Mr. Yonce's Letter
Mr. Yonce was one of two teachers whom influenced me the most. I owe my ability of analysis and analytical writing to him. My employer sent me to Antioch in Yellow Springs, Ohio. One of the classes I took was on critical writing. I aced the course, and the instructor wrote a glowing evaluation of my performance in class.
I wrote to Mr. Yonce thanking him for teaching me critical thinking and analytical writing. I attributed the evaluation to him (all true).
He responded with the letter to the right.
April 20, 1993
Dear Steven,
My cynicism has always been a badge of honor for me, and my cynicism has grown deeper and more easily applicable over the years. Then, along comes a kind letter like yours that shocks me with the reminder that there may actually be students who are listening to me and even practicing what I so heedlessly preach. Thank you for taking the time to write.
In the twenty years since you were at Highlands, I have weakened the curriculum to accommodate the less motivated students of today; and I have bowed to pressures presented by a generation of students with unearned self-esteem and mediocre performance, but I have never stopped demanding support for stated opinions. As you so skillfully point out in your letter, these are the days of turmoil and emotionalism, what I refer to as the era of the fanatic. It seems that everyone has an opinion and demands that everyone else agree with it. These opinions are not born of altruism or democratic concern and are usually unsubstantiated and often dangerous. If I can make a few students search their minds and the thinking of others for reasonable affirmation of their beliefs, then, at least, that part of my job is worthwhile.
You deserve high praise for your endeavor to complete your degree, and you are obviously doing a laudable job at what is recognized as a school with challenging academic standards. May your success continue, and may our always maintain the ideals and the integrity I perceive in your letter. Thanks again for making me realize, in my penultimate year of teaching, that there is still a reason to be in the classroom.
Sincerely,
Norman Yonce