A Book Review by Ted Odenwald
Teaching Life: Letters from a Life in Literature By Dale Salwak
Iowa City: University of Iowa Press: 2008.
Dale Salwak, a Californa college professor, has penned a series of letters to a former student, “Kelly.” The letters all reflect the writer’s deep concern for his student, who is at first contemplating a career in teaching literature on the college level; later he guides her through various stages –both pinnacles and pitfalls of an academic career. Devoid of both professional jargon and pompous posturing, the letters are the warm, compassionate, and heart-felt counsels of a shepherd and true mentor. I wish this book had been available for me decades ago when I began teaching, for the messages touch the core of what I found to be vital to a fulfilling, exciting career—but I had had to gather these truths from years of trial-and-error and from sharing with countless caring colleagues and students.
Dr. Salwak’s letters have a powerful sense of urgency and commitment, heightened by his revelation that they are not exactly what they seem to be. “Kelly” had in fact been a former student, killed in a tragic automobile crash when she was 20—killed as she drove to confer with Dr. Salwak about her plans to pursue graduate degrees and to teach at a university. There is a kind of haunting air about the letters as the professor imagines what questions the aspiring scholar would have asked and as he contemplates how he would have responded. “…I know that thirty-five years from now you’ll look back…and be able to say honestly that, despite years of sometimes seemingly overwhelming effort, frequent worry, complicated dealings with complex personalities, and even despair, it was all worth it because you served a cause greater than yourself, a cause rooted in your work…And thus the challenging and glorious cycle continues.” Pain yields to beauty throughout this work.
Providing personal anecdotes and relevant passages drawn from a life rich in literature, Salwak advises “Kelly” to “have a pastor’s heart for [her] students….displaying humility, gratitude, and esteem for them…being prepared, careful, courageous, contemplative, and provoking…Service is the lifeblood that flows through the teacher’s heart….” The well prepared lecture is a key to a teacher’s successful connection with students, according to Salwak. But his idea of “lecture” is far-removed from the one-sided expository mode decried by contemporary education scholars. He speaks of hours of preparation of strategies for involving each class—and each class is a unique blend of personalities—in evaluations of key issues in a piece of literature. No aspect of teaching is more critical to the nurturing professor than dealing with student writing. The student needs to be encouraged to find his or her voice: “…to waken the dormant excitement that comes from choosing the right words.” And while self-expression is critical, the student must know that good writing “…requires skill, hard work, a keen ear, continued practice, and lots of reading.”
One of the great joys of Salwak’s life is that he has been able to pursue his passion for literature through extensive research and through the publication of scholarly works. While this portion seems aimed at a select group, the advice appears to be directed to all teachers (not just on the university level, and not just in English). Find an author or a topic, he says, and immerse yourself in his/her writing and in critical literature about that author. There may or may not be a publishable product, but the key is that the student has grown in his/her critical and scholarly skills by piecing together a life (or an event). Salwak began in-depth studies of British novelist, Barbara Pym. Writing letters to many people who had known her, he discovered doors of communication opening to him. He eventually met and befriended poet, Philip Larkin, and novelist, Kingsley Amis, and began extensive studies of their writings and critical material relating to them. While most scholars cannot expect to have the success that Salwak had in making his connections, there is always the excitement of the pursuit of knowledge that gives life to teaching.
Salwak calls teaching “a sad art,” because of its transitory nature. “To step into the classroom and connect meaningfully with the students…is to suffer some ache of separation when the term is over. To experience breakthroughs in the laboratory and advance in our field of inquiry is to lament the day when someone takes over and carries our work farther than we ever could have. To attach our devotion to any classic of literature or music or art is to invite a kind of inevitable humiliation, for the classic itself will far outlive both ourselves and our inadequate attempts to understand and appreciate it.” I suspect that Dr. Salwak would say that another sad aspect of the art occurs when the gifted scholar is denied the opportunity to assimilate the keys to becoming a great teacher. Even worse is the knowledge that one was unable to share a wealth of knowledge, pastoring a highly motivated student into a profession.
Ted Odenwald and his wife, Shirley have lived in Oakland for 39 years. He taught HS English at Glen Rock High School for all of those years plus one more. Now he is enjoying time spent with his family, singing in the North Jersey Chorus and quenching his wanderlust. Ted is also the Worship Leader at the Ramapo Valley Baptist Church in Oakland.