Mrs. Sherry Altis, I was going to call Mr. Altis when he got home. It never occurred to me that he may die. He was larger than life from the first day I saw him chewing his gum telling us the class rules. He was an amazing teacher. I am still horrified at the images of the Holocaust rescues and the stories of children fed their family pets during the Great Depression. The best thing he ever did was to ask me how I felt about a topic only to make me debate the other side. I took every class he had to offer. History, Comparative Religions, Contemporary Issues. Hell, I would have taken Basket Weaving if he wanted to teach it. I am so sorry for your loss. I am so sorry for the worlds loss. He was a teacher who valued teaching our youth to critically think more than to regurgitate material. He took time to take the children out of the class rooms whether it was field trips or The Humanities Club. He took us to my first soup kitchen experience and we served up his amazing lasagna. Oh, and he made us write the significance of every event mentioned in We Didnt Start the Fire by Billy Joel. This was a very difficult task before Google! We had to use an encyclopedia and I cringe whenever I hear that song because I procrastinated and waited until the day before to complete the assignment. He read Forever Young to every Senior class. I attended your wedding and you attended mine. Damn it, even today he taught me a harsh lesson. Dont take it for granted. I should have sent that card or called sooner. Please accept my deepest sympathies. I am so sad to hear that he is gone. I am sorry that I cant be there to properly pay my respects. Class of 1997, Tina Sapp
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 01:01:20 +0000
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