David CookThe best part about having a Friday column is that I get to watch news unfold throughout the week and then write about the headline that interests me most.
It's a luxury, and like most news cycles there've been no shortage of topics to choose from this week. More Planned Parenthood fallout, continued jockeying over the future of highway funding, a lion named Cecil, and all things Donald Trump are just some of the big ticket items that've made up this week's media buffet.
I've given serious consideration to writing about each one, as well as a few others. Shoot, I've even thought about detailing the city of Chattanooga's current search for a new beaver trapper. Yes, that's really a thing. Google it.
But there's been something I've been stewing on since Sunday when I first read about it, and I'd like to dedicate my word count to it this week: columnist David Cook's decision to return to teaching. In case you didn't read the Times Free Press on Sunday, David announced that after a four-year absence he's heading back to the classroom.
Instead of writing four columns every seven days, starting this fall Chattanooga readers will see the David Cook byline once a week.
I am about 93 percent certain that I've never met David in person, but he's influenced my writing in two major ways. First off, he's been a routine encourager, which, come to think of it, fits squarely with his nature as an educator. After I wrote my first column ever, David reached out with a friendly "good job" email. When I recently returned to the Free Press page, David was the first to send me a congratulatory message.
Just as important, and maybe even more so, his work has pushed me to examine my own stances on certain matters. Does this mean he's persuaded me to abandon my positions all that often? No, not really.
However, one of the greatest achievements for any writer is to convince readers to kick the tires on new ideas, to analyze things from a different perspective. David accomplishes this. And in doing so, his work regularly adds context to my appreciation for this city, its people and their storylines.
The same traits that make him a great writer are the same ones that make David a great teacher. As a fellow educator (of sorts), I can completely understand his desire to get back to the students. When teaching is in your blood, it's near impossible to escape its pull.
Columnist David MartinFor a natural-born educator there is nothing more exciting than leading students to a light bulb moment, to see them grasp once-foreign concepts and take ownership of them. If you have teaching in your DNA, there simply aren't that many substitutes for that experience. David painted a perfect word picture on Sunday when he said that while he's been writing full-time his heart has been looking over his shoulder.
So he's doing a professional about-face, and I commend him for it.
Many of David's biggest detractors - they usually vent in The Rant on Sundays and pummel social media with more comments - complain that he's too sentimental, a bleeding-heart leftie. Well, how many folks out there would have the guts to put down a successful career at the age of 41 to pursue their strongest God-given talent? Answer: next to none. Yeah, so who's the squish now?
Anyway, good luck, David Cook. I know your decision wasn't all that easy to make, though I'm sure it's the right one. You've benefited Chattanooga discourse immensely for the past four years, but I have a feeling that pales in comparison to the impact you'll soon be making on your students.
David Allen Martin is a syndicated columnist who writes from Chattanooga. You can email him at davidallenmartin423@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @DMart423.