May 5th, 2006, 11:00 am
“A= 1/2(bh) … assholes!”
10 years later, I hear the word “quadrilateral” and I can hear his voice.
Mr. Reamer.
Geometry teacher, sophomore year of high school.
The aptly named Mr. Reamer had this amazing way of pronouncing words. It was a menacing half-yell, half-sneer; a throaty, hoarse ball of condescension and contempt.
Inexplicably, he wore a cast every day for a year on one of his arms. We joked that it contained protractor extensions.
Mr. Reamer would get loud and he would yell - notably, one time, that he was going to “teach us the hard way … THROUGH THE WALL!”
Mr. Reamer didn’t like women - nor gossips who cared little for the area of a parallelogram, so he’d yell at my friend Julia and I …. calling us the Bobbsey Twins, and place us across the room so we couldn’t talk.
Ten years later, sitting in a math review course going over geometry, I couldn’t concentrate. All I heard was his voice.
Mr. Reamer. The geometry teacher fired for sending valentines to the boys’ basketball team.
What’s your favorite Mr. Reamer memory?
May 5th, 2006 at 11:24 am
Oh, sweet Mr. Reemer. He was just trying to teach us Geometery. And trying to get messages from the basketball team. Ooops. I love how he had two adopted children from Guatemala or something. Not sure how or why that was allowed. I remember when he failed you. And when he gave me a D, but I sweet talked him into giving me a C. But my favorite memory is:
Well we have plan A, and then there’s plan B… THOUGH THE WALL!!!
holy crap. i almost just pissed my pants thinking about it.
Do you think he has to oil down his built in protactor to keep it from rusting?
May 5th, 2006 at 3:07 pm
Ok. For all the people reading this who didn’t know Mr. Reamer, here is a supplement to the finely drawn picture above. He sounded like William S. Burroughs; a long drawn out and deep, but creepy (as described above) voice. The first time I sat in his class I was stoned out of my gourd and he started talking about syllogisms. For obvious reasons I could not help but cracking up. After a few minutes he asked me to leave his class.
He would also favor some kids and come up with cute nicknames for them. There was some kid in my class named Shatzberg and Mr Reemer would call him, in a weird, sexually charged undertone, “Shatzy”.
The last thing I remeber about Mr. Teamer is the final I took in Algebra 1. I never did my homework in his class and knew I was going to fail so I took a hit of acid before class. I just remember his voice booming in as Laura says, ” a throaty, hoarse ball of condescension and contempt.”
Good times
May 5th, 2006 at 3:31 pm
Dude!!! I remember “Shatzy” !! I don’t really remember failing, but I do remember going to summer school, so it’s likely.
May 5th, 2006 at 5:47 pm
P.S. Please disregard my prior mispellings. I never passed Remedial Reading, Remedial Spelling, Remedial Writing,……
May 5th, 2006 at 7:22 pm
i never had mr reamer as my teacher. but one time i went by his classroom to meet you and lesley after class and that was the only time i encountered him. i believe he shouted something at me maybe he threw a protractor. probably not, im sure i made that last part up. but still, he was a weird guy.
k.
May 6th, 2006 at 7:18 pm
Oh, I was sitting next to you the day he screamed “Through the WALL!”, and I could never forget your overly dramatic readings of various proofs and other mathematical equations. Remember my English story/video: Satan Goes to Chaparral (or something to that effect)? Good times.
May 6th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
My favorit Mr. Reamer memory is when he sent home a progress report that I wasn’t completing my homework assignments. And my mom told me, in a tearful voice, “we never thought we’d have problems with you.” Mr. Reamer almost made my mom cry. I hate him for that.
Last I heard he was working at T.J. Maxx. No kidding.
May 8th, 2006 at 9:05 pm
this is algebra class
May 8th, 2006 at 11:52 pm
Wow! I had forgotten that one! My little sister remembers - no doubt due to my stellar and constant impersonations - that Mr. Reamer would get all bitchy when the class didn’t know something, and he’d sneer, “This is AL-ge-bra, claaaasss.”
I bet she remembers geometry too. Which is why she’ll be my accountant when she grows up, and I’ll be her … um. blog. editor. person.
May 9th, 2006 at 2:23 pm
Shatzy! HAHAHAHA! I forgot about that one. Also, I remember Julia used to copy my homework for Reamer’s class, and she would get a better grade on it than me! WTF? I am totally going to T.J. Max when I’m in AZ this week to find that fucker.