It’s been over half a century since I have seen my favorite teacher. That I still recall him means he made a lasting impression.
The year I first met him, counting substitutes, we had five teachers in the first semester of our junior-year English. One left due to pregnancy. One got married and moved. One went into the army and there was a substitute in there somewhere.
Max Vann came just a couple of weeks before the semester ended. He was trained as both a teacher of English and math.
In a class of over 400 I was the second shortest guy. That was true when the school year began. When it finished I was the fifth tallest – from 5’2″ to 6’3″ in nine months. My weight gain was probably no more than five pounds. Even my mother was among those calling me Stringbean McPole.
I was just a little self-conscious, a little shy and, to be kind, somewhat awkward. Mr. Vann assigned various members of the class roles from Hamlet. We were to stand and read our lines.
Though I had a minor part, I stammered, stumbled and stuttered through it. After class, Mr. Vann asked me to stay a moment. He asked why I had such difficulty. I referenced my obvious shyness and tried to prevail upon him to avoid selecting me the next day. He asked if I would be more comfortable reading the lines while sitting. I supposed so.
The next day he assigned me the lead after announcing that we would be reading our lines sitting down. The Royal Shakespeare Company would not have been impressed with my performance but I was. It didn’t cure my shyness but I made it through with minimal trauma.
The results may not have pleased everyone. Since, I have run for and held public office, given speeches across the country, taught a little and testified before legislative bodies. Mr. Vann helped me master my problem but cannot be blamed for all of the results.
He wasn’t hired to teach English. That was just to cover a vacancy. He was hired to develop a special math curriculum. He created a class that covered subjects reserved for the college level. Among other subjects, we were the first school in the South to offer calculus.
Those first classes were not available to everyone. Mr. Vann was allowed to handpick a class of 15 from among the seniors. There was a guarantee of a 5-year, full, work scholarship at either Auburn or Georgia Tech for anyone passing his course. All 15 passed.
How did I come to be selected? Why? At the time I was considering becoming a professor of History. Mr. Vann used that.
He invited all of the selected students to his home one Summer day before school restarted. We were told to look through his extensive library for books to read. Knowing my interest was in History, he directed me to the biographies of famous mathematicians. I became hooked on the subject.
I never did find out how he discovered that I had a facility for math. It was something of which I was unaware. That was a time when we were either hiding under our desks or being urged to master science, in order to out compete the USSR. Math and science is where the money, glamor and duty were.
In college I wandered from math to various physical sciences. I became enthralled with anthropology. That is a special subject, as there is both physical and cultural anthropology. One is a physical science. The other falls into the realm of social and behavioral sciences. Later I wandered around those ‘other’ sciences.
The math and science background provided me a perspective rare among those in the social and behavioral sciences. When studying economics I quickly found its basic problem. While enamoured of econometric models, I never found a professor of economics with a background in math.
Later, when researching my book on mental illness, I discovered why the pharmaceutical companies preferred that their studies be “run” by MDs, rather than PhDs. The former have no training in research. They usually accept whatever they are told. PhDs must learn at least basic research for their dissertations.
Though I strayed from math and science, the training has proven valuable in various endeavors. It even helped my accumulation of eight patents. Mr. Vann is more than deserving of a belated thank you.
Class Reunion
I was back in my home town at the time of our 25th class reunion. I was induced to be on the organizing committee.
It was fun. It was interesting. I recommend it.
There came a time when we discussed inviting our class sponsor and a few other teachers. Mr. Vann’s name never came up so, during a break, I asked one of the guys about including him. He said they didn’t have a contact for him. They heard he had moved to Nashville.
I was told that after our graduation he had been put in charge of all math instruction in the local school system. Later, he was found to have a steady male friend. I don’t recall the subject of homosexuality ever coming up back then. Perhaps we were living in a cocoon. I have since gotten past any sense of surprise or concern over the sexuality of others. I still knew the effect he had on my educational development.
The story continued that he was dismissed and possibly took a position with the state Department of Education.
I now live in a suburb of Nashville and have made some initial efforts to locate him. He would be about 85 years old. I could find no one at the Department of Education that would provide any help. They wouldn’t even confirm if he had worked there. Privacy rules can be a bummer.
I may not recognize him after all of these years. He was short and stocky. His hair may still be somewhat kinky but I doubt that it’s still red. I really would like the opportunity to tell this teacher that he had an effect.
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