Sunday, February 5, 2012

Tribute to a Favorite Teacher: Ms. Joan Nogueda

On my first day of Teaching Creative Writing class this semester, our professor asked us each to tell about a favorite teacher and what made them stand out. I told about Ms. (Joan) Nogueda, who was my English teacher during my first and last years of high school.

Joan Nogueda, ceramic tile
Ms. Nogueda was an anomaly in the halls of high school. Everything she did, she did differently. Instead of use overhead fluorescent fixtures, she brought in lamps to light the classroom with an ambient glow that soothed our adolescent nerves. The walls she covered with replicas of medieval tapestries—her favorite literary period from which she once taught us to recite Middle English. Once a year there was a medieval banquet for seniors, when we could don period dress and bake for the feast.


On the first day of my freshman year, when I was just thirteen, I found myself in the front row of English class staring up at Ms. Nogueda with fright and wonder. I turned around to whisper to a friend, “She looks like a witch!” Maybe it was her ivory skin in contrast with the frizzled hair dyed black, or the sharp blue-gray eyes set back by hooded eyelids above her slightly hooked nose. Or perhaps it was the way she stood, regal in her ruby dress—the custom-made sleeves strangely puffed and the skirt long—and the way she thoughtfully fingered the beads at her breast, reminding me also of a queen. Certainly she bestowed her magic and power upon us. 

“Take out a piece of paper with lighting speed,” Ms. Nogueda would say before our 'homework checks'—in-class written responses to a question she’d pose about our reading, teaching us to use the text to support our claims with evidence. Then she would light a single candle, thick and white and unscented, to mark the time. The atmosphere brought something sacred to the work we did—not the ordinary busywork of institutionalized learning, of time wasted watching clocks tick—but of creating, of critical thinking, of putting thoughts to the page. Our time, measured instead by the slow melting of that candle, meant something.

Ms. Nogueda’s AP English Literature class was my first jaunt into interdisciplinary studies, where I developed an appreciation for and understanding of the crossover links within the Humanities. Starting with Beowulf and then Chaucer, we proceeded through the masters, always beginning with a fascinating lecture on the socio-historical context of each period and how it influenced, or was influenced by, the author’s content and form. At lunch I’d eagerly ask my best friend Barbra, who had Ms. Nogueda’s class in the morning, what I was to look forward to. Each time, whether studying the romantics or existentialists, her response was always the same: “Dude, it’s totally our philosophy. 

I remember how my face flushed red when Ms. Nogueda asked me to read aloud my critical essay in class. Her vote of confidence resulted in my receiving the Bank of America Achievement Award in English my senior year, and she wrote a recommendation letter for the Colorado College (where I spent one year before transferring to UC Santa Cruz). I visited her once again in her classroom 15 years ago (ten years after I graduated) and watched her deliver those same inspiring lectures from behind her podium. 

I’ve since lost touch, but I still have a thank you card from my senior year in which she wrote: “What a lovely gift—surpassed only by your beautiful letter and your equally beautiful character.” The only information I could find in a Google search was from the website The Clay Garden: Ceramics and Mosaic in the Garden, with her tiles from 2009. It says: “An admirer of the Arts and Crafts style, she started working with clay about 3 years ago for the first time.” I can’t help but notice a striking similarity to the card I’ve kept all these years:
Joan Nogueda, ceramic
Grapevine Panels, Tiffany Studios (card)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had Joan Nogueda for English in the mid 70's in a high school in Walnut Creek CA. She was a wonderfully inspiring teacher. She had a way of bringing out the best in students. I will forever remember her, her unique style and the things she taught me, things I still use today. No doubt a great teacher.

Stefan Podell said...

Spot on. I had Ms. Nogueda in 1984/5 and 1987/8 (also AP). One of the best parts of Campolindo (and it had many great parts)!

The Big Redhead said...

How excellent to find this blog entry! Joan Nogueda is my cousin. I can speak to her wonderful person and encyclopedic knowledge of things literary and historical. Her home is a wonderful place to be, especially at holidays when she pulls heirloom apples off the tree and turns them into a 16th century recipe for a drink called "lambeswolle". We share a love for family history, music (she and I separately and not simultaneously studied opera as young people) and the good wisecrack. It warms my heart to know that people revel in her presence and appreciate her as much as we in our family do. Thank you for this.

Nicole R. Zimmerman said...

Big Redhead, I'm so happy you found my post and shared more fascinating facts (okay, I'm immersed in copywriting tours at this moment and that's the kind of language used) about your cousin, the one and only Ms. Nogueda! She's had a tremendous impact on so many young people and, quite frankly, saved my sanity in my suburban high school (I'm sorry to disagree with the prior reader on the 'many great parts' of that experience)! Please say hello and send her the link. Thank you for taking the time to comment!

James A. Ridout said...

For some reason my thoughts turned to Joan Nogueda today while spending a day off at home from my work at the Naval Research Laboratory. I've thought of her many times through the years since graduating from Del Valle High School in Walnut Creek in 1977 (since closed down). She really was an inspiring teacher, and it was a real pleasure to have been one of her students. It was so nice to find this blog in my Google search! Thanks Nicole for sharing your experience, which I really enjoyed reading. It was also great to read the responses, especially the one from a cousin of Joan's! And should Joan ever happen to read this - "Wes pu hal" to you! (Hopefully that means "Cheers!")

Nicole R. Zimmerman said...

James, thanks for your post--so glad you found it. Amazing to consider how many students Ms. Nogueda reached over a span of time, including a naval researcher (?) and a composer (I just clicked on Stefan Podell, who must have been 1 year behind me).

Anonymous said...

I had Ms. Nogueda too -- my freshman and senior years. Best teacher I had K-12 in terms of drawing in my interest and expanding my sights about things. Your description was apt. I remember I declared my intent to study English in college during my senior year. And at a parent teacher conference that I walked in on, I caught my father essentially berating her for taking me away from a science/math course which he said were my strengths. :( I did study English in college.

Nicole R. Zimmerman said...

Anonymous: Thanks for reading and responding. Glad to hear you continued to study English in college, despite your father's admonishments. ;)

Cathy said...

Mrs. Nogueda was my favorite teacher ever. I had her for English Lit in my senior year. I'd gotten straight A's in sophomore and junior English, and so was shocked when my first senior-year essay came back covered in red. The fact is, I knew how to think, but was so poor at organizing my thoughts. She taught me how to put things together, how to make sense to other people.

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