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A Teacher's Passion - One Teacher's Positive Impact on His Students

By Robin Davenport, Parents' Source, November 20, 1999

When I think back on my high school years, I sometimes marvel at the fact that I ever made it to college. Teachers at the school I attended were overworked and underpaid. I remember one teacher who was particularly apathetic. Her dissatisfaction with her chosen profession was apparent in her very gait and demeanor. It was not unusual, for instance, to observe her slowly shuffling to her classroom with furrowed brow and pinched lips, her shoulders sagging from the apparent weight of her briefcase. Upon entering the classroom and heaving her ponderous briefcase on her desk, a weary sigh would escape from her mouth, as if she were grieving some lost opportunity to become a banker or an attorney. The class lesson would then begin, with my teacher monotonously reading from her lecture notes notes, I might add, that hadn't been updated in her 25 years of teaching.

Admittedly, it was difficult for me to become interested in academic subjects that apparently bored my very own teacher. Consequently, as time wore on, I acquired some not-so-studious habits, like surreptitiously reading Jacqueline Susann novels from under my desk, doodling colorful designs on my notebook, and sleeping on the hand of my bent elbow. Although I originally had every intention of pursuing the college track, I was becoming less and less enthusiastic about pursuing that path.

Perhaps all it takes is one exceptionally good teacher to undo the negative impressions about education and learning that are instilled in students by unenthusiastic instructors. I was fortunate enough to encounter such a teacher in my 10th grade English class. His name was Mr. Hoffman, and he changed the way I thought about books, language, thinking,
and learning.

Judging from his appearance, one might have imagined that Mr. Hoffman was a former wrestler rather than a lover of arts and literature. He was a burly man with a bald pate, a fat neck, and hands as thick as sirloin steaks. The glasses he wore magnified his eyes to such a degree that I had difficulty meeting his gaze. His daily attire also did not fit the image of a dapperly dressed English instructor. I was struck at times by the stark contrasts of his apparel, which might consist of an olive green shirt and brown and yellow paisley tie, overlaid with a musty-looking grey and black checkered suit jacket, or some other disagreeable combination.

In all, there was something incongruous about Mr. Hoffman's very person. It seemed unnatural, for instance, that a man who possessed such enormous, rough-hewn hands hands that I thought were best suited for pulverizing granite would be gently turning the pages of Emily Dickinson's poetic works. There was something incompatible about hearing this tough-looking and unpolished man recite one of Shakespeare's light and beautiful sonnets in his raspy and booming voice. I also questioned how it was possible that this man's man, who for years worked in his father's auto body shop before serving in World War II could sensitively identify with J.D. Salinger's hero in "The Catcher in the Rye."

Clearly, Mr. Hoffman's apparent inconsistencies made him something of an enigma to his class, which was actually a refreshing break from my other teachers' predictably ordinary characters. Perhaps what truly made Mr. Hoffman stand out among his peers was his absolute passion for the subject he taught. There was no doubting that Mr. Hoffman loved language and literature, and he was on a mission to infuse his students with the same boundless enthusiasm.

Unlike my other instructor, who would practically drag her body into the classroom and stare at us with vacant eyes, Mr. Hoffman was always stationed at the door of our class, where he heartily greeted us. I would often see him there, balancing his weight from foot to foot, as if he were trying to contain his restless energy. When the last student arrived, he would immediately close the door and walk to the precise center of the classroom and solemnly announce the lesson for that day, as if he were divulging to us an important philosophical truth that had never before been articulated.

I can recall one class that began, "Today, my friends, we are going to enter the world of Romeo and Juliet, and become irrevocably touched by their joys and passion, heartaches and overwhelming despair." Even those who despised Shakespeare couldn't help but pay heed to Mr. Hoffman's dramatic opening statement, and from that point on, all doodling would halt, conversations would cease, and sleepers would awaken.

I think we all had the sense that Mr. Hoffman had a valuable life lesson to teach us a lesson that could not be learned from an episode of The Brady Bunch, a teenage rap session, or from any other disengaged teacher. We listened intently to Mr. Hoffman's speech, because it seemed obvious to us, at least during the 50-minute periods that we were with him, that nothing mattered more to him than to express his caring for us by sharing his passion for literature. Indeed, his passion was contagious.

Robin Davenport, M.A., M.S. is Director of Counseling at Caldwell College in Caldwell, NJ

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Editor's note: In his article "What Makes a Good Teacher?", educator Richard Traina discusses an "extraordinarily consistent pattern" in the description of a good and memorable teacher. "There were three characteristics that were described time and time again to an astonishing degree", writes Traina, "competence in the subject matter, caring deeply about students and their success, and character, distinctive character. These attributes were evident regardless of the level of education, or the subject matter being taught." "What Makes A Good Teacher?" by Richard P. Traina, published on Education week on the Web, January 20, 1999. http://www.edweek.com.

In his 1997 State of the Union Address, President Clinton issued a "Call to Action," that included as a priority improving the quality of teachers in every American classroom. President Clinton's speech reflects growing concern over the condition of education, and the nation's need for excellent teachers. "Teacher Quality: A Report on the Preparation and Qualifications of Public School Teachers", published in the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Education Statistics Quarterly report in April of 1999. http://www.nces.ed.gov.

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