The Woman You Know And Have Never Met

 

Alice Ranck Hettle

You know this woman, although unless you attended New Albany High School between 1952 and 1986, it is unlikely you ever met her.  If, on the other hand, you were one of my students in Missouri, Texas, or Indiana, you have.  In fact, if you have ever encountered one of Alice Ranck's students...teachers, doctors, lawyers, athletes, business people, moms, dads, coaches, and more...you have in some way come to know her.

Dedication for Dedication

I have written about this extraordinary Latin teacher before, and now I need to post an addendum.  On Sunday, April 24th, 2022, the New Albany High School media center was formally dedicated as the Alice Ranck Hettle Media Center.  It seemed only fitting that a space we used to call a library be dedicated to a teacher whose dedication both to academics and her students was and perhaps always will remain unparalleled.

Although she retired more than thirty-five years ago to marry a man she had met in the 8th grade, none of us could ever call her Mrs. Hettle.  She was always "Miss Ranck" or "Miss Alice" to her students, the latter appellation undoubtedly derived from her own habit of addressing us as "Mr." or "Miss" and then our first name.  I was always "Mr. Steve" to her.

After her passing in 2019, a group of her former students began to plan a suitable and permanent way to honor this woman who had so profoundly influenced so many lives.  The choice of the library/media center was obvious, as was the choice for a quotation on the plaque that now adorns the wall to the right of the picture above.

Seneca was a Stoic philosopher who lived from 4 B.C. to A.D. 65, and in Epistle LXXVI he wrote, "Tamdiu discendum est quamdiu nescias."  "You must keep learning as long as there is something you do not know."  Had Seneca not said it first, Miss Ranck surely would have said it herself, for she would often stop class to impart some bit of wisdom, prefaced by her trademark statement, "This is more important than any Latin I will teach you."  It is for that reason more than her clear presentation of the subjunctive mood or the ablative absolute that so many people were present for this dedication.

Across the Decades

Steven Prince, Latin Teacher, NAHS

The emcee of the ceremony, current New Albany High School Latin teacher Steve Prince, asked people to stand as he called out the decades, and people rose who had been students of Miss Ranck in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.  The youngest among us had last sat in a classroom with Miss Ranck thirty-five years ago, the eldest more sixty.  What could possibly draw people from as far away as Houston, Texas?  What could have compelled people with physical infirmities for whom motion was clearly a challenge to visit a southern Indiana high school on a Sunday afternoon?  The answer is simple.  We were there for Miss Ranck.

When she was inducted into the NAHS Hall of Fame several years ago, Miss Ranck said, "It is our responsibility as educators to provide a sound education based on ethical principles.  Innate within every human being is first the desire to be noticed and to be loved, then comes the need to be taught to learn how to learn.  It is the role of the teacher to notice and yes, to love the student so much that he is ready to learn, and in turn develop all of his potential.  What better way for a teen-ager to learn to live honorably and well than to read from the literary masterpieces of Cicero."

After school board member Elizabeth Galligan read a poignant piece to acknowledge and commemorate the life of this extraordinary teacher, person after person took the microphone to share a "Miss Ranck" story.  Had Steve Prince not drawn this portion to a close, we could have been there all night listening to stories about this woman, whose first year of teaching was at Spartanburg High School in Lynn, Indiana, during the 1945-1946 school year, we could have been there all night.

That's My Teacher

I have friends in many noble professions, yet I do not think there is a calling that produces the excited statement, whether by a child or a senior citizen, quite like, "That's my teacher!"  

My calculus teacher, Jim Dickman

As guests began filling the atrium for the ceremony, I spotted across the room the man who had been my calculus teacher my senior year, Mr. Jim Dickman.  I quickly grabbed my daughter and asked her to take a picture of the two of us.  Mr. Dickman had also been a student of Miss Ranck, and although he is now retired and I am in the second phase of my own career, I was still excited to see "my teacher."

L to R:  Steve Perkins, Tim Harbison, Steve Prince

Many of Miss Ranck's students went on to become teachers and college professors, but only three that we know of became Latin teachers.  Tim Harbison, Steve Prince, and I share a special bond in that, but as all teachers know, there is something about the student-teacher relationship that is unlike any other.  The eminent polymath George Steiner wrote of this in Lessons of the Masters, a book that should be required reading for all teachers and that I explored in another post.  Those who have experienced such a special connection with a teacher can recognize the reason why in Miss Ranck's words above.  Before it is an academic relationship, it is a relationship based in love.

A Personal Note

To date I have taught more than 2,200 students, and while I have been blessed by a great many extraordinary teachers, a topic I have written about in "Why I Love Teaching, Part 1," it would not be too much to say that I would not have taught any of them had it not been for Miss Ranck.  As I described in the post titled "Infinite Space," God spoke to me when one day in 1986 she made an offhand reference to Antioch as the first place where anyone was ever called a Christian.  The call I felt on my life that day in Room C317 has led me to a life I have been blessed beyond measure to lead.  For this reason, I was grateful when Steve Prince took a few of us on a tour of the school and I was able to see that room once again.

Some things have change since I sat in that room years ago, learning from textbooks like Latin For Americans and Our Latin Heritage.  The door is in a new location, and there used to be windows that looked out across the football field.  For me, however, it was sacred ground, for it was there that I learned from Miss Ranck, heard the voice of God, and was inspired by the calling to which I have given my life.