THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, August 18, 1995 TAG: 9508180039
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY FEONA HUFF, CAMPUS CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Medium: 62 lines
AS I LIFTED my eyes to pull my audience into the poem, they unexpectedly met those of my French professor.
It meant a lot to me that he was there. But Norfolk State University instructor Alphonse Kasongo supported me all the time, whether it dealt with class work or campus activities. He was my teacher, he was my friend.
The idea of establishing a relationship with my teachers, in high school and college, has been an integral part of my life. Teachers can be more than educators - they can be friends, counselors and mentors. The benefits are open to anyone.
Angela Moore, 23, a 1995 NSU grad, initiated a relationship with her third-grade teacher that continues to this day.
Gwendolyn Gillespie of Oak View Elementary School in Fairfax ``seemed like the first teacher who took time out to encourage me and offer support, even after my third-grade year,'' Angela said. ``She always showed an interest in me.''
I can identify with Moore. For me, that teacher was Cathy Lassiter, my 10th-grade history teacher at Norview High School. She was an excellent teacher. If I needed extra help, she found time to help me. We shared a teacher/student relationship as well as a friendship that continues to grow. Whenever I visit my alma mater, I visit Lassiter too.
Kasongo encourages students to be friends with their teachers. He believes that if students take time out to learn who their teachers are as people, perhaps they will better understand their teaching style.
``The more you know, the better off you are. Communication is a very positive tool,'' he added.
But not all teachers think like Kasongo. Dr. Anthony H. Bruder, also a professor of mine at NSU, is totally against students and teachers being friends - although he said he can be friendly.
``I don't consider it acceptable,'' Bruder said. ``It might interfere with my grading if the student were my friend.''
Because he teaches logic, human sexuality, family planning, family relationships and marriage, many of Bruder's students come to him for advice.
``They come to me about their personal problems. I end up doing more counseling,'' he said.
Bruder is also a therapist, and he compares friendship between a therapist and his patient to one with a teacher and his student. Either relationship is wrong in Bruder's eyes.
He makes a good point, but as for me, I'll stand by my decision.
Through taking the time to get to know my teachers, I have made compadres for life. I am not in an elite position. Any student can do just what I am doing. So make an effort to get to know your teachers. You never know what you'll get.
At the end of my sophomore year at Norview, Lassiter gave me a book titled ``I Dream a World - Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America.'' On the inside cover, she wrote: ``I expect to read about Feona Huff in a book like this one. So read and learn about these great black women and become one yourself.''
Whenever I read the book, I think of my former teacher, my friend. MEMO: Feona Huff is a rising junior at Norfolk State University. by CNB