Tribute to a teacher, Marvin Martin

: Image by babblingdweeb via Flickr

Several months ago, I received a Facebook message asking me to to join a group. Surprisingly, it was a group organized to pay tribute to a Junior High teacher from Glencoe, IL named Marvin Martin.

I joined the group and then leaned back in my chair. People were posting stories and memories that they had of his class and I wanted to do the same… but I couldn’t. The reason I was unable to, was that it wouldn’t do him justice for me to just whip off a paragraph in ten minutes and toss it into cyberspace. More than likely he has no idea just how much of an influence he had on me, but he just may have been the most valuable teacher I ever had.

Mr. Martin taught me to read.

I don’t mean that he taught me phonics, that happened many grades earlier. I don’t mean that he taught me to draw meaning from the written word, that too happened a a much younger age.

He taught me to read with passion. With hunger. With love. With hate. He taught me to read a song and the songwriter as well. He taught me that reading was both a gift and a curse. A new friend that becomes an old friend just a few chapters later. He planted the sapling that has grown within me all these years, and now provides shade as I read with my son.

Before I journey too far along the highway of metaphors, let me explain a few things. If I remember correctly, I had Mr. Martin as a literature teacher in sixth grade at Central School, in Glencoe, Illinois. Prior to that class, I can say definitively that I did not read. Of course, I read for class, and I could read a menu and such, but I rarely if ever, picked up a book for pleasure.

Mr. Martin established a very simple system for dealing with students like me. He created a structure where you could get extra credit in his class by choosing a book off of his list, reading it, and passing a comprehension test. Every test you passed earned you a few percentage points. My first time out, I skimmed through a book and took the test. I failed miserably. You see, he ensured that he asked questions that you couldn’t answer by reading the cliff notes. He made you think about what you had read and prove that not only did you read it, that you understood it. I don’t take failure well, so I went back, re-read it for the first time, and this time I passed the test. Sensing a way to get an easy “A”, I grabbed another book. And then another.

I believe I completed that class with 192%.

: Image via Wikipedia

The books on his list were a mix of classics as well as contemporary literature. They weren’t just geared to middle school students either. You see, he made a promise to his students. If there was a book that wasn’t on his that they wanted to read, they just had to submit the title of it to him and he would read it and add it. At any given time, he had a queue of about 15-20 books. Which might seem daunting, if he didn’t read a few books every day. It seemed to me that he simply devoured books, and every day new choices were available. And I took advantage.

I began to read every night. I would get so into the books that I kept reading late into the night. When my parents finally put their foot down, I began keeping a small flashlight next to my bed that I could use to continue reading with as soon as they’d gone to sleep. I began carrying a book with me, so whenever I had a minute of down time, I could break it out and burn through a few more pages. It got to the point that I was unable to go to sleep if I didn’t read at least for ten or fifteen minutes.

That habit is still with me today. I am never without a book to read, and I read every single night before turning in. If I don’t have a new book, I grab an old favorite. Another habit I can attribute to Mr. Martin. No matter how many times you’ve read a book before, there are still new things to be discovered within those well worn pages. I can honestly say that I have read some of my favorite books more than a dozen times.

The funny thing is that everything I have discussed so far… was simply the icing to his classroom. This was a layer on top of the actual teaching and learning, an optional component that most students participated in. The class time itself was a different type of journey.

I won’t pretend to say that I remember every class period, or that I looked forward to going every day. But here’s a few things that have stuck with me.

I remember that he was never satisfied with half an effort. When you read aloud, you read with expression. He made sure that you thought about what you were reading, considered the point of view of the characters as well as the author, and read it so that everyone else in the room could feel it.

I remember studying the words of Simon and Garfunkel. In particular, the 59th Street Bridge Song and the Sounds of Silence. I remember him leading us to discover what they meant by phrases like “the words of the prophets are written on subway walls and tenement halls.” And I also remember him challenging us to bring in lyrics to our own favorite music at the time and to see what we could learn from them. If my memory serves me, we wound up studying a song off of U2’s Joshua Tree album and a couple John Lennon songs, all by request.

I remember that while he was always a passionate teacher, there was only one time that he was genuinely angry. Somebody requested that he read Flowers in the Attic and add it to the list of books that could be read for extra credit. He was furious over the incestuous themes throughout the story, and refused to add it to the list. I had never seen someone get so upset and emotional over a book before. Looking back on it now, I think one of the reasons he was so upset was that in some sense, the book defeated him. He couldn’t in good conscience ‘encourage’ students to read that book by adding it to his list. And yet students were interested in it, all the more so because he was so upset by it. I think more students eventually read that book because of his refusal than would ever have read it had he accepted it. And while seeing him discuss the lyrics of Simon and Garfunkel showed us how high he could get discussing the written word, his reaction to Flowers in the Attic showed us just how deep those passions ran.

I would be remiss if I didn’t share one other aspect of Marvin Martin. Teaching was his life. And while I feel that I have met thousands of educators who are passionate teachers, few of them kept a sleeper sofa and refrigerator in a small office next to their classroom. Rumors run wild amongst six graders, so take this paragraph with a grain of salt, but so far as we knew he spent most of his evenings reading and sleeping in his office. There was a house in Glencoe that I’d been told belonged to him. It seemed like it could have fit in the garage of most of the houses neighboring it. While most other teachers shared stories of what they did over the weekend or while on vacation, Mr. Martin shared what books he had read. Teaching was his sunrise and his sunset. He dedicated every moment of his time to his students.

According to the Facebook group, after teaching in Glencoe for forty years, he retired in 1996. I’d always thought about going back and visiting him to let him know how profound an influence he had on me, but I never did. I’m hoping that through the magic of Facebook I’ll be able to reconnect with him and pass along a link to this blog post. Even better, perhaps have the chance to tell him in person.

So let this stand as a tribute to a wonderful teacher… from a student who didn’t know enough to thank him at time and doesn’t have enough words to do a proper job of it now.

Thank you, Marvin Martin.

16 Comments

Mark Benno
5/28/2009

Steve,

This is a fantastic tribute to Mr. Martin and, if I may add, a terrific reflection of a piece of your own education journey.

I have thought about a couple of teachers who made a profound difference in my life over the years and I now know that I should post my own reflective tribute.

I propose that we begin posting links to these on Twitter with the hashtag #teachertribute

Twitter: @markbenno

Steve Dembo
5/28/2009

Tribute to a teacher, Marvin Martin http://ff.im/-3lQLc

Michael Kaechele
5/28/2009

Thanks for sharing about such an inspirational teacher RT @teach42: Tribute to a teacher, Marvin Martin http://ff.im/-3lQLc

MagistraM
5/28/2009

reading: Tribute to a teacher, Marvin Martin http://tinyurl.com/mp64rw @teach42

Najeeullah Khan
5/28/2009

Tribute to a teacher, Marvin Martin – Teach42: If I don’t have a new book, I grab an old favorite. Another h.. http://bit.ly/iMmb3

Marvin Martin
5/29/2009

Steve,
I am deeply honored by your glowing tribute. Nothing pleases me more than the knowledge that I have had the desired impact on a student, as a few of my teachers certainly had on me . . . especially my high school speech and drama coach, John Davies, and my senior year English teacher, Laura Steffen, the one who inspired me to become a thoughtful reader and a teacher. Henry Brooks Adams wrote, “A teacher affects eternity. He can never tell where his influence stops.”
I am impressed with your resumé. You are an educator for the twenty-first century.
My best to Jessica and Aiden.
I taught sixth grade to Laura Dembo in 1982-83. The following year was the final year that I taught sixth grade. I moved to upper school in 1984-85 to teach LA-II with Sally Abraham. We taught literature, writing, and public speaking. I taught the 7th graders for the first semester and the 8th graders for the second semester, and I conducted the independent reading program for 7th and 8th graders all year long. My greatest emphasis was on literature; Sally’s was on writing. If I have my facts correct, you were a sixth grader in 1985-86. You would have been my student in 7th and 8th grades, between 1986 and 1988, when you graduated from Central.
I came to Glencoe as a student teacher from Northwestern University in 1956, working in 5th grade with Jack Cushman at South School. The next year he became the principal of the newly opened West School. I was hired to teach 6th grade which was at Central School in those days. After graduating from college and losing my student draft deferment, I joined the Illinois National Guard for six years, in lieu of being drafted. I took active duty training as a medic from the summer of 1957 until the end of January, 1958. I subbed for a while at Central and then took over a 6th grade class. Beginning in 1959 sixth grades were taught in all four Glencoe schools: Central, South, West, and North. I moved to South where I taught until 1979-80, when South became a K-3 school, West a 4-5 school, and North was closed. I moved back to Central. Around my third year at South, after having lived in two small garage apartments, I moved into a little house on the corner of Harbor Street and Glencoe Road, where our art teacher, Carolyn Caruth and her husband had been living. I stayed with 6th grade until 1984-85. I taught both 7th and 8th graders for a while until I took over the 7th grade LA-II and Sally taught the 8th grade. I continued to conduct the independent reading program for both graders. In June of 1995 I left on sabbatical to write THE GREAT HARVEST about by 40 years teaching in Glencoe. A year later I retired.
In 1995, I bought a home in Kenosha, Wisconsin. My Glencoe home was smaller than my garage here. I’ve just had my home sided and it looks beautiful. The Glencoe home was torn down soon after I moved out.
I did a lot of volunteer work during my first decade of retirement. I taught gifted 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders and learning disabled children in 2nd and 9th grades. I taught literacy skills to four learning disabled adults. I gave monthly slide talks at five senior care facilities. I had two weekly radio programs for the blind, a news program and a travel program. I taught Sunday school at my Glencoe church. I worked with an autistic child and taught English as a second language to a woman from Mexico. I was president and program director for a seniors organization in Milwaukee and I worked on two other programming committees. I served on several committees addressing senior issues like housing, health care, etc. . In December of 2004, I retired from my volunteer work.
Writing has replaced teaching as my reason to get up in the morning. I have 106 hardbound volumes in my library that I have written, most of them since I retired. I currently have six more books in the works including a memoir, LIFE AFTER WORK, and a photo-illustrated travel book, AN AMERICAN JOURNEY, about one of the 30 trips I have taken with students. On this trip we toured the historic Eastern states back in the summer of 1977. I attend MANY films, plays, operas, ballets, and concerts, and I review them all as a hobby. I am working on my tenth volume of reviews.
As for the “6th grade rumors” . . . I never spent the night on the couch in my office, but I did take naps occasionally in my recliner during afternoon free periods. During my teaching days I rarely got more than 5 hours of sleep a night . . . but it was in my king-size bed at home. In that little refrigerator I kept my lunch, cold water, and diet pop . . . as well as ice packs for kids’ bruises. My electric coffee maker kept me high enough on caffeine to stay awake. When I bought my home in Kenosha, in July of 1995, I had that small refrigerator moved to my basement where I plugged it in and forgot about it. 14 years later, it suddenly occurred to me that I had been wasting electricity all that time. I had never used it. So I unplugged it last week and removed a chunk of ice which filled the whole freezer compartment.
I had thought that I put FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC on the list with a warning for parents and students about the incest theme. I did that with several books (i.e. THE CLAN OF THE CAVE BEAR, HIROSHIMA, KRAMER VS. KRAMER, ROSEMARY’S BABY, THE DAY OF THE JACKAL, DEATH BE NOT PROUD, HOLOCAUST, I KNOW WHY THE CAGED BIRD SINGS, NIGHT, DAWN, ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST, ORDINARY PEOPLE, THE CATCHER IN THE RYE, THE GRAPES OF WRATH, etc.). I used the # symbol as a warning and wrote on the reading list: “The symbol # in front of a title is similar to the motion picture rating of PG-13 or R. It means that the book contains mature material. It is possible that some adults would consider parts of these books objectionable for some 12 through 14-year-olds. As children move into young adult and adult literature, books deal with topics and use language that they have not found in children’s literature. The same is true, of course, of movies and television.” I recall reading two of the Dollenganger family sequels by V.C. Anders, PETALS IN THE WIND and IF THERE BE THORNS, and doubt that I would have read them unless they were intended for the reading list. I have checked my copies of the reading lists, however, and don’t find any of Anders’s books on them, so you must be right. Did you know that FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC was adapted for the screen in 1987. I don’t recall if I ever saw it . . . probably did.
Well, enough of this blather. Thanks for making contact. In your high esteem is a place I am proud to be.
As ever, Marvin Martin

Clifford Notes
6/1/2009

Marvi was THE BEST. For sure. I feel bad I terrorized the old man but….welll…school sux ! what can I say! Cheers! AG

Rachel (Graef) Yurk
6/1/2009

Steve,
This was fantastic. He sure was a legend. I never had Mr. Martin, but I do believe my brother Rick did. Even if you only knew him as the legend that he was, you wrote a fantastic tribute. In addition, the meaning to every teacher of a student who never forgot you and what you did for kids is really special. Thanks Steve.

Marvin Martin
6/1/2009

Don’t overburden yourself with unwarranted guilt, AG. Your best efforts fell far short of “terrorizing” me. The most any student ever accomplished was to piss me off. M.M.

Errin
6/15/2009

You are very fortunate to have had such a teacher! That’s a beautiful, inspiring story you’ve shared.
Errin´s last blog ..Student Ownership at the Art Show Set-up

Clifford Notes
8/7/2009

WOW! That was a swift response… A pleasant surprise in my webmaster tools! I forgot I had posted anything up here!! How are you Mr. Martin?!

Clifford Notes
8/7/2009

My god i’m still laughing…
This is all so wonderfully ironic.

Clifford Notes
8/7/2009

If you stumble upon this thread sir, please email me at my website link.
<<<<<

Sierra
8/10/2009

Mr. Martin, if you see this, please email me at sierrag95@yahoo.com, or twitter.com/sierraohh. I was one of the advanced reading elementary students you worked with years ago at Grewenow Elementary. I still have the books you helped us write! I hope you will keep in touch.
-Sierra

J. H. from Glencoe
8/22/2009

Mr. Martin, do you have an email address an old student can contact you at? Please post if possible.

Gail Forrest
10/16/2009

Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening. Mr. Martin was my sixth grade teacher at South School. I read 36 books that year! I remember the first “Banner in the Sky” along with “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” etc. We had to enact a skit from one of the books and Naomi Sorkin and I did “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” which became a racial scandal in the Glencoe school system. Mr. Martin brought these pieces of literature to life and I will never forget his instilling his passion in all of us. We also put on “The Wizard of Oz” and unfortunately I was a winged monkey, which I may never live down as I wanted to be the Scarecrow. My costume was stupendous however and I guess someone had to be a monkey. I can picture Mr. Martin like it was yesterday … my first male teacher ….it was a little scary at first. I will remember him always. I think he’d like my blog but not my liberty with punctuation! gail forrest http://www.gonepausal.com
Gail Forrest´s last blog ..Win $3,000, a trip to Paris or me.

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