Dedicated to a Teacher Whose Name I Cannot Remember

Back when I was in second or third grade, which would have been about 1971-1972, I had a teacher that taught me auxilliary verbs so well, I never had trouble identifying them for the rest of my life.  It was via a simple poem that tatooed them into my brain.  Even today, 35 years later, I can still remember that poem:

Is are am was were can could,
Do did has have had will would,
May might "ought to" shall must should,
Be been being

I wish I could thank that teacher for giving me a tool to learn something for life.  Unfortunately, I don't even remember that teacher's name.  If you have a child, or know one, that needs to learn helping verbs, please give them this poem.  If they learn it, perhaps in 35 years they will still know their helping verbs, even if they can no longer remember where they got the poem.  Thanks teacher.

Its amazing how music and poetry can help us to remember things so well.  Think of all the songs you know the lyrics to.  How many famous speeches can you recite?  I bet far less.  When I was a kid growing up, we were taught various information in the form of songs in a series of educational commericals known as Schoolhouse Rock.  I hope these are still being made and shown to the kids of today because I can still remember the preamble of the Constitution of the United States because of a Schoolhouse Rock commercial.

We the people, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility...