| Congrats to Bratt
I found the feature regarding Ken Bratt’s Exemplary Teaching Award (Summer 2006) gratifying. As a student in 1967, I had Ken as my first-year
Latin teacher; he was very patient. As a Calvin senior, he was teaching
Latin and, at that stage, showing the marks of an exemplary teacher. I
was undisciplined in foreign language study, but Ken coached me through
that year and prepared me for the second year of Latin.
Other features that I recall about Ken’s teaching were not only
his command of the language, but his grasp of classical history and his
timely gleaning of stories from history attendant to a passage we were
dealing with at the time. Dr. Ken Bratt indeed is a classical teacher
with class.
Maury Cheadle ’70
Grandville, Mich.
One more for the Chimes
The Faculty Fumblers may have repressed this painful memory, but in
addition to the five other humiliating defeats mentioned (Spring 2006),
the Fumblers also lost to Chimes in 1986. It was a day when, as Chimes
dutifully reported, Les Jacques de Chimes were transformed from a band
of intellectuals masquerading as athletes into a group of jocks who had
been masquerading as intellectuals. Henry Kort threw for two touchdowns
(both caught by me, I must humbly note) and ran for another, and Mike
Rubingh returned an interception for a decisive 28-14 Les Jacques de Chimes
victory and one-year winning streak. Unlike the perhaps suspect coverage
in other years, Chimes’ reporting on this game was painstakingly
objective, although the line about Professor Ericson throwing down his
headset in disgust on the sidelines might have been a touch of hyperbole.
Patrick Jasperse ’87
Silver Spring, Md.
Reading Schmidt
Shortly after the Spark issue came out featuring Gary Schmidt (Spring
2006), we had a mother-son book group scheduled to discuss his book, Lizzie
Bright and the Buckminster Boy. The boys and mothers loved the book, and
it made for a terrific discussion!
Kerri Brandsen
Holland, Mich.
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