Letters

T-shirts immortalize favorite teacher

Many in the Valley community have had the honor to know one of the greatest teachers to walk any halls, Mr. Manfred.

As a teacher at University High School for 42 years he has affected lives on a daily basis. His unique voice, his love for his students, his participation in ASB and supporting extracurricular activities, his ability to make the most difficult math problems seem easy are all just a few of the miraculous things he’s done for students at U-Hi.

He didn’t win his students over with flattery or no homework on the weekends; he won them over with work. Hard work. He won them over with his loud voice and gigantic heart! He won each and every one of his students over with a genuine smile.

Now that he is retiring thousands of students have their chance to get a piece of a great man. The U-Hi math department made T-shirts for the math teachers to wear to school. They have a huge picture of Mr. Manfred during his first year of teaching and say, “Mr. Manfred: 15,000 served.” The shirts became so popular and word spread, and sure enough they are now selling the shirts to anyone who wants them.

Mr. Manfred has inspired not only hundreds of students to become teachers; he’s inspired thousands of students to follow their dreams. As soon as I heard about the shirts I had to have one, and I know there are countless individuals in the Spokane area and all over the country who would love to have a piece of Mr. Manfred’s legacy.

The U-Hi office has order forms. The shirts are $12, the deadline is Friday at 3:30 p.m. I live on the other side of the state and when I came home for a visit, Mr. Manfred was one of the first people I wanted to go see. As a new teacher I know that my life has been influenced over the years by amazing teachers and Manfred is one of them. His picture sits on my desk as a reminder of what I want to become.

Crystal Conant

Auburn (Wash.) Riverside High School

English Department