Book Review: Tuesdays with Morrie

I have been trying to get out of the house at least one night a week. Unfortunately, I usually end up at the library (where I can browse the shelves and the book sale unencumbered) or the thrift store (exciting, huh?). A few weeks ago, I picked up a stack of books at the sale (yes, Shopaholic Takes the Library Book Sale!). Tuesdays with Morrie, by Mitch Albom, was one of them (only 50 cents). I have thoroughly enjoyed the other Albom books I've read (One More Day and The Five People You Meet in Heaven). I'm not surprised that this one, like those others, has been made into a movie. I've only seen "One More Day," but I'll keep my eye out for the others now.

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as the other two Albom books I've read. It was an easy, inspirational read. I don't know if his perspective carries more umph when it is set in story form. I still would recommend this as a good read. The whole time I was reading it, I couldn't help but think of my father-in-law. I will probably pass my copy on to my mother-in-law; however, I don't know if she'll have time to read it.

My father-in-law has been very ill for quite some time now. Every Father's Day, birthday and Christmas, my husband wonders if it will be the last. My father-in-law, like Morrie, was a college professor. I doubt that I would suggest the book to him - a bit painful to suggest a book on dying to a man who is probably in that process himself. But, my mother-in-law bears the brunt of his care for now and works tirelessly trying to make his last days more comfortable. I think that she would be touched by reading about this account of Morrie Schwartz's final months and his insights into living and dying.

The book also made me think about teachers and professors I have admired and loved. My most memorable elementary school teacher was Mr. Bouchard. He was handsome and unconventional. He taught his class by calling us up individually to make learning contracts each Monday. My competitive soul took to this like fire. I wanted to read more SRA's than any other student. I wanted to be his most successful student! At the end of that year, he married the kindergarten teacher. I wonder where he is now? If I looked him up, would he have great lessons to teach me?

My most memorable junior high teacher was Mr. Wadleigh (I looked it up - I was right). Mr. W. was my 6th or 7th grade English teacher and he encouraged me to share the stories I wrote. He taught me how to write a query letter. He even helped me send off a few of my stories (I laugh now, though, because we sent them to Cricket magazine. Couldn't he have set my sights a little lower so that I might have actually gotten an acceptance letter?).

My most memorable high school teacher was Harsh Ms. Karsh (I've written of her before). She was creative, demanding, inspiring, flamboyant and involved. She clearly cared for her students and wanted to know them more. She read my journals and made comments. She encouraged me to write. She encouraged me to teach. In fact, when she learned that I had earned a teaching degree, she invited me to come back and teach one of her classes for a day (I never took her up on that).

My memorable college teachers were Dr. Lyle Dorsett (more on him later, I'm sure), Dr. Lundin, Dr. Rapp (an interesting Victorian history professor), Dr. Hein, Dr. Ryken, Dr. McClatchey, and Dr. Lake. How sad I was to hear that Dr. McClatchey had passed away.

The two memorable professors from graduate school would have to be Dr. Arnstein and Dr. Winton Solberg. Both of these individuals helped me tremendously and were warm and encouraging. I have often thought about dropping in to see them when I return to Urbana to visit my in-laws.

How rewarding it would be if I discovered that one of my students considered me to have been a memorable teacher in his/her life. I only know of one who has commented about me. When I was teaching GED, I had a student who was interviewed by the local newspaper after her graduation. She said some wonderful things about me. I was thrilled to have been able to meet her. Perhaps some day I will share her story (it is inspiring and I recently shared it with my ES as we were talking about jobs and job security. Yes, I did really have a conversation about that with my 11 year old after he attended something called BizTown, where he held a job for a day!)