Who were your best professors/teachers, and why?

Ellen answered this on Nathanael's blog and I would be interested to know of others' favorites.

I had some meaningless classes at MU. Some were a total waste of time and effort. Most of my classes were good and informative. Then there are some notable exceptions of excellence. I took a discourse analysis course from a really smart lady from Ecuador named Carmen, and already I forget her last name. I will remember it momentarily- having a senior moment already. Despite my apparent lack of memory, I learned more in that class most of the others combined, and I still use that knowledge today. In that course we also learned Spanish pronunciation variations with the explanations of their histories. We also learned not just the peculiarities but the whys of those peculiarities, such as ser/estar, which one does not find in French, for example. I still use that knowledge today and find myself having analyzed a lot of language, Spanish and others, and a lot of discourse between people as individuals and groups, using her methods of thinking, and I can honestly say that course was well worth every cent and more. Oh, that and I got an "A".

One notable class I had was at the Javeriana, from a very communist guy who smoked like a chimney and had a Castro-ish beard and bent. He was very pro (yes, pro) FARC and thought those guerillas were the best thing for Colombia since tripe and beans. It was interesting, to say the least!

Also at Javeriana I took a whole class just reading Don Quijote and the prof gave one simple final exam at the end requiring about a 3-sentence answer. Everyone received the best grade. He was a sweet, slight little man who was very educated and had a very professorial beard and glasses. He, however, did not believe in exams. :)

I once took a continuing ed class at UC which was very, very good, and it had to do with policies concerning the welfare of the developmentally disabled, especially children. That professor really opened my eyes to how policy often works for those who have money and can vote, and not in favor of the weakest among us. He was one of the most compassionate people I have learned from. What he said regarding his ideal triage might offend some but it made sense and to be honest, I believe he is right. Now things may have changed but he had a lot of example to back it up at the time.


Tonight I am praying and trying to fast for a baby over at Children's who was abused and taken in today (they are currently on a manhunt for the dad)...6 weeks old...hemorrhaging of the brain and I am just asking in prayer for God to knit that little boy's body back together, to touch that little one in such a way that he knows Jesus has come by, in the name of the blood of Christ, Amen.