Ms. Marion Greif - The Reason I Became A Teacher

Marion Greif changed my life. 

When I was growing up, I never appreciated school.  I enjoyed figure skating, tennis lessons, swimming, cooking class, dance classes and playdates with friends.  Classroom instruction did not insipred me, evoked creativity or fostered a sense of inquiry.  I read becuase I had to.  I memorized the multiplication tables by rote memory.  I carefully wrote my weekly spelling words 5 times each night for homework. 

Throughout my childhood, teachers always said that my poor standardized test scores were not a reflection of my capabilities or my levels of intelligence, rather a lack of interest.  They told my parents that I “wasn’t working up to my potential”.  Rarely do I remember any teachers taking a different approach to fit my needs. 

In the summer of 1994, I recieved a letter saying I was put in Ms. Greif’s fifth grade class.  I’ll never forget the feeling of panic that came over me when I saw my name on her class list.  Her reputation was notorious among students in the school.  She was known as the hardest, strictest teacher in the school.  If you dare to break one of her rules of get on her bad side, you were sure to pay the price.  I looked at the letter and I cried - a lot.  My mom was so horrified by my reaction that she called the school asking to switch me out.  Fortunately for me, there was nothing to be done about my placement. 

Being in Ms. Greif’s class was like being on a varsity swim team.  She was the type of teacher who held high expectations for her class.  She believed that each of us could and would achieve our own individual goals and she gave us creative outlets to do so.  Often, Ms. Greif would go outside the school curriculum and give us opportunities for hands-on, student-centered learning.  Not only did we spend months ‘learning’ about famous painters and art history, but we actually became them.  We created replicas of paintings and presented them to and audience as the artist would himself.  With pride and admiration for the great painters of the past, we stood before our classmates and parents, dressed as them, talking like them and sharing their stories.  This required real research, dedication and skill building.  I’ll tell you - giong to an art museum was never the same again - even to this day.

Shortly after our artist unit, we began learning about bones.  The assessment of our knowledge at the end of the study was not measured by a paper & pencil test.  Instead, we spent hours at home, taking apart a store-bought chicken and gluing each individual little skeletal piece to where it belonged on its body!  Hundreds of little bones created characters displayed around the class.  I remember seeing “Ma-chick Johnson”, Granny Chick and other hilarious themed chickens.  My parents were in shock of my diligent work ethic and the outstanding accomplishments I had made, not only in the chicken study, but in every project and assignment.  More importantly, I was proud of myself.

I think anyone who survived a year in Ms. Greif’s class believes that destiny was on their side.  Graduating Elementary school took on a whole new level.  Over the course of the year, my classmates and I became students who were excited by challenges, and actively seeked out oppertunities to expand our minds.  We felt responsible for our learning. 

I am certain that Marion Greif touched the lives of many fifth graders.  Her collection of apples (ceramic, plastic, glass, foamy, wooden - all types) was so large that there was no room on her desk or counterspace around her desk.  She had hundreds of apples which were given to her by her students.  It was our way of saying “thank you” for instilling values, motivation and self-respect.

As I continue on my path to becoming a teacher, I remember my days in Ms. Greif’s class.  I strive to be the type of teacher that makes learning special, like she did. 

- Nora Sverdlov