Johnny Appleseed

A few days ago, a former student of mine, Mary Ann, commented on one of my blog posts. "I remembered when you told your students," she wrote, "If you want to be a writer, write." It's not one of those Benjamin Franklin or Confucius type of quotes that should be written down and attributed to me for years to come, but I'm glad the comment stuck.

Mary Ann is a good writer. I can't remember how much writing she did prior to taking my class at Harper College, but I remember her--as most of the students were--being a bit cautious about her mode of expression. I remember, Mary Ann wrote a piece about surviving breast cancer. The way I structured the class, students each wrote one essay, and we workshopped it during a specific week in the course. After everyone had a chance to share their thoughts on a particular writer's piece, he/she revised the work for final submission. The class was not graded or anything, but I still decided to structure it like the undergrad and graduate workshop classes I took at Loyola and Northwestern. That way, students took it seriously. And everyone did. Including Mary Ann.

When I got Mary Ann's final paper back, I remember offering the following advice: 'send this out.' I felt the piece needed a larger audience, and that it was seriously ready for publication. I guess she listened. Not long after the class, I received notice that her essay was going to appear in the "Perspectives" section of the Sunday Chicago Tribune. Not one of those "small press publications" that most people send stuff to, but a small little circulation paper in a tiny little city (he writes sarcastically). I was proud of Mary Ann and happy that her efforts were recognized. It was the most rewarding experience of my novice teaching "career." I'm sure she was pretty excited too.

Since I heard from Mary Ann, I have been thinking about teachers that have affected me one way or another in my life. It's hard to go back to grammar school and remember my teachers. I can recall some of their names, but no one really connected with me until much later in my educational experience. I've heard of people remembering their kindergarten teacher, and indicating that he/she is the reason for their success. Stuff along those lines.

Mr. Kropp, my sixth grade teacher comes to mind for me as my first teacher making a connection with me. But not because of the standard reasons. Mr. Kropp was a tall, thin man who had deep brown eyes and wrinkles on his face (as I remember him, at least). The story that went around about him was that he drove to Elk Grove from Wisconsin everyday. No one could understand why. Mr. Kropp was what I might call a naturalist. His car always had a canoe tied to the roof, and when it came to snack time, we were required to bring a "healthy" choice.

This is what Mr. Kropp passed down to me. The idea that snacks do not have to be things like potato chips or cookies. We were given high praise for bringing fresh fruit, carrot sticks or celery, raisins. Because of my interaction with Mr. Kropp, I still, to this day, eat the entire apple--core and all. People notice this about me when I eat an apple. It's a "thing" of mine that I have done since I was 12, and I owe it all to Mr. Kropp.

Thanks?