As the year is coming to a close, many graduating students are spending their last days at Jesuit. Unfortunately, Jesuit’s very own Mr. David McGowan ’69 will mark his last day as a teacher, a job he held at Jesuit for 25 years.
“He embodies that wise man archetype,” fellow English co-chair Dr. Degen commented, someone “who gives people a lot of comfort…a lot of compassion.”
“And like many thoughtful guide figures, he has often given me pause, forcing me to rethink initial conclusions,” Degen added.
“I suggested to Dave that we keep a TV in the English commons with a permanent Skype link so when needed, I can just summon him. But maybe the TV should be in my office,” Degen pondered.
“I will notice in my day that [Mr. McGowan] will be gone,” said Ms. Elise Stewart, faculty counselor, who recognizes the impact of presence.
He “finds the fun in what [he does],” Stweart added. McGowan continually recognizes “that this is hard work, but [he] can see the joy in it. I think one of the reasons that [he sees] the joy in it is because they are open to doing new things, but first to consider that there are different ways of doing things.”
Principal Tom Garrison believes that McGowan “has a very strong understanding of the history of the school… I’ve gone to him sometimes [to ask] ‘where does this fit into the context of what’s going on?’ He also has a similar understanding of Dallas and [how] Jesuit plays this interesting role in the city for the last seventy years. Dave has a strong appreciation for the links between us and the city that we’re in.”
Garrison also added, “I’m grateful because talented people can work anywhere, but we’re lucky that this was the place that [McGowan] had been called to.”
Head soccer coach Charlie DeLong remarked, “I think Mr. McGowan has been a real treasure to this school, and obviously he brings to the equation that he graduated from here if you’ve ever been to senior community days his presentation is powerful, very powerful. I’ve been good friends with him for a long time and Mrs. Row and he works really hard to create a new and innovating senior English program every year, to stimulate kids to think and write and give them a reason to be excited about English.”
Key members of the English department realize that soon an obvious absence will be viscerally felt.
“Dave has been a great teacher, chair, and mentor to so many students and teachers. He cares deeply about this school, and he has a great personality- calm, reflective, and always wise with decisions. He will be missed by all in our departments, and I know he will be missed by those students he has built a relationship. I am happy for him, and I will miss seeing him daily. Jesuit is a better place because of Dave McGowan. He understood the school, and he understood teaching. Jesuit is losing a man who left a huge imprint,” remarked newly appointed English co-chair Bob Wunderlick.
Perhaps those the closest to McGowan capture the genuine spirit of the man.
Mrs. Sheryl Row has worked with McGowan most closely over the past few decades. “I met Dave in 1990. Although he replaced a teacher mid-year, he fit seamlessly with our faculty and program. Of, course he is a 1969 graduate, and that certainly helped. Dave has contributed to the life of the school in a wide variety of areas. One of his many legacies is a presentation he gives to the seniors on community days concerning the classmates few know, those on the fringe of the community, who need other seniors to reach out and include them.
“I consider Dave one of my closest friends here at Jesuit, not simply someone I work with. He and I have similar ideas and concerns about the school. Perhaps that is due to our ages, but I prefer to think it is a result of our mutual love for Jesuit. Dave and I both saw the need to broaden the English department’s reading selections to important authors publishing after, say, 1930. We have taught Toni Morrison, Scott Momaday, Richard Wright, Stephen Harrigan, and Marjane Satrapi among many others.
“Three years ago, Dave convinced the administration to offer English electives senior year. This allowed us to expand what we had been doing for years: collaboratively develop three new courses. We read eight to ten books together in order to choose three or four for a course. We imagined presentations and assignments together, we created tests together, we taught for one another. Believe me, working this closely with a colleague is not possible without someone who is intelligent, professional, giving, and humble.”
“One interesting note as Dave leaves is that he either taught, helped hire, (or both) everyone in the English department.”
Luckily, Jack Durham ’16 of The Roundup was able to sit down and interview this great man.
JD: How was Jesuit changed since you first started 25 years ago?
DM: For starters, it has increased by 400 students. It was about 700 when I started teaching and there are about 1100 now. There’s a significant difference in size, and we’ve joined the UIL, which rammed up the athletic end of the profile.
JD: Once you finished college did you come straight back to teach?
DM: No, I was in the retail liquor business for 10 years, then I decided it was time for me to do something important, so I came back and taught at Sunset for three years and went to Jesuit after.
JD: Have students changed considerably since you first started teaching?
DM: Essentially, Jesuit students are the same as they were when I was here, hairstyles change, but not many other things do. I think students get by with what they can get by with. Fundamentally, students are the same, I think athletics is a lot more serious than it used to be.
JD: What is your assessment of how technology has affected education?
DM: I think it’s been an incredible distraction, but I don’t think it’s endemic to Jesuit, I think our whole entire society is distracted. You go to a mall, and everybody’s on their phone, nobody’s talking to each other, everyone is always somewhere else from where they are. But are iPads anymore a distraction than laptops would have been? Certainly not.
JD: What will you miss about teaching at Jesuit?
DM: I think I’ll miss my relationships with my colleagues. I’ve made a lot of good friends here that I’m used to seeing all day every day and so I’ll miss that sort of camaraderie. I’ll miss the students and the returning students that you see five or six years after they graduate, so you know I’ll certainly miss that.
JD: What advice would you give to a new teacher?
DM: Well I’ve been department chair for 22 years and I always give the same advice to a new teacher: you need to be having fun. If you’re not having fun being a teacher, then you need to go get a real job, because the kids aren’t having fun and it’s just absolute drudgery. So figure out how to have fun or do something else.
JD: What will retirement look like for you? Any bucket list items?
DM: A lot of travel. I’m a big road trip guy no matter where it is. I want to take one more rafting trip and I’m gonna do that this summer. There are places I want to see while I’m still reasonably mobile and healthy so a lot of road trips planned and a lot of time spent in the hill country in Wimberly.
JD: Can you recall some favorite moments during your time at Jesuit as both a student and teacher?
DM: I used to love Ranger Day and the senior skits and all that stuff. Community days has always been my favorite here, spending those three days with the senior class and with my colleagues. At community days, y’all build community but the faculty gets to as well and I don’t think y’all realize that. For stories, my favorite one was when a teacher that will remain unnamed was a student, and snuck out on Community Days and Mr. Donahue made him march all night long. He caught him sneaking out and put him on a forced march around Athens, Texas in the early hours of the morning. Another one is when an unnamed English teacher who was a student here got caught by Mr. Earsing sneaking out of the classroom window. I’m very fortunate in that a lot of the faculty here are former students, so that’s fun I know where the bodies are buried. I also feel that I’ve had a hand in hiring a lot of people here including the Principal and a lot of people who have gone on to do other things.
