Something Greater Than Teaching?

This week's post is from Matt Lane, a social studies teacher at Riverside Junior High.  He responded to the question, "Which author has influenced your life?"  We think you will be challenged by and enjoy Matt's response--which is the same impact Matt's favorite author had on him.

From Matt Lane: A Chance Meeting in Charleston

When I was in the seventh grade, my older brother read The Lords of Discipline, by Pat Conroy. He told me I should not read it because there was “a lot of cussing in it.”  Having been raised in a conservative family, I said I never would.

Plus it was really thick.

South of Broad

Over the years, as my tolerance for colorful language increased and my aversion to thicker books subsided, I discovered the voice of Pat Conroy. My introduction came through a novel called South of Broad, which tells the story of social life and class struggles in the city of Charleston, South Carolina. It was the first book I read on my new e-reader, quite honestly because it was one of the few titles available to download from the public library. 

Little did I know that the selection of that ebook would forever change my views on life.  Conroy inspired me as a writer, motivated me to take my family on a week-long vacation to visit Charleston, and more importantly, confirmed my belief that teaching is as much a calling as it is a profession.

The Water is Wide

After reading South of Broad and recommending it to everyone I knew, my next Conroy book was The Water is Wide. This memoir tells of Conroy’s year of teaching on Daufuskie Island off the coast of Charleston.  Conroy recounts how his students, all descendants of former slaves, were so embedded in poverty that education was of little importance. He tells how he resorted to unconventional teaching methods to get his students engaged, and how he often butted heads with the school’s administrator.

His teaching had a positive impact on his students’ lives.  From simple things like personal grooming to taking a field trip off the island—the first time on the mainland for many of his students—he taught that life was much greater than what they had previously experienced. For me, this memoir was a confirmation of what one teacher can do when he is committed to kids.

My Reading Life

Another of Conroy’s memoirs, My Reading Life, furthered my admiration and established Conroy as my favorite author. In this book, he recounts people who inspired his own writing.  Specifically, he tells of Gene Norris, a teacher Conroy describes as “a great man.” Mr. Norris was great not for what he knew, but rather for how he treated his students.

Conroy’s personal life growing up was tumultuous, and he had no respect for his own father, who was the inspiration for his book The Great Santini. Gene Norris was an English teacher but became a father figure and friend to Conroy at time when he needed more than just an English teacher.  He needed someone to listen to him. He needed to know he had value and worth. He needed someone to see good in him. Mr. Norris saw something special in Conroy’s writing and inspired Conroy to climb out of his personal tragedy and turn it into his own victory, his own triumph.

I still get emotional as I read near the end of the memoir when Conroy writes: “If there is more important work than teaching, I hope to learn about it before I die.”

These are strong words from someone fired from his first teaching job and who struggles to this day with issues of self-esteem. Conroy knows the importance of good teachers and his words remind me to be the very best I can be every day.

Lords of Discipline

How can an author change your life?  Just ask Matt, shown
here at The Citadel.  He swears by Pat Conroy.

If we fast-forward a few years, I finally broke my promise and did read that book my brother told me about in seventh grade—the cussing book. The Lords of Discipline is a fictional account of Conroy’s experience at The Citadel, a military college in Charleston. When I read Pat Conroy books, I cannot read them fast. It is not because they are difficult. It is because I simply do not want them to end. Each page has something to ponder and process. Each character is a new friend. If I read too fast, I might miss something.

When I finally finished The Lords of Discipline, there was no doubt that it would top my list of favorite books.  When it came time to plan our family trip over Spring Break, I convinced the family to go to Charleston. Because of Conroy’s writing, I had fallen in love with a place I had never visited.

After spending almost a week there, I discovered Conroy had written the truth: the houses, the food, and the people were just as described. I visited The Citadel twice, bought a coffee mug and t-shirt, and took a few thousand photos. I had little interest in military universities but I suppose this is what good writing does. It makes us love places we have never seen and become passionate about subjects in which we previously had no interest.

As a teacher, Pat Conroy has helped me to understand that my job is to inspire the uninspired and to reach the ones who want to be left alone. To paraphrase Conroy, if there is something greater than teaching, I, too, hope to discover it before I die.

Respond to Matt at malane@hse.k12.in.us

Have a great week, HSE!

Your HSE Teaching and Learning Team

• Jan Combs, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning
• Stephanie Loane, Director of Elementary Education
• Tom Bell, Director of Special Education
• Jeff Harrison, Director of Educational Technology
• Phil Lederach, Director of Secondary Education