2008 Woodie Awards
Alumni profile
Class of 1955
Maurice A. Brewster Jr.
Issue date: 9/12/07 Section: Opinion
In the fall of 1951, this alumnus entered the hallowed halls of a revered tertiary educational institution, Castleton Teachers College, a fixture on the mid-western Vermont landscape since 1787. In the intervening years since its founding, it had undergone several metamorphoses to become the main supplier of teachers to the rural areas of southern Vermont.
It was with some trepidation that this earnest scholar sat in on those early classes. Among the most memorable that first year were those of Professor Molly Markham, who taught music fundamentals. It was there that I learned the essentials of program music, i.e., that melodic sounds can tell a story, e.g., Till Eulenspiegel (The Merry Pranks of).
Later I studied a course in symphonic music with Miss Markham. What beauty! What power! What ecstasy! To this day I credit that Grand Dame with helping me to appreciate serious music. If only I had had the intestinal fortitude to pursue the study of opera, but in those days symphony was for males and opera was for females. How afraid men were then of being labeled "sissies". Thank goodness society has moved beyond such silliness.
It was truly amusing to see Professor Jackson, the art teacher, drive up the campus road in her big convertible with the top down (even in chilly weather) with her Dalmatian, Donna, sitting upright in the passenger seat sporting a big colorful neck ribbon and bow. Donna was a regular in all Miss Jackson's classes. Students learned to work in various media including chalk and wax crayons and colored pencils. She tried to free her students from the constraints of working in stereotypical ways and in so doing view the world with new eyes, so to speak. Her favorite expression was "Let your chalk (or crayon or pencil) do funny little things." Her classes were such fun!
In the second year, students sat in on a seemingly radical type of class, one in which each student had a different biology book. Professor Keach, a tall, slender man with steel grey hair, conducted this novel approach to teaching. Previously students in a particular course had all learned information from the same source, but in his class students had to compare and contrast ideas from multiple sources. Students soon learned that authorities do not necessarily agree on all so-called facts. Also, under Mr. Keach's direction, each student had to collect, identify, press, and label wild flowers indigenous to the region. The dried flowers covered by cellophane were then entered into booklets that had been especially printed for the activity. This writer collected some 150 wild flowers (not the garden variety) and has carefully preserved them to this day. Old Keach, as he was endearingly called by his students (but definitely not in his presence!), would entertain questions from the class.
It was with some trepidation that this earnest scholar sat in on those early classes. Among the most memorable that first year were those of Professor Molly Markham, who taught music fundamentals. It was there that I learned the essentials of program music, i.e., that melodic sounds can tell a story, e.g., Till Eulenspiegel (The Merry Pranks of).
Later I studied a course in symphonic music with Miss Markham. What beauty! What power! What ecstasy! To this day I credit that Grand Dame with helping me to appreciate serious music. If only I had had the intestinal fortitude to pursue the study of opera, but in those days symphony was for males and opera was for females. How afraid men were then of being labeled "sissies". Thank goodness society has moved beyond such silliness.
It was truly amusing to see Professor Jackson, the art teacher, drive up the campus road in her big convertible with the top down (even in chilly weather) with her Dalmatian, Donna, sitting upright in the passenger seat sporting a big colorful neck ribbon and bow. Donna was a regular in all Miss Jackson's classes. Students learned to work in various media including chalk and wax crayons and colored pencils. She tried to free her students from the constraints of working in stereotypical ways and in so doing view the world with new eyes, so to speak. Her favorite expression was "Let your chalk (or crayon or pencil) do funny little things." Her classes were such fun!
In the second year, students sat in on a seemingly radical type of class, one in which each student had a different biology book. Professor Keach, a tall, slender man with steel grey hair, conducted this novel approach to teaching. Previously students in a particular course had all learned information from the same source, but in his class students had to compare and contrast ideas from multiple sources. Students soon learned that authorities do not necessarily agree on all so-called facts. Also, under Mr. Keach's direction, each student had to collect, identify, press, and label wild flowers indigenous to the region. The dried flowers covered by cellophane were then entered into booklets that had been especially printed for the activity. This writer collected some 150 wild flowers (not the garden variety) and has carefully preserved them to this day. Old Keach, as he was endearingly called by his students (but definitely not in his presence!), would entertain questions from the class.
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