Comments on: Tribute to a teacher, Marvin Martin

By: south university

south university — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 07:05:16 +0000

Thanks for sharing a very nice tribute for Mr. Martin. Truely inspirational. Im glad I’v read this.

By: Gail Forrest

Gail Forrest — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 17:40:43 +0000

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.

By: J. H. from Glencoe

J. H. from Glencoe — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:43:50 +0000

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

By: Sierra

Sierra — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 22:25:52 +0000

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

By: Clifford Notes

Clifford Notes — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:52:20 +0000

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

By: Clifford Notes

Clifford Notes — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:33:49 +0000

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

By: Clifford Notes

Clifford Notes — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 14:12:10 +0000

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?!

By: Errin

Errin — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:49:25 +0000

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

By: Marvin Martin

Marvin Martin — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 17:34:47 +0000

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.

By: Rachel (Graef) Yurk

Rachel (Graef) Yurk — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:49:36 +0000

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.

By: Clifford Notes

Clifford Notes — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:20:44 +0000

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

By: Marvin Martin

Marvin Martin — Fri, 29 May 2009 20:03:27 +0000

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

By: Najeeullah Khan

Najeeullah Khan — Fri, 29 May 2009 05:11:52 +0000

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

By: MagistraM

MagistraM — Fri, 29 May 2009 02:42:41 +0000

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

By: Michael Kaechele

Michael Kaechele — Thu, 28 May 2009 23:57:10 +0000

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