In memory of Rae Tanzer: we all had that one teacher…

Posted on 7 August, 2019

Rae Tanzer passed away last week. For anyone who was ever taught by her–particularly at Belconnen High in the 1970s–the world is a little bit sadder.

Were you lucky enough to have a teacher that went above and beyond for their students? I was.

Her name was Mrs Tanzer and she introduced me to the wonderful universe of the English language.

Mum and Dad had always encouraged reading–I’d read A Tale of Two Cities, everything by C.S. Lewis and Colin Thiele before I hit high school and I could recite Lawson, Kipling and Patterson.

Mum made me expand my vocabulary by never, ever telling me the meaning of a word when I asked. She would hand me the dictionary and tell me to come back when I knew what it meant – and use it in a sentence.

But Mrs Tanzer was something more. She was mind-bending.

She explained Shakespeare’s world in a way that made our class hungry for more. Maybe we were nerds but we would be eager to find out which play we were studying next term. And the sonnets, oh the sonnets. We discovered that they contained all we needed to know about romantic love.

We learnt that the plays were all ripping yarns, that Ophelia should have been stronger in her own self-worth, that Lear didn’t deserve his daughters’ love because he didn’t give them any.

Can you imagine a class of 16-year-olds being told that we owed our parents respect but that they had to earn our love?

My favourite quote from her is: “Just remember Shakespeare had to eat–it’s all about bums on seats!”

Classic poetry was not enough. She shared Dylan Thomas, Gerard Manly Hopkins, Hope, Slessor and even John Dunne in a way that so enthused me I bought my own copy of their books of poetry. After I finished my HSC I read Twelfth Night. For fun.

She was also the type of teacher that shared herself with her classes.

We knew she had four sons, we knew that being a mother made you a superhero and, as seniors, we were welcomed at her house for barbeques and discussions. It took us no time at all to discover her first name was ‘Rae’. It means ‘little lion’ and she certainly was – not much over 1.5 metres tall (even in heels) and redheaded to boot, she would take on all comers.

Arguing with senior teachers if she disagreed with a grade they had given a student or arguing with a student if she disagreed with their comments on whatever we were studying.

She welcomed seriously open debate in her class but you had to have your facts straight and be ready to stand your ground. I saw her buttonhole a boy already 1.9 metres tall once.

She showed me what a pocket rocket should be and I am still trying to live up to that standard.

How many teachers have you met who were candid enough with a student to tell them their argument was sound and well backed up but they would need to pad their HSC paper because examiners look at word count first?

She is still the voice in my head when I am expressing myself, particularly in writing, but now she is gone.

Rae Tanzer passed away last week. For anyone who was ever taught by her, particularly at Belconnen High in the 1970s, the world is a little bit sadder.

James Joyce is a little further away and so is D.H. Lawrence. Her life was not measured in coffee spoons like J. Alfred Prufrock, it was measured in her love for her family and the subtle art of imparting wisdom and knowledge to her students.

My thoughts are with all those she loved. I hope they know we loved her.