2,000-year-old literature can be a little obsolete, a little outdated and a little boring-unless you're in Samuel J. Huskey's class.

Huskey is known for his unique tactics of relating classical literature to students, which include dressing as a chef, using students to demonstrate interactions between characters and standing on desks in the back of classrooms.

His background is as unique as his teaching style. Huskey, born in Charlottesville, Va., has taught at OU since 2002. Before attending school at OU and Iowa, Huskey had a brush with fame as he played with several members of the Dave Matthews Band, which got its start in Charlottesville. At that time, those musicians were part of their own band where Huskey was a drummer, much younger than the rest of the band.

Huskey said he never realized where his former bandmates were until he saw them on television.

"I was watching "Saturday Night Live" and I was like, 'Wow, there's Tim (Reynold, guitar player). There's Carter (Beauford, drummer). They're on TV and I'm in graduate school.'"

While he did not follow in his friends' footsteps to fame, he said performing in front of young audiences helped him learn how to teach his students.

"I'm trying to make 2,000-year-old literature exciting," Huskey said. "Knowing how music works and performing definitely has an influence."

Throughout his life, he said he found the best way to learn and teach is through expression.

"Express yourself," Huskey said. "Don't repeat others, but absorb knowledge. What I want students to do is join a conversation. The teachers I remember are the ones who taught me to think for myself."

The students certainly remember Huskey. The OU Panhellenic Association presented Huskey with the 2003-2004 Outstanding Faculty Member award.

Kelly Cook, letters senior, said Huskey teaches students by presenting the topics in a new and meaningful way.

"Most professors teach you information, but Huskey teaches you how to be a better person and live a better life," Cook said. "He can take the most frighteningly boring subjects and not only apply them to his life, but show you how to apply them to your own life."

Matt McDonald, letters senior, said he enjoyed both of the classes he took from Huskey, because Huskey listens to the students.

"[Huskey's] very attentive to his students," McDonald said. "He has a great sense of humor and he's very effective in his teaching."

While he is not the young drummer who once played alongside now-famous musicians, Huskey said he is happy with what he is doing.

"I absolutely love teaching," Huskey said. "I love teaching where I went to school. Teachers can be very effective people. I try to make something unfamiliar exciting."
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