After twenty-six years of teaching at Plymouth State College, Professor Christopher Clarke is retiring. “I was a member of the Education Department but also taught some business classes as well,” said Clarke. He served as chair of the Education Department from 1977 to 1980 and was Director of Graduate Studies from 1980 to 1983. For nine years, he was the defensive coordinator for the football team.
Clarke received his Bachelors of Arts in Political Science/Biology from the American International College in 1963. One year later and at the same institution, he completed his Masters of Arts in Philosophy/History of Education. He received educational grants to study at Bowdoin College in 1965, and in 1966 he studied Marine Biology, Oceanography, and Physical Geography at the State University of New York. In 1975, Clarke received his Doctorate in Philosophy and Education/Zoology from East Tennessee State University. His education didn’t stop there however, as he just completed his Masters of Theology at Notre Dame College.
His teaching career began in 1964 at Provincetown High School on Cape Cod where he taught Biology and the Earth Sciences. Three years later, in 1967, Clarke went to Florida where he taught Biology at Edgewater High School in Orlando and Zoology at Seminole Junior College in Sanford. He became Headmaster at St. Andrews Roman Catholic School in Orlando, Florida in 1968 and held that position until 1972. From 1972 until 1975 at East Tennessee State University, Clarke was a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Department of Biology, Doctoral Teaching Fellow in the Department of Philosophy and Education, and Administrative Assistant with the Dean College of Education. Clarke joined the Plymouth State faculty in 1975.
Clarke is also a published author. He wrote Developmental Theory and Learning in 1970. In 1977, he co-wrote Centerville: A Model For Educational Decision Making with M.L. Fishler. With the collaboration of R.A. Fralick, Clarke published Freshwater Biology of Northern New England in 1990. The last book to his name is A History of Catholic Thought published in 1996. In addition to his four books, Clarke also has ten articles that he either wrote or co-wrote, his masters thesis titled Secularization of American Education, and his doctoral dissertation Influence of the Idea of Progress on American Educational Thought 1900-1958.
As defensive coordinator for the Plymouth Panthers, he produced the number one defense in the country three times. “We set the NCAA record for most consecutive shutouts with seven. We also set the single season interception record with thirty-six,” Clarke said. The Panthers won the New England Football Championship in eight of Clarke’s nine years and won the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship once.
“There are many reasons why I am retiring,” explained Clarke. “But the main reason is too much bureaucratic interference with my classes. I can teach the way I want to teach but not grade.” For the past five years, Clarke has been under tremendous pressure and dealing with “a lot of interference and negativity.” Recently, he was ordained in the Catholic Church as a Deacon, and feels this is a good time to start a new life.
He has been assigned to St. Timothy’s in Bristol where he will perform baptisms, marriages, funerals, give homilies on scripture, and teach classes. Clarke said, “My academic background will help, especially in the homily as I try to tie scripture to modern society.”