| Show Another Good GoodTeacher GoodTeacher Teacher e e By HAL GREAVES Perhaps every person who chooses education as his lifes life's work can look back on his own schooling and Isolate in his memory certain incidents or teachers that encouraged him tomake to tomake make such a choice I cannot recall when or why exactly I decided to become a teacher although I 1 made such a decision when I was fairly young probably probably probably ably when I was in high school But I can recall two incidents that exerted strong influence on me and no doubt helped me to decide to become a t teacher acher One was my reading of The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas while the other was P. P D D. D Jensens Jensen's reading to our eleventh grade English class Shakespeare's Macbeth I read The Three Musketeers Musketeers Musketeers during the summer when I was between eighth and ninth grades Prior to that time most of my reading had been in such authors as Edgar Rice Burroughs the Tarzan books and James Oliver Curwood Curwood Cur Cur- wood mediocre adventure novels novels nov nov- els as I recall them The Three Musketeers was perhaps perhaps perhaps per per- haps my first exposure to a high quality adventure novel I have remembered my excitement in reading about the exploits of Porthos Athos Aramis and DArtagnan for the best part of a half-century half now and when I finished reading the book I looked through my fathers father's library for another one by Dumas Not finding one I read The Three Musketeers again N Never ever again did I take any interest in reading Edgar Rice Burroughs or James Oliver Oli Oli- Oliver ver Curwood perhaps I should do so now to see if It I have missed an important ence As for tor PD's English literature literature liter liter- class we called him PD though the two initials were one word my admiration for Shakespeare began with his oral reading of numerous parts of Macbeth for tor his fine lne voice sensitive ve and enthusiastic readIng reading reading read read- ing and his understanding of the need for Shakespeare to be read aloud to high school students students students stu stu- dents brought the play to life me for me Ever since that time I nave maintained that any high school English teacher worth his Job should know how to read great literature aloud and should do so when the literature literature litera litera- ture Is such that beauty of sound or visualization of dramatic dramatic dramatic dra dra- matic pictures are Important How many high school students have developed a dislike for Shakespeare or other great poets because the teacher has hassent hassent hassent sent them to the dictionary or books of facts to dig out Information information information mation that scholars consider consider con con- sider important or because the teacher has been unable to read aloud with skill and sensitivity When PD read Macbeth to us I saw ghost I Banquo's saw the three witches and the cauldron caul caul- cauldron dron I saw the play and loved It Of Ot course PD's sense of humor helped some for occasIonally occasionally occasionally occa occa- as he would meet me and some of my friends In the hall he would grin and quote a line from Macbeth When shall we three meet again for tor example or perhaps 1 If s someone 0 m eon e looked worried Double double toll and trouble trouble trouble trou trou- ble Fire burn and cauldron bubble During my ninth and tenth grade years I had probably been exposed to Shakespeare's plays but I cannot remember which ones nor who taught them Perhaps Perhaps Perhaps Per Per- haps the teachers assigned them for home reading and home study Read Act 1 tonight and well we'll discuss it tomorrow etc But whatever happened Inthe in inthe inthe the ninth and tenth grades Shakespeare made no impression ImpressIon Impression sion on me until PD brought Macbeth to life when I was a junior in high school How much favorable influence can a good teacher have on the lives of ot his student How much did P P. P D D. D Jensen have to do with shaping the direction much of ot my life has taken Without knowing it he nudged me to toward toward toward to- to ward a decision that has made all the difference |
