My fondest memories of Ms. Tate, however, were her forceful, no nonsense nature, and her willingness to approach each of us as a thinking adult reader. As burgeoning adolescents, not many adults treated us with the same level of respect as critical thinkers. Her standards were high, higher than I had ever been accustomed to before, but certainly not unattainable. She seemed to have a gift for understanding, almost instantly, her students’ abilities and expected us all to reach that potential, if not exceed it. Woe betide those who did not! She was stern, certainly, and not a “friendly” teacher, but she was eminently fair and infinitely patient. She always evinced a willingness to help any and all who applied themselves well. I availed myself of her help on more than one occasion, precisely because she was able to see and wanted to cultivate whatever nascent writing ability I possessed.
I had not been made to write critically before high school. Writing consisted merely of regurgitating facts or doing mundane book reports, which amounted to little more than plot summaries. Ms. Tate demanded significantly more. For the first time I was reading, not simply to cull facts and information to be recited later. I was exploring concepts, imagery, styles, and themes. No more where the characters simply facsimiles that had names and moved the story along. They were fully fleshed out caricatures of the woes of society or the heights that we could achieve. Ms. Tate had taught me to read again, and more fully than I would have thought possible. Not only that, but her influence spread to every other aspect of my education, not to mention my entertainment. My mind was being developed to distinguish key concepts and to critically analyze them for their faults and merits. It was as if I alone had a key to unlock the “fourth wall” and see into the deeper undercurrents of a story, whether it be written word, play, or film.
I was lucky enough to have Ms. Tate for both my freshman and sophomore years, and as I grew mentally, the challenges never diminished. I came to know her style quite well, and appreciated it precisely because it was not easily accomplished. All I am as both a writer and a critical thinker began in her classroom. I fancy myself a good writer, and have found myself to be a more perceptive thinker than most. Without a doubt, the seeds of those things were planted by Norma Tate, and for that I thank her.
-- Shaun Carres, Florida Atlantic University