Which teacher does Holden visit before leaving Pencey Prep?

Holden visits Mr. Spencer before leaving Pencey Prep. Spencer is Holden’s elderly history teacher, and the meeting occurs after Holden has been expelled for failing most of his classes.

Mr. Spencer is ill in bed with the flu when Holden visits him at home. He reads aloud Holden’s failed history examination, which concerned the ancient Egyptians, and lectures him about applying himself. Holden feels uncomfortable and resentful, but he also recognizes that Spencer is genuinely trying to help.

This scene establishes Holden’s complicated attitude toward adults: he calls many people “phony,” yet he is capable of seeing kindness and concern in them. A common mix-up is Mr. Antolini, another former teacher Holden visits later in New York. Antolini is not the teacher Holden sees before departing Pencey; Spencer is.