Laureyns attended Redwood High School in Marin County where he associated himself with a group that was known as the organics, which he describes as being very hippy-ish. In his junior year, he often didn't wear shoes to his classes.

This nature-loving trend found support in a biology teacher, an ornithologist who sometimes took his students on weekend outings to Tiburon to observe native birds. These excursions enhanced his love for the environment, according to Laureyns.

No, he won't be teaching a pro-British take on the American Revolution, but he may inspire students to listen to classic rock from groups like the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and Dave Clark 5, who were popular in England in the sixties. Besides 1960's rock and roll, Chinn enjoys classical music, operas, operettas and church music.

Elfenbein worked in France during the early sixties in cities like Chinon and Paris, where she taught children of armed forces personnel. She taught there simply for the chance to work in France, she said. At that time, military bases had recently been established in Europe and other places and children of the military were entitled to an education. Her position was a high and crucial one, she added.

Leong, who grew up in San Francisco and attended George Washington High School, has been hearing about Lowell ever since he was on the Washington speech team. The rumors he had heard about Lowell students being extremely, extremely focused have held up, he said, but not in the entirety of the whole student body, which is not necessarily a bad thing, he added.

Tam has clearly come a long way since his rowdy childhood in the South Bay.

I did what every boy did when he was young, Tam said. I wreaked havoc with my older brother, turned over trash-cans, that kind of stuff.

Tam also spent time on more productive pursuits, including music. I was part of a crappy rock band in high school, Tam said.

Bower grew up in Ojai, California on a farm where her family sold Christmas trees, as well as oranges and grapefruits. Not only did she learn how to drive a tractor when she was six years old, but she received her first dirt bike when she was nine and learned how to drive a jeep when she was ten.

It's all about music, Wagner said. ?I?ve loved music since I was a little kid.

Wagner, who started his own band in high school and earned a degree in orchestration and classical performance, said that music is one of the last interactive art forms.

This advice comes from a posting on ratemyteachers.com, a Web site which has been a source of controversy in many schools across the country. The site allows anyone with Internet access to do exactly what the URL implies — rate his or her teachers. The simple design and colorful format makes it very easy for students to rate their teachers on a scale of one to five in categories of easiness, helpfulness, and clarity. In addition, students have the option to designate a “cool” teacher by putting sunglasses on a smiley face rating, and they can write up to 500 characters about why they like or dislike a teacher’s approach.