I recently surveyed Madison Central High School and asked 71 students each the same question: “If you could have anyone dead or alive be your teacher, who would it be and why?” Here are the results:
Over 15% of students responded with various actors/celebrities. Junior Easton Holmes stated the following: “Hulk Hogan because he is the goat and an American hero.”
Grace Blessinger, a sophomore, said, “Mr. Keating from Dead Poets Society because he's inspirational; I'm biased because I love the movie.”
Just under the actors and celebrities category are historical figures, mainly Albert Einste. A response that wasn't Albert Einstein comes from Isla Hennings (sophomore) - “Marquis De Lafayette because he is a French baddie for real.”
Following the historical figures category is family, with about 13% of responses. Most of these responses were grandparents; probably because we all learned to respect our elders. When Tristan Brown was interviewed he said that the best choice for a teacher would probably be his dad. When I asked him to answer the second part of the question, he simply said, “Well, I guess I choose my dad, because my mom [Ms. Anne Elisa Brown] is already a teacher.”
Next, historical figures followed musical artists at 9.8% of responses, the most popular being Billie Elish. An interesting response came from sophomore Kyra Wiese, who named George Strait for her response. She said, “He has been alive long enough to have great knowledge to share. He is a down-to-earth good guy, and I feel that we need more people like that in the world.” I wonder if he would check yes or no.
8.5% of responses were several current or past teachers. The teacher who won it all was Mr. Bigge. The very passionate sophomore, Harmony Miller, wrote a heartwarming paragraph which I have paraphrased to help make it easier to read. “Mr. Bigge is such a great individual and teacher![...] He never makes his classroom hostile or makes anyone uncomfortable[…] I always look forward to his class even if the stuff we have to go over isn't the most fun, he makes it fun![...] he is the best teacher!”
Senior Jack Meyer mentioned Mr. Liesinger. Jack said, “Joey Ray, because Joey Ray is awesome and Joey loves me.” I guess these two teachers will have to battle it out for first place.
Three categories tied with the same percentage of responses - 5.6% Those categories are: characters, religious figures, and peers. Starting with characters, the most popular one is Ms. Frizzle. Have you seen where her class goes on field trips? I’m not sure you would want to end up in a stranger's stomach. Nevertheless, senior Evan Hanisch responded, “Ms. Frizzle, because she is funny, and goes on a lot of cool and crazy field trips.” His twin brother Ethan Hanisch answered, “Steve from Blue's Clues, because Steve was cool as heck.” Well, the evidence is here, twin telepathy is fake.
In the religious figures category, Jesus Christ was the top choice. However, senior Trevor Harms mentioned a different Christian figure: The Apostle Paul. Trevor states, “I find him to be a very interesting individual who God gave a lot of wisdom, and I would love to be taught by him as well as just get to know him.”
The last category in the tie are peers. If you could have any teacher, you would obviously pick your best friend, right? Jade Wilkens, a sophomore, chose his best friend Sawyer Hegg. He said, “Sawyer Hegg because he is such a big lovable gentleman. Isn't that sweet?
Our very final category is athletes, winning 4.2% of responses. Sawyer Dickey (sophomore) responded with the following: “My glorious king Bo Nix is a leader on and off the football field, he would be an amazing teacher.”
After reading and organizing each and every one of the 71 responses, I have been able to make one conclusion: Madison Central High-School has plenty of great students with creative minds in every grade.
Image Source: https://www.istockphoto.com/illustrations/students-brainstorming