ENGLISH DEPARTMENT CHAIR
English teacher Mark Shovan has taught at Brooks for 48 years.
“Which teachers do we
remember most? Those who taught with passion and sincerity. Shakespeare wrote, ‘There is no legacy so rich as honesty.’ Mark’s legacy at Brooks will be enormous and deep, but none of it will be more important than how he taught us to tell it like it is.” English Department Chair Dean Charpentier
SP RI NG 2016
Dean Charpentier: I hear it every spring as we schedule students into their classes for the following year. “I want to be taught by Mr. Shovan before I graduate,” they tell me. I’ve even developed a name for the phenomena: “The Shovan Experience.” I hereby cede the rights to that name to Mark’s post-retirement band, or for his memoirs. The students are on to something, and I will double down on the sentiment: Every faculty member should have the privilege of working in the same department with Mark, just once. They say of great athletes that they make their teammates better. All of us in the English department are better teachers for having Mark as a colleague. I feel especially blessed, with Mark’s office essentially attached to my classroom. I am sure Mark could have used his time more wisely than having to deal with my drop-in questions, brainstorming and rambling stories, but perhaps he will take solace in the fact that his presence alone made me a better teacher. Mark was equally comfortable working with experienced teachers and young teachers. Our time in the creative writing workshop over Winter Term with [second-year English faculty] Steph Holmes was precious; I hope Steph wrote down all of the little bits of writing advice Mark shared with the students: so meaningful, concise and clear they should be elevated to the status of proverb. Once, Mark said to the department, “Our biggest responsibility is to communicate our passion for reading and writing.” He is right, of course. Which teachers do we remember most? Those who taught with passion and sincerity. Shakespeare wrote, “There is no legacy so rich as honesty.” Mark’s legacy at Brooks will be enormous and deep, but none of it will be more important than how he taught us to tell it like it is. •
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