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By Dr. William A. Meehan President, JSU A Mrs. Hilda Norton began teaching English at JSU upon retiring from the Mrs. Norton, a native of the Williams community, teaches classes in composition, advanced grammar, and American literature. She holds a master’s degree in English from JSU. “I never wanted to be anything other than a classroom teacher,” said Mrs. Horton. “It has been my dream since childhood.” Mrs. Norton’s career began in 1941 in a second-grade classroom in Mrs. Norton often taught out of her field in those early days because teachers were expected to fill other subject needs in the primary and middle school grades. With a chuckle, Mrs. Norton said that for a time she covered math, science, and music while another teacher taught language arts, history, and art portions of a middle school class. Mrs. Norton’s career with She entered JSU a second time in the fall of 1963 to pursue a master’s degree. She earned a bachelor’s in public education from JSU in 1941. She joined the faculty the English department in the fall of 1965. “Students enjoy instructors who have Mrs. Norton’s kind of passion for the subject matter being taught,” said Randy Wilson, a former JSU student of Mrs. Norton. “On the first day of class you could tell that she truly loves to teach.” Many of her former students also use words like “sincere,” “elegant,” and “delightful” while recalling time spent in her class. Mrs. Norton’s advanced students at JSU often mention her insistence of combining spelling and phonetics into every level of instruction. She explains complex grammatical points with great clarity. The parent of a JSU student said his son’s feelings for her were “reverent” after he took Mrs. Norton’s freshman composition class. “Perhaps we envy her orderliness a bit, but we are most struck by the humility with which she consults us about instructional problems,” said Mrs. Judith McKibbin, an English instructor at JSU. “And her helpfulness when we need it never fails.” “I retired from JSU in January of 1984,” said Mrs. Norton. “I returned in September and I’m still here today because I really love teaching.” Two things have endured throughout her 64-year career—the dignified grace with which she teaches and her unfaltering commitment to excellence. Mrs. Norton continues to serve as positive influence at JSU, as thousands of her former students and dozens of her colleagues will attest. I know that influence well because she was my freshman English instructor in 1968. You can contact Mrs. Norton at hnorton@jsu.edu. |
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