BREA : Brush With Educator Touched All

Pretend toothbrush in hand, Rose Marie Twidwell stood at attention at the front of her classroom.

With just a slight nod of the head, Twidwell sent 28 second- and third-graders at Brea Country Hills Elementary School into two minutes of intense brushing. Classical music by violinist Ferde Grofe spilled out of the record player, quietly competing with the children’s scrubbing.

“Remember,” Twidwell said, breaking the silence with short, staccato sentences, “bottom teeth. Keep against the gums. That is where the plaque is.”

It was 42 years ago that Twidwell began teaching kids how to brush their teeth, add fractions and give book reports. For many who spent a year in her cluttered classroom, it was much more than reading, writing and arithmetic.

Now on the eve of her retirement, those who learned lessons and life according to Twidwell are taking time to say thanks.

“She probably won’t remember this,” said Matt McBride, 31, a member of her 1967 class who came to school last week. “But when I was in second grade, I had my tonsils out, and she came to visit me in the hospital. She is great.”

For the past week, former students like McBride have been popping up at Brea Country Hills. The school’s marquee announced “Mrs. Twidwell’s retirement tea,” and even the City Council got into the act by presenting her with a proclamation for excellence.

“She is the standard by which the district judges teachers,” said Brea Country Hills Principal Eileen Moore. “She has all of the skills that a teacher needs.”

Calling her the “definition of professionalism,” Moore said Twidwell often gives up her own time for others. She often writes to former students and can be seen on her own time at their weddings, baptisms and bar mitzvahs.

While her fans say her contributions to education will not be forgotten, Twidwell, 62, doesn’t see anything extraordinary about what she does.

“Naturally, in 42 years not every parent or administrator has thought I was wonderful. To be truthful, I don’t see anything special about myself,” she said. “My greatest gift is my overwhelming love for children and learning.”

She began her career in Indiana at age 20 and was recruited to teach in Brea six years later. She has taught various grade levels at Laurel, Arovista and Brea Country Hills elementary schools.

Over the years, she has earned a reputation as a professional who demands excellence from her students but gives much in return.

A lover of drama, Twidwell runs her classroom like a play. The day is broken down into “acts,” with each child having their own part.

Student art and pictures of manatees and former presidents adorn the classroom “stage.” Costumes from her yearly plays sit in one corner, while Teddie, the pet rat, sits in another.

One day recently, it was 8-year-old Michael Chu’s time in the spotlight. He had been designated “star of the week.” Standing in front of the class, ruler in hand, he tells his fellow classmates the story of his life.

“This,” he says, pointing to a picture he has brought from home, “is when i was in a suit.”

The main attraction every year is the plays she produces for each of the second-grade classes. Twidwell often writes one of the three plays, or she adapts them from children’s literature, assuring that each of the 75 or so children has a speaking part.

Her plays and teaching were so popular that parents requested her, she said modestly.

But despite her continuing popularity, Twidwell said it’s time to leave teaching behind and honor a 20-year-old pact she made with her husband. It was then she decided that, at age 62, they would retire. She said she plans to write children’s books and travel around the country to study at various universities, but she will still miss teaching.

“I have loved teaching so much. I would not stop now, if it were up to me,” she said.