The Dragon Lady

Danielle's (I hope I'm remembering the proper author) paper on the Dragon Lady struck an immediate chord (sorry for the cliche) with my experience with English study.  I have not and will never forget my Dragon Lady.  On my schedule she was Mrs. Soderburg, teacher of 7th grade honors English at Sacajawea Middle School in Spokane, WA, in my mind she was a gnarled old witch bound and determined to make every morning a living hell.  By all standards, Mrs. Soderburg fit the archetype of Old School:  blackboard, angry voice, old gnarled textbooks (the new ones didn't teach anything), and general attitude that terrified incoming 6th graders when they read their middle school schedule for the first time.  To make matters worse, I spent every morning with that witch as she taught my first period class.  For a socially awkward yet upwardly mobile 7th grader, 8:00 AM with Mrs. Soderburg inspired the villains in many a bad dream.  I remember her reign of terror held such a grip over me I decided to try drugs.  Not of the illegal kind but Tylenol PM.  I took 2 Tylenol PMs before class and tried to fight the urge to fall asleep.  This put me in such a trance that much of that semester remains a haze.  (It also might be the cause of my current tendency to fall asleep in class).  Of all her rules, which she imposed many, I remember so vividly the complete rejection of the use of helping "to be" verbs.  A huge poster loomed in the classroom as a method to taunt and heckle the horrible habit out of our writing.  She enforced these rules with an iron fist and a glare that pierced our tiny developing writers souls.  The rule applied to all styles of writing from creative to critical.  At the time, the strict doctrine imposed by Mrs. Soderburg caused many a late nights however I saw the benefit to her style of teaching almost immediately after I passed her class.  From that class on I never worried about my writing skills.  She developed the groundwork from which I expanded my knowledge.  I know not to use "to be" unless absolutely necessary.  I know the tricks to structure that elevate writing to a more mature level.  I know her groundwork played a critical role in my development into an English Major.  I however must maintain, for my own integrity, a love-hate relationship with Mrs. Soderburg because the joy in understanding her critical role in my schooling still becomes shaded with the memories of misery imposed by her wrathful persona and teaching style.  Thank you Mrs. Soderburg for everything but go to hell.  (not really I just added that for emphasis)