Fanchtastic by Stephanie LaFreniere

In school we students come across moments that strike fear into our hearts and make our knees buckle. Perhaps we forgot about the sticky notes that were due today, or we “left our homework on the kitchen table.”

To celebrate Halloween, 2012, I took it upon myself to ask students who of our PRHS teachers struck them as scary from Day 1. The response was unanimous. She shouts at us down the hall, lurks behind us, casting a shadow during class, throws markers at us while we sleep. 

The Fanch. 

Mrs. Fancher has been teaching at PRHS since Miss Yindra was a student; she knows the twists and turns of our school, and has mastered the ups and downs of the students. She is known for her distaste towards freshmen--which was the first thing I ever heard about her, when I was a freshman, which can be terrifying.

"The Fanch"
Photo Taken by Sally Littlefield

Fortunately for me, I learned that her contempt for freshman is exceeded by her loathing for senior boys. 

“The only thing worse than Freshmen are Senior boys,” Fanch has said about 1,000 times; if she has an opinion, she isn’t afraid to share it.  

A pet peeve of Fancher is sneezing, and one student even described to me how she felt when she had hit her three-sneeze limit. A “heart stopping moment” was the phrase she used. I sure hope allergy season is over. 

Despite her tough disposition, and seemingly frightening aura, Fanch is also one of the most beloved teachers. She’s someone you have to “know to love” one student explains. “Fanch is tough, but she really wants her students to succeed.” In fact, it’s her frightening qualities that make her lovable, and attitude that keeps us going. 

After my brief, but undeniably accurate survey of frightening teachers, it was easy to conclude that Fanch is the Champion of Fear. Then I did a scary thing: I asked her how she felt about this title.“It makes my job easier,” she answered, nonchalantly. “I just have to look at someone and they’ll stop. They don’t know I’m going to do.”  

If I were a teacher, I’d aspire to be like Fanch. This year is her last year, and I’m glad I chose to overcome my fear and spend it with her, in stats.