We honored Herm in the best way we could: by telling stories.
For two and a half hours, people walked up to a microphone on stage and remembered him. How he gently reminded us that we could do better (“That was Crap! Garbage, Garbage, Crap!”). How he inspired prank wars between sections of his speech class (“I’m not saying you should do anything. But a class did once, and it was amazing.”). How he would laugh freely and loudly at the least thing. How he helped even the shiest give a speech or audition for a show. How he would whip the football team into a frenzy before a game.
When I was a freshman, I wanted to try out for the musical, but was feeling insecure. I had been singing solos for years, but wasn’t sure about that whole acting thing. I brought my concerns to Herm, who encouraged me to audition anyway. So I did.
I made up a monologue about getting a school rejection letter, and participated in some improv games. At one point, I had an eggbeater and was chasing someone around the stage with it. And I got into the chorus for the show.
Later, I asked him why he cast me. “Well, it certainly wasn’t your monologue,” he said, “because that was crap. But you really threw yourself into the improv exercise. I loved that you were fearless, and I knew I could work with that.”
Like so many of his students, Herm gave me a chance and encouraged me try anything. Especially if I looked silly doing it. I'm the silly looking one in the teal t-shirt right in the middle.
-- Kadee Crottier
2 comments:
The most beloved teachers tend to be the ones who go as far outside the box as possible to get their point across. I'm guessing every handbook on teaching says to not call the students' work "crap."
One of my all-time favorite teachers used to tell us he ate his wheaties with beer instead of milk and read us books with curse words. And he always told us to "have a rotten day." I suppose stuff like that goes a long way to making yourself stand out from the "by the book" teachers.
That "outside the box" teaching is certainly true in Herm's case. But I think what was more important from him was the sense that he genuinely cared for each student as a person. He wasn't going to sugarcoat his message, but he'd really listen to you when you spoke and didn't talk down to you like you were less than he was or a child.
That, and the way he said, "That's crap!" really couldn't be imitated.
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