Unforgettable
In all of my years of learning, from Kindergarten through four years of college, only a select few teachers have stood out in my mind. Of those, the most prominent would be Mrs. Vanna Vignola, my 5th grade teacher during the 1984-85 school year at Ewing Park Elementary in Ellwood City, PA.
What made Mrs. Vignola so special? Well, for starters, she was very easy on the eyes. She was young, attractive and someone an 11 year-old boy didn’t mind sitting in class and staring at every day. Up until fifth grade, my education had been filled with nuns, from my early catholic school days, and old school disciplinarians 50 years my senior. Mrs. Vignola was the first teacher I looked at with amazement. Her youth made her a more vibrant teacher to me. She was a fun teacher who did fun activities. She would always help out those students who needed help. She was just very approachable as a teacher, something I was not used to up until that point. She also had one of the warmest smiles ever. She could always make you feel at ease by flashing that smile, and that is most distinctly what I remember her for. But, she was also a caring, confident teacher who was firm but fair with all of her students.
There are periods in my life where I look back very fondly on Mrs.Vignola and often credit her with inspiring me to pursue education as a career. I hope that, one day, a student I have help along the way looks back on my as someone who made a difference in their life, much the same way I look back at Mrs. Vignola. I had the opportunity to briefly speak with her at an in-service my second year in education. It was a bit awkward, and I was never able to really express what having her as my fifth grade teacher meant to me. I am glad I have the opportunity to do it now.
Thank you, Mrs. Vanna Vignola.
Bill DeJoseph
K-6 Academic Advisor
PA Distance Learning Charter School
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