I have many memories of Jesuit-Oak Lawn but the fondest is Father Michael Kammer who was the President in the ’50s. He was also my English teacher and authored the textbook we used. He was also a mentor to me, one I’ve never forgotten. When he graded our papers, they were peppered with notes including the page numbers and paragraph of his book where the particular topic was covered, he took great care in teaching us how to communicate.
I have written two books in my years since and here is an excerpt from the front matter of each as published:
“First, my deepest appreciation and regard for a special teacher of English. The late Michael P. Kammer, S.J. unrelentingly instilled the principles of good writing into so many unwilling minds, including my own. If any reader finds this book to be clear and well-written, they should also thank Father Kammer for his talent and perseverance as a teacher. He was a fine educator and friend.”
“The greatest encouragement, in both my ability and my desire to write came, not surprisingly, from a teacher. Father Kammer not only taught me how to write well, but he also instilled in me the desire to write. He was a tough teacher; after all, he wrote the English textbook we used in that high school years ago. He graded our compositions as thoroughly as he taught his lessons, too. I still have a theme paper covered with comments, suggestions, encouragements, and a multitude of page references to his textbook. He knew the book page by page and paragraph by paragraph. What a teacher!”
