Faculty Spotlight

MR. ROGER LAWSON by Kirk Silsbee

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of Mr. Roger Lawson. He graduated from MHS in 1957 but didn’t stray far from his roots. Lawson taught English at Monroe Jr. High in the late 60’s. Those who were lucky enough to make it into his 8th grade accelerated English classes probably received their first encounter with critical thinking; in most cases, it was like a bucket of cold water in the face. Lawson’s teaching philosophy was, roughly: go hard or go hungry. His class was rigorous, but he administered it with a sly smile and amusing anecdotes. This was not a course to be taken lightly and he had demanding expectations. Lawson navigated the florid, archaic language of “Cyrano deBergerac” and acted as a guiding beacon in the shadows of the Gothic novel via “House of the Seven Gables.” His classroom was where most students were first asked to grapple with serious expository writing. If they did their part, his charges had a running start on high school English. Lawson later taught at Inglewood High School. He lost his battle with cancer on December 29, 2008.         

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