What makes one a great teacher? Their lessons endure.
I was recently at a book discussion at a local library where the facilitator made a claim: that reading literary fiction improves one's capacity for empathy. It seems that the practice of putting oneself in the shoes of another via fiction translates into the ability to understand what others are feeling and thinking.
And as I drove home, reflecting on that point, I realized that many years ago, Mrs. Glitzenstein taught me that.
We read a lot of classics in senior English -- it was a college prep class after all. But what stands out to me about what I learned that year was that Mrs. G challenged us not just to read and analyze a text, but to internalize it. To live it. To feel it. I wrote papers in the style of Jonathan Edwards and pondered the scarlet letters that demonize many. I learned that words could be beautiful and they could convey pain. From that point on, I read differently.
Admittedly, it wasn't until after college that I really began to read for the pleasure of it, but it is a habit and a hobby that has endured. I still love it when a book lets me explore an unfamiliar world or exposes me to an alternate reality. Most of all, I read because reading challenges me to jump in and walk the path of another, if only for a little while.
And for that, these many years later, I thank Mrs. Glitzenstein. Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!