May 2001 
Harvey engages students with poetry, song, and laughter By Sheldon J. Reber, Director of School and Community Relations
|
Y ear after year, Winship students in Dave Harvey's eighth-grade language arts class get to know the man who recites The Cremation of Sam McGee, rides his bicycle every day from his home in McKinleyville, and plays his guitar in the classroom. According to former student Shanti Sattler, "Mr. Harvey is one of those teachers that you won't ever forget." In February, Harvey was recognized by his peers with the California Association of Teachers of English's (CATE) Classroom Excellence Award at the Association's 42nd annual convention in Ontario, California. Harvey has taught since 1965, and has been with Eureka City Schools since 1983. Local CATE chapter president and Arcata High School language arts teacher Joan Williams comments, "His reputation is of almost mythic proportions in our area. A popular poet and guitarist, Dave has used his talents to enthrall students. Their love and respect is indeed a testament to the man who has been a vital force in their lives." Harvey's colleague, Winship 7th-grade language arts teacher Mary Ann Hytken, maintains that "the students' relationship with Dave's curriculum is alive." As Harvey's former student teacher, Hytken explains that his passion for teaching and love of language is also an inspiration to the entire Winship staff. Retired Winship language arts teacher Joan Plympton points out that Harvey uses his many talents to complement his curriculum. "As an artist, bicycling enthusiast, poet, fan of steam railroads, or as a writer, Dave has a seemingly endless skill to use his interests to truly involve his students in the learning process," said Plympton. Sattler thought she knew everything about Harvey on the first day of class, "because my sister had taken his class and so had a lot of my friends." She, like most of Harvey's students, soon came to find a special connection with him. "On the first Friday of school, out came Mr. Harvey's guitar. He sang and played for us I Don't Want a Pickle and I'm My Own Grandpa and by the end of the session he had us all in tears laughing." On the last day of school, Harvey encourages his students to keep in touch by writing his address on the blackboard. "I was one of the ones who wrote down his address," said Sattler. "We still continue to write. I always get an immediate letter back with some poems about his latest adventures." Sattler pays the ultimate tribute to Harvey by describing him as "one of the greatest, cool, nice older guys with huge bike-riding muscles, great stories, songs, teaching and 'kid skills' and an unforgettable personality."
|
