Anne Thurman's Legacy

Anne Thurman would have been ninety-four years old today. Her life is proof of the enormous effect an educator can have. I could list her accomplishment, affiliations, and publications, but here is a good article that says it better than I could.

Anne taught me to be a teacher. Her class was the first one in which I worked with students, wrote lesson plans, and discussed the idea of Development Through Drama. And Anne modeled what she taught. I discovered that my favorite high school teacher was also a student of Anne Thurman.

It was in Anne’s class that I had my first teaching internship. I worked with second graders in Wilmette. One lesson focused on cowboys and Indians. After I did a Native American lesson the first half of the period, my partner taught a cowboy drama. We started by bucking broncos. The problem was, the broncos were imaginary and the kids were struggling to ride air ponies.

Anne usually sat in a corner and silently observed. You were in trouble if Anne entered your drama. My partner was working hard to make those horses real but the kids were struggling. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder, “here’s a good pony you can train!” Anne cast me as the horse. The kids eyes brightened and I found myself being bucked by fifteen seven year-olds! Lesson saved!

Although Anne retired from Northwestern before I graduated, that didn’t stop her from being my teacher and guide. As I finished my student teaching, she called me to say that Chute Middle School needed a drama teacher and she had already given them my name. I explained to Anne that I was training to be a high school teacher and I hadn’t graduated yet! Anne had already arranged for my early graduation. She had spoken to Chute’s principal and cleared my path.

My time at Chute was remarkable and Anne was a constant resource. The fact that I wasn’t coming straight out of college was a key factor in landing an interview at Deerfield High School.

Anne guided me at Deerfield, too. We talked regularly and she encouraged me to write for the Illinois Theatre Association’s newsletter, the Follow Spot, which she was editing. She wanted an article on performances of student creative writing or needed a book review.

I remember my wife conveying a message from Anne while we were waiting for a play to start at Northwestern, “Can’t you tell her that it is the end of the quarter and you have grading? Can’t you take a rain check?” I shook my head and said, “No one says no to Anne Thurman. I can’t and I won’t. I’ll write the article.” And with that, the woman sitting in the row in front of us turns around and says, “I can’t say no to her either!” It was the wife of the director of the play!

No one could say no to Anne because working with Anne was a dynamic and wonderful experience. No one said no to Anne because what Anne did was meaningful and focused on kids. Working with Anne Thurman was a gift and only a fool would turn that down. I loved the fact that my college professor assigned me homework twenty years after I graduated.

I celebrate Anne in the classroom every day. As I “prime the pump” or “make it active” or remind myself that students are emotional as well as intellectual beings, I think of Anne. I am forever grateful for the gifts she gave me and for the opportunity to share them.