Sept. 29, 2010

Dear former students,

Hi!  I am glad to have this chance to write to you (though I wish I could address each and every one of you personally and by name) and I think it's appropriate that I write a letter, since so many of you over the years wrote weekly "Dear Ray" letters or journals to me.

I am doing fine, though still being treated for cancer and other issues that have developed related to it.  But, yes, yes, yes (!) I am fine and happy to be teaching.  It's always the highlight of my week.  Still, even after all these years, I feel guilty that I am paid to teach (which I love) courses (that I love) to students (whom I love.)  Can life be better than that?!

I have so many wishes for all of you: first, that you find your life and work meaningful, rewarding and gratifying—and, second, that you will keep in touch and involved with us in the English Department.  When I first started teaching in the department I was told that students here in Taiwan don’t refer to their former teachers in the past tense and that even after students graduate they still say to a teacher that he or she IS my teacher.  If that's true, that means that you are, even after graduation, an integral part of my life, other teachers' lives and the life of the English Department. We hope and need you to participate in our ongoing lives, research, and work in the department.  Our big old English family is almost fifty years old. It is your active engagement that can instill new spirit so that we can continue our tradition of excellence.    Ah!  That is a lot for us to share, celebrate and do together.

Finally, my last wish for you is best expressed by the poet Seamus Heaney who wrote a poem called "The Swing" which describes the rather ordinary experience of riding with childhood friends on a tree swing. Maybe you have had a similar experience. The poem concludes, "In spite of all, we sailed, / Beyond ourselves and over and above / The rafters aching in our shoulder-blades, / The give and take of branches in our arms." Heaney's description of the desire for and partial achievement of upward movement, yet the inevitability and glory of remaining earthbound expresses my hope for you and us all.

Wishing you all the best of the best,
Ray Schulte