Here Emile goes beyond the contents of his book Pegasus Lesson. With his book completed, Emile still continues his writing, reflecting in both poetry and prose on his daily experiences, including personal interactions with friends and what he hears on the radio and television and what he learns from books thanks to the Talking Book program for the blind.

Of course, with the help of his computer and special software, he communicates with the world thanks to the Internet that is accessible even to the blind. Computer technology has done much to alleviate the isolation of the blind. But Emile does more than just take in what is happening around him. He analyzes it, tries to understand it, and reflects upon it. And he will share these reflections with you on this webpage.

Emile hopes that you return here often to view the changing, growing content. And eventually, you -- the reader -- on this site, will have the chance to share your reactions to Emile's reflections -- as well as to any of the thoughts, poems, short essays found in his book that he hopes you will purchase.

We begin with Emile's fourth essay published on this site -- "Our Teacher" For past Reflections essays, be sure to check the archives.

In "Our Teacher," Emile focuses his attention -- and praise -- on Tully who teaches a creative writing class.

Our Teacher

I gave this speech on the occasion of Tully’s birthday party.

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."
William Arthur Ward

“Our teacher, Tully Clark, not only inspires. But is a model to which every student aspires. “
Emile Najm

I wonder why we go through life taking our blessings for granted. One great blessing is to be able to dream and articulate those dreams so that they can be shared and enjoyed by others. Creative writing is the communication art which makes our thoughts clear and interesting. A teacher who helps us develop this skill is definitely a great blessing. Tully not only teaches creative writing of prose and poetry but through his art, he illuminates the thoughts which made these creations masterpieces. A good number of these masterpieces are his creation. Every Monday, through Tully’s creativity, our minds take a journey in the world of imagination.

One of my favorite is his presentation of Shakespeare’s “Anthony and Cleopatra”. Tully explored Shakespeare’s deep understanding of human nature and elucidated Shakespeare’s exquisite language. Tully can not be outdone. His teaching is only a part of his greatness. His philosophy, attitude and behavior is a magnet which attracts his students permanently. His perceptive compliments of the students are a great motivator. He has a fantastic memory to retell the artistic creation of every student pointing out the student’s creative accomplishments. Tully teaches the beauty of creative writing which he savors with his heart and soul. He has committed to memory an unbelievable amount of poetry classics.

It is a miracle that Tully’s talent, knowledge and creativity were directed to volunteering and becoming a teacher of creative writing. I thank God for the blessing of Mr. Tully Clark who is better than a great teacher. He is a magician. We are all spellbound by his goodness. The most amazing fact about this wonderful blessing is that it is bestowed only on the chosen blind.

Sincerely,
Emile Najm
Dec. 10, 2007

If you would like to respond to this Reflections essay, send a message to Emile at pegasus@gordonrichard.com. Please use as your subject "Our Teacher". Again, you can view earlier Reflections in the archives.