Some people might say that we are born with a given set of interests, areas that we are more likely to be interested in than others, while others will say that we develop those interests based upon how we are raised and what influences us when we are younger. I agree to a certain extent with both thoughts on the matter. I think we are born with a certain propensity to explore certain areas over others, however, unless those areas are fostered within us through our learning and development, they might not gain the traction that we would like or desire. Myself, I have always loved reading, and beyond that, the English language. While I always loved reading, writing was not always my forte. I still remember going through sentence structure and grammar in my early years of school. I also remember having absolutely no interest in any of it. It was boring, repetitive, and in my mind at that early age, completely useless. Whatever my thoughts on the subject were, it wasn't completely useless as it laid the basis for writing later on. I was never great with grammar and sentence structure, and to this day, sometimes find myself confusing myself with my writing, but I struggled through it. Needless to say, writing wasn't a joy of mine early on, especially looking back at the way it was introduced; structured, rigid, and with no flexibility. But despite my lack of enthusiasm early on, it was in part my love of reading that kept me coming back to writing later. I was a superfluous reader when I was younger, even going so far as to read the thousand page biography of Orville and Wilbur Wright when I was in seventh grade. Why I decided to do that is still beyond me, but my best guess at this point is because it had to do with airplanes to a certain extent and that fascinated me.
But enough about me and reading and writing. It was in high school that my true interest in English and writing was really fostered. I owe my continued interest in it to one of the best English teachers I have ever had, Rita Green, at St. Joseph's High School. She had a unique ability to draw students in, challenge them with, and bring out their best work. Her teaching style was more akin to the one found in the movie Dead Poets Society than to most other teachers and styles I have ever seen or dealt with. Simply being in her class, you could immediately notice her love of the English language, but perhaps more important, her love of sharing it with students and getting them to love it as well. She never taught freshman English while I was there, perhaps in part because she wanted to deal with students who had a desire to take her class, not ones that took it out of necessity. Perhaps there was some other reason, but the latter works for me and as such, I will stick with it. There was also a distinct energy that she carried into the classroom, an addictive energy that made students pay attention, that drew them out of their shells, and forced them to become involved in the activities of the classroom. One of the greatest parts of any class she taught was her ability to take the English language, the period of the books being read, and show her students the broader spectrum of what was happening in the world at that time. She drew other disciplines into her classroom; music and art being the most heavily drawn on, and showed us how they all tied together. There was never just English in her classroom despite that being the main focus.
It is rare to find a teacher that impacts a student the way that Rita Green impacted me. Through the English classes, the poetry classes (which truly started my creative writing experience), and her love of teaching, she was able to create an environment that made learning fun and gave students a glimpse of the literary world outside the walls of her classroom. Through her love of teaching, her dedication to her students, and her drive to see everyone succeed, she gave many students an experience that they will never forget. If I close my eyes and think back even now, I can still envision myself in her classroom. I can still hear the classical music playing during the tests we took. And I can still hear her voice, drawing us in, and laying bare the subtleties of the English language that only she knew so well. The classes that I took with Rita Green stayed with me, and later on, formed the basis of my desire to write and to continue to explore the English language and all its vagaries. If only there was a way of cloning her teaching spirit and instilling it in all teachers, more students would love to be in school and would love to learn. To find a teacher like her is a rarity these days. They don't come around very often, and when they do, it seems like they are stifled for their creativity and love of teaching. Let us only hope that more teachers could find a love for their subject matter, but more importantly, a love of sharing it with their students. So to Rita Green, her love of teaching, and her ability to share it with students like myself, I pay tribute.
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