During 1966 to 1970, while at Ridgemont High School, I spent most after school afternoons in Mr. Brown’s classroom. Doing homework, instead of joining the track team, among other possibilities. It was peaceful and inspiring. Mr. Brown taught Latin during the normal school day. At this juncture, Latin had gone from being a compulsory subject (as so listed on my parents’ graduation diplomas from Lisgar Collegiate) to an optional subject that was widely taken by those students considering later university studies, particularly in law or medicine. Ten years hence, it had ceased being offered at all, in many schools.
After the school day had ended, Mr. Brown taught classical Greek to the very few ambitious students who wanted to learn the subject, but weren’t large enough in numbers to justify a separate class during normal school hours. I spent day after day, staying in Mr. Brown’s room until 5:30 or so, first listening to the classical Greek classes and then listening to the sounds outside, or listening to silence. When I would leave the school at 5:30, there would still be a few teachers in their classes, preparing lessons or marking assignments. This being admittedly a minority of teachers, but definitely a larger minority than those teachers who would literally run down the stairways with the students, to get out of the school as quickly as possible, following the 3:15 p.m. bell.
Mr. Brown had a quiet dedication to classical scholarship. I don’t know why I never thought of going from the back desk in the classroom to the other side, near the windows, where Mr. Brown was teaching classical Greek. What I do know is that those students who were taught Greek by Mr. Brown in that way had a very special experience, in a class of four instead of forty.
It never occurred to me to wonder whether Mr. Brown was paid for these after school classses. This was simply what he did, and what he was most comfortable doing: imparting classical wisdom, in the language of classicists, to highly receptive students.
I tried to search “George W. Brown” to find out what happened to Mr. Brown. He comes from a time when people left no internet trails. Similar to many other dedicated and talented teachers then and now, his legacy is in those he taught.
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Postscript, October 24, 2012: Several months later, I found out what had happened to Mr. Brown.
brucelarochelle 