TITLE: Being Remembered
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: February 19, 2007 12:03 AM
DESC: 
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BODY:
<BLOCKQUOTE><EM>
Charisma in a teacher is not a mystery or
a nimbus of personality, but radiant exemplification
to which the student contributes a corresponding
radiant hunger to becoming.
<BR/><BR/>
-- William Arrowsmith
</EM></BLOCKQUOTE>

On a day when I met with potential future students and their
parents, several former students of mine sent me links to
this
<A HREF="http://xkcd.com/c224.html">
   xkcd comic</A>:

<CENTER>
<IMG SRC="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/lisp.jpg"
     ALT="xkcd -- my god, it's full of cars"
     WIDTH="500">
</CENTER>

I laughed out loud twice while reading it, first at the line
"My god, it's full of <TT>car</TT>s." and then at the final
panel nod at a postmodern god.  The '<TT>car</TT>s' line
was a common subject line in the messages I received.

As these messages rolled in, I also felt a great sense of
honor.  Students whom I last saw two or seven or ten years
ago thought enough of their time studying here to remember
me upon reading this comic and then send me an e-mail message.
All studied Programming Languages and Paradigms with me, and
all were affected in some lasting way by their contact with
Scheme.  One often hears about how a teacher's effect on the
world is hard to measure, like a ripple on the water sent
out into the future.  I am humbled that some really neat
people out in this world recall a course they took with me.

Of course, I know that a big part of this effect comes from
the beauty of the ideas that I am fortunate enough to teach.
Scheme and the ideas it embodies have the power to change
students who approach it with a "radiant hunger to becoming".
I am merely its its channel.  That is the great privilege of
scholars and teachers, to formulate and share great ideas,
and to encourage others to engage the ideas and make them
grow.
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