because he was so different from our other teachers. we were people and we felt worthy. but probably also because i am easily influenced by adults, so maybe i personally was brainwashed. the best thing ever was christmas- we got to decorate his room with lights and just anything we wanted- paper chains, candy, snowflakes, i dont know what else. then we would all watch "its a wonderful life." it's like he did whatever he wanted with us. talking today in class about education and public school systems made me think of mr. hanson, or maybe i was already thinking about him. either way, what a great guy.