Needham Broughton High School
Class Of 1968
Member Chatter
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LINDA G. GIBSON SAYLOR
Joined: 02/12/13 Posts: 1 View Profile |
Herr Watts Posted Tuesday, November 22, 2022 09:51 PM I can't find an obituary for Herr Watts. For some reason I was thinking about him and started to wonder when he was born. I wonder when's he came to the US? I have to imagine he experienced Nazi Germany. That was certainly never mentioned in class. |
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BARRY A. KELLEY
Franklin, NC Joined: 02/03/13 Posts: 63 View Profile |
RE: Herr Watts Posted Saturday, January 7, 2023 07:42 PM Hey Linda, It's amazing how few people will respond to posts. I remember Mr. Watts, but I couldn't tell you anything about him. I didn't study German until I went to ECU, but I really enjoyed the year that I took. Spanish was my chosen second language. For my degree I had to take another language in addition to Spanish so I took 2 (both German and French). Needless to say, German is the most difficult of them all. The article (der, di, dem, das) that changes depending on whether it is for the subject, direct object, etc. makes it tough in addition to those symbols over letters that change the pronunciation. I spent a year in Valencia, Spain studying (traveled to Munich with my girlfriend) and then transferred all my credits to the U. of Oregon where I graduated. Post something else and maybe you will get a better response. I can't understand why people can't post more. There are so many interesting and well traveled folks in our class. Best regards, BAK BAK |
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GEORGE B. FLINT
Joined: 05/19/14 Posts: 1 View Profile |
RE: Herr Watts Posted Sunday, July 9, 2023 01:14 PM My memory of Herr Watts was that his behavior was effective but would never be tolerated in today's classroom. He walked around with a pointer and would come from behind people and bang it on their desk if he thought they were not paying attention. I remember the day he threw a large German-English dictionary at a student (can't remember who, but it wasn't me!) when the student asked for the definition of a word, telling him as he threw it that he needed an introduction to a book called a dictionary. |
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DANIEL B. (Dan) GATEWOOD
Joined: 07/03/12 Posts: 132 View Profile |
Herr Watts Posted Monday, September 11, 2023 08:14 AM Funny story, George. I can almost hear Herr Watts chuckling to himself after that student's tongue lashing. But I bet he (the student) got the message. Herr Watts was a bit scary at times, and certainly kept you on your toes--why I opted for Latin. Maybe I'll see you at the reunion.
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CHERYL BURGESS HALL
Joined: 03/19/12 Posts: 1 View Profile |
RE: Herr Watts Posted Tuesday, September 12, 2023 12:59 AM
George and I were in Herr Watts' 3rd year German class as juniors in 1966-67, my only year with Herr Watts. Perhaps George had him for 2nd or 4th year German. That said, I have no recollection of Herr Watts throwing any large books at anyone; I can't imagine that would've been good for the book. Hard to believe Philip Watts would be a book abuser. I do remember flying blackboard erasers and also his white stick (conductor's baton?) that made a really loud noise when he hit a desk with it. What I found unnerving about that class was the idea that I never knew what he was going to do next or what he was going to make US do next. One of his favorite quotes was "He who lies down with the dogs rises up with fleas"; one of his favorite tricks was to make us translate that into various cases, tenses, etc.---nice little pop quizzes. Prior to announced tests, he'd say something like "Tomorrow I'm going to give you a test that will make your toes curl up!" and my thought would be "Shoot me now". Although Herr Watts may have adopted the classroom persona of a German schoolmaster, he certainly wasn't from Germany. I can't recall how the topic of his hometown came up since he wasn't someone who shared much if any personal information but he told us he was from Mooresville, NC. He then went on to say "MOORESville, a small town near Charlotte, and NOT MORRISville, that hole in the road in western Wake County". That former hole in the road is now home to 30,000+ people and slides into Durham County.
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