When I look back at my high school years I will always fondly remember walking up the long winding staircase up to the highest point of the school in the tower and into Mr. S.'s class. I would usually find him sitting Indian style with his legs crossed on top of his desk. Mr. S. was absolutely my favorite teacher all throughout school and I had not really thought about whey I enjoyed him so much until I came to college. I took Latin with Mr. S. for three years and then took introduction to anthropology and sociology with him my senior year in high school. Often when people ask what language I took in school and I say "Latin," I get interesting responses. Being a dead language it is not so common for high school students to take Latin and often I get the response that it's a difficult subject and it implies that I am smart. Now I'm not saying that I am not intelligent, but this article is not to toot my own horn. It is to give credit to the man that made Latin and could make any subject interesting. It was an amazing learning experience just taking his class.

Mr. S. was very intelligent, but it was his passion for the subject's he taught that impressed me. He knew so much about everything, more than just the lesson plan for the class. I loved that I felt free to ask him questions about anything. He never cared that we might have veered off topic, he wanted to quench our thirst for knowledge in any way he could. Even if I had a question not related to his class, but something I thought he would know I would ask him when I walked into class. I will also never forget the time that Mr. S. personally called me. I had taken a test in his Latin class that day and I had struggled and there was one section that I left completely blank. When I returned home from school that afternoon I was shocked when the phone rang and it was Mr. S. calling to talk to me about it. We discussed everything and the next day he let me work on that one section again. It amazed me that he cared so much, enough to personally call. Feeling that he cared made me want to do well in his class. He had invested himself into teaching and into us and it made the students feel a connection with him.

Mr. S. was also a very worldly man. He had lived and taught in China for a while and had traveled and was always willing to share his experiences with the class. Mr. S. was unconventional but serious about learning and he made things come to life. I think one of the best techniques he used was to take us on trips to learn. I went to school outside New York City and numerous times during each year we would take trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art so that we could study and see the ruins of the ancient worlds. This helped to make our studies come to life and to engage us in learning.

Throughout my college career I have often thought of Mr. S. and how he shaped my interests. I had always planned to study abroad during my junior year in college, but it was Mr. S.'s influence that helped me decide to go to Italy and study in Rome. After taking his classes and learning so much I wanted to see what I had learned and studied about. I wanted to see the ruins for myself and be in the country I had studied about for so long. Mr. S. had made it so interesting that I wanted to take it to the next level and see it all for myself. I had an amazing experience abroad and seeing and being there for myself was all I thought it would be and more. While I was there I sent Mr. S. a post card in hopes of letting him know that he had inspired me. He taught me that learning was about much more than memorizing facts and passing tests and finishing lesson plans. He was very different from my other teachers at the time and he taught me that learning was fun and interesting and something to get excited about.

-Jennifer Tierney, American University