Title: An Atypical Success Word Count: 675 Summary: Melba Rae likely never traveled the world.

It s likely that she never rode in a li mousine. She had none of the trappings of fame and there was probably very littl e fortune. She was just an ordinary woman that was extraordinary in her ordinary profession. Most of us have many teachers in our life. As we think back on our years in scho ol we can often recall the names and some of the characteristics but there are n ot many who have a lasting place in our hearts. Melba Rae was ... Keywords: Happiness, success, advice,life,career, motivation, power, inspiration, Article Body: Melba Rae likely never traveled the world. It s likely that she never rode in a li mousine. She had none of the trappings of fame and there was probably very littl e fortune. She was just an ordinary woman that was extraordinary in her ordinary profession. Most of us have many teachers in our life. As we think back on our years in scho ol we can often recall the names and some of the characteristics but there are n ot many who have a lasting place in our hearts. Melba Rae was different. I am su re that she holds a lasting place in every one of her student s hearts. High School students tend to think that they are all grown up. Of course, they a re almost grown up being in the last years of the schooling they started back wh en they were five. Most of the teachers from my high school treated us like that also. School was serious business. We were all preparing for life ahead, colleg e admissions, job placements, preparing for where our lives would lead us when w e no longer were told where to go and what to do with our days. Many seniors had most of the credits required to graduate. Many of the seniors w ere able to attend school for half a day during senior year. But almost every s enior signed up to take Miss Barnett s Advanced Composition class whether they nee ded it or not. It was not the class or the credit. It was being able to be in Mi ss Barnett s class. Many a student would walk around the halls with a gold star on their forehead af ter being in Miss Barnett s class. Tootsie Pops were also handed our freely for ac tive participation in class. She taught us to write and she taught us to think. She spoke to us as equals and reminded us that we were smart and ready to face t he world. Every one of us was important to her, from the smartest valedictorian to the one who struggled to put a sentence together on paper. We were all equall y loved and important to Miss Barnett. She said that all of her students were her kids. Miss Barnett had never married. She claimed to be waiting for Efrem Zimbalist Jr. to come along and sweep her a way. Most of us were too young to know who Efrem Zimbalist Jr. was but Miss Barn ett explained to us that he was the most handsome man in the world. He was an ac tor of course. At a later time I saw an old photograph. He was very handsome, in deed!

When I think back on some the things I learned from Miss Barnett, there are not so many lasting things that I recall that have affected my writing. She hated th e words a lot claiming that a lot was a piece of ground and the word had no place in compositions. I still find myself searching for an alternative if I am tempted to use the word. I never misspell the word separate because Miss Barnett always sa id, se-PA-rate . But the other things I cannot specifically recall, yet she undoubt edly affected my love for words and for writing. At my senior classes commencement exercises we chose Miss Barnett to give the sp eech. It was the first time a teacher had ever been given such an honor. But it was well deserved and it showed our great respect for our favorite teacher. A co uple of years later she passed away. Miss Barnett may not have had many of the things that we all think of as success . She didn t have the typical trappings. She did not have money. She did not live in a big house. She did not have the handsome husband (Efrem never did come!). B ut Miss Barnett found Joy and Happiness in her work. She gave it her all and it all came back to her. Every student loved her and respected her and learned from her. Miss Melba Rae Barnett was an enormous success.