Being at the Air and Space museum today took me back to the first time I came here, with my eighth grade class. It was the first of what would become an annual trip for that school. Mr. Craft, who taught science class throughout my middle school years, taught me a lot about science and even more about life.
I remember going star-gazing with him a couple times in the early morning hours; he was fascinated by astronomy. To him, I think it was a form of worshiping God. Because of that influence, when I see the universe I see the beauty, the complexity, and the power of God. He was the best teacher I had in my school career, and not necessarily because he was a nice guy, but because he taught me to enjoy the process of learning. He encouraged curiosity instead of the memorization of facts. He valued asking questions, and the pursuit of answers even though the answers to the best questions would only lead to further questions.
He influenced my life in so many more ways than I could ever describe, and I’m sure the same could be said by countless numbers of students he taught in his long career. He passed away on Jan. 21 of this year, and he’s one of those people that makes you really mad when they go, since you know there isn’t another person like them in the world.