A sprig of verbena and the gifts of a great teacher

     In Kathleen Parker's article "A sprig of verbena and the gifts of a great teacher", she is inspired by Obama's speech to students about teachers. Obama's speech resurfaced the memory of one teacher of Parker, named James Gasque. She wishes for her readers to have a similar memory come to mind when talking about one teacher who "[hit] the light switch" for her. Parker explains this more when she states that she suspects "thousands or millions think... person who held that distinction in their life".


     Parker wants her audience to remember how such a small event in her life; how such a small act of kindness from a teacher could affect her entire life. The small act of kindness she experiences is simply her teacher standing up for her in front a classroom full of laughing peers. Mr. Gasque stands up for Parker telling the class that they shouldn't laugh at a small mistake made by a fellow student because she doesn't make large mistakes where it counts - in her writing. Parker emphasizes the fact that she appreciated such a small deed by saying "I dangle even now, like those silly participles...", which further connects to how she feels about Mr. Gasque.


     The purpose of Parker's column is to show that Obama was right in his speech about students finding a teacher that really made them understand something. She simply used Obama's speech as a Segway to a personal experience that further supported the claim that the president. She did this by saying that his speech made her remember an event that happened to her in the past that really helped her and stayed with her for a long amount of time.


     Parker utilizes diction and syntax methods to her advantage, making the column more interesting and making the author seem more credible to be talking about this subject. One example was her use of dashes. This was used towards the end of the column when she writes "...he presented me with two lined pieces of notebook paper -- my essay on 'The Unvanquished'". Parker uses this method of syntax to give more specifics about her essay in an interesting way rather than just describing it right away. This makes it almost seem like a sudden realization. It seems as if Parker just believes it's regular notebook paper until she realizes what is on the notebook paper, almost like a side note.


     This column encourages teachers to be that person that clicks the light bulb on, that makes a difference in their students' lives, that does something that their student will remember. This also encourages students to go out and find that person that helps them realize something in their life. The column shows that teachers and students alike can make a difference in others' lives just by one small act of kindness.