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Jean White Obituary
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Memories and Condolences
for Jean White
1 Entry
Jim McKnight
October 20, 2008
I had Mrs. White for my toughest classes in high school from 1987 – 1991. Algebra, Algebra II, Calculus, Chemistry and Physics, I believe I took every class that she taught.
I misbehaved a lot in high school and Mrs. White was known as a serious teacher with little tolerance for distracting behavior so it would seem to many that we would have been a bad match, but that was not the case.
She took her teaching seriously, and while many Notre Dame teachers might’ve swapped stories of juvenile behavior and nasty comments from students, I doubt that Mrs. White would’ve had many to share. In her class I gave her my complete attention, knowing that missing a piece of what she was saying would just make it more difficult to understand what would be taught next.
Mrs. White also took students to Disneyland for class trips. I was a snotty punk who didn’t attend these trips just for the sake of not attending them, and that was my loss. I should’ve went and enjoyed the trip and then done whatever was necessary to rebuild a badboy image I worked so hard to foster at that age.
Mrs. White only yelled at me once that I can remember. I wore dinosaur slippers to school that made loud noises whenever I took a step and she didn’t care for them, apparently. It was rare to see her upset so the slippers incident was talked about for a while the hallways.
I was far from Mrs. White’s favorite student, but I know how light passes through thin films with some of the light reflecting off the top of the thin film and some light passing through the film, but at a different angle (refracting) because the film has a different density than the air. It doesn’t come up in conversation often, but I’m certainly prepared if it does, and it might’ve pleased her to know that. I also know a decent amount of material from the periodic table of elements, and everything I remember from Algebra (which is a lot) or Calculus (which would be next to nothing) would be knowledge that she imparted to me.
It helps give a man confidence to know how the world works around him, and because of this I can say that part of who I am is owed to the quality of Mrs. White’s teaching. It saddens me deeply that she has passed. I wish her family and those close to her my best wishes.
- Jim McKnight
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