It was the first day of eight grade and as I walked down the hall I remember thinking that I was now one of the big dogs on campus. Being an eight grader at a Middle school meant you were one of the eldest students on campus. This fact kind of sent the eighth graders to thinking they were older then they really were, which made them think the teachers didn't have a clue what they were doing.
I had seen him in the hallway before, always smiling, talking, or shaking hands. His name was Mr. Ford and I had heard his class was fun. As I walked up to his door I noticed there was a line of my classmates waiting to go in. Mr. Ford made each and every student shake his hand before letting them into his class room. Once in the room the normal first day rituals began, the telling of the names even though you have gone to school with the same kids for years, and the ice breakers.
Mr. Ford was a rather funny teacher. That particular year he and his wife found out they were expecting their first child. He would give us news every time she would go to the doctor, and always joked that he was going to name his son Walter.
Another thing about Mr. Ford that stood out was he didn't like improper grammar, which as a history teacher confused some kids. When ever a student asked, "Can I go to the bathroom?" he would reply with, " I don't know can you?" and if a student said they were "done" with their work he would simply let them know that turkeys were "done", but students were finished.
Also that year the students in the eighth grade got to go to NASA on a field trip for two days. Mr. Ford was the teacher who was in charge of the whole thing and the two days went by very smoothly and a lot of memories were made. Even though Mr. Ford taught me a lot about American history he taught me other things too, and he was a very memorable teacher.