by Jarret Liotta
WESTPORT — If you read my columns — and I hope you do yourself, and not just have someone read them to you, ya lazy lout — you may suspect there aren’t many people in this world that I respect & admire.
Excluding my children — and believe me, they’re not above criticism — there truly aren’t many — Steven Spielberg, Ringo Starr and the cast of Queer Eye, of course … but not many others I can think of …
Yet a marvelous moment this week reminded me of my deep and profound affection for a motley assortment of some unique individuals I was privileged to have had as my public school teachers growing up in Westport, Connecticut.
Art = Life
Just the other night I was laboring over a creative project when, yet again, the voice of my old drawing teacher from Staples High School — Jim Wheeler — paraphrased some of the most valuable art- and life-related teachings I’ve ever received.
This man didn’t steer me toward becoming an artist — that was a terrible accident of birth and home-life dysfunction — but he taught me (and many others) amazing (and practical) truths that I’ve been able to use in my everyday life time and time again.
It would take hours to explain, but important concepts like “process over product,” the importance of intuition as a practical tool, and the idea that if a piece of art (or anything in life) doesn’t feel right, it’s probably not and one needs to apply the eraser to backtrack to when it felt authentically true, rather than clinging attachment to what you’ve already drawn (or lived) because it’s there and kind of looks good on the outside …
I could go on …
But who knew when I signed up for a drawing class that I’d actually be taught about art and its relation to life?!
Let It Go, Folks …
It’s interesting these days to hear so many complaints from parents about what teachers are teaching their children.
I can pretty much guarantee you that, aside from a few stupid outliers and lazy bones — and we all know who they are — most of the teachers working in this district are largely incredible magic makers who do far more good in the lives of these little punks & angels than some of the most worried, over-emotional helicopter parents ever will.
As a parent myself, I understand the fear of letting go — wanting to control each and every aspect of your child’s life to make it as perfect as possible — but as you & I have talked about so often, that’s our fear and we mustn’t confuse it with good intentions or some kind of noble caretaking in the name of our kiddies.
Let’s not forget that you & I are striving for healthy boundaries with our children … or at least you are, while I’m plotting how to parley their various successes into a viable nest egg for my bitter retirement.
But I digress …
The Mark of a Great Teacher
Over in the English department at Staples, Dr. Joseph Lieberman was a pivotal influence on my writing, though perhaps even moreso on my love and interest in reading …
They don’t make ‘em like that anymore!
This wiry little red-haired man used to commute in by train from Manhattan to serve us miscreants at SHS in the latter half of the 20th century. In his arm he carried his little Toto-like lap dog, which would quietly sit under the projection cart in his classroom, or later in a compartment in his office, where the custodian had cut through the wall and installed glass so that the dog could watch him in action throughout the day without getting worried.
It’s hard to convey the eye-opening impact of a teacher like Dr. Lieberman — the crazy stories he would share about growing up in the Pennsylvania Dutch country, his life in New York City, and his deep passion for quality prose and what it meant to him, to the world …
Sad to say, if he were teaching today he’d probably be forced out for being too peculiar — branded a radical Marxist or something … Good Grief!! When will we learn, Great Pumpkin?! When will we learn?!!
And I WAS a Rotten Kid!
Not all my favorite school influences were teachers. Todd Kalif was our dean at Staples and he helped craft my life for the better in many ways, as did Jim Welsh, then-assistant principal at then-Coleytown Junior High School. His extreme patience and kindness in dealing with me was not lost, and believe me, to say I was a little shite is being kind!
(Much as I’d like to, I can’t blame all of it on the mold!)
Another amazing individual was Mary Bernhardt, my guidance counselor at Coleytown, who later went to SHS and actually made an amazing difference in my son’s life as well. (Can you imagine the trauma and pain of having to be my offspring, versus just a casual reader?!) Her care, time and dedication were above-and-beyond; may I never forget it and, at the very least, strive to pass it on …
Mr. Jim Honeycutt was an amazing teacher I got to have twice at CJHS when he was just starting out. I was also blessed with a trio of legendary music teachers there — Jim Boston, Dorothy Straub, and my dear friend Jim Papp. Other notables in my WPS career included, of course, Nerina Benanti, Sally Gross, Mr. Rhodes, Trudy Connors, Mr. Martens, Mr. D’onofrio, Dr. Sellinger, Mrs. Chiappetta and a handful I’m blanking on — there, at Staples, and at my elementary mater, Coleytown El.
Hogwarts Got Nothin’ on This Crew
I could go on and on about the impact these people had in shaping me, for good or ill, but I want my point to be that these brilliant educators — these artists — are creators of magic, contextualizers of meaning and purveyors of pivotal memories.
Regardless of what people think, however, it’s not about the content that’s taught, the tests administered, the ho-hum plans the administrators implement, the benchmarks parroted, nor even the personal or political philosophies espoused by the people doing the teaching.
It’s about a few good people showing up for a consistent year and sending a sound, soothing, safe subliminal message that they sincerely care …
It’s the magic of actually caring that makes all the difference.
These are my heroes!
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Reading this article was a beautiful start to the morning. Thank you for taking the time to recognize the qualities that mean the most to me as a teacher. Yes, math, Italian and music are the waters that we swim in, but we’re here to teach our students how to swim. Hopefully we inspire our students, modeling both triumph and disappointment as part of our daily lessons. Watching them grow and develop their unique talents is what gets the passionate teacher excited to come to school, even on a cold Monday morning.
Fifth grade Miss See Bedford elementary, miss Llewellyn Bedford junior high school, Mr. Lieberman at Staples Mr. Adler at Staples coach Lane at Staples they all had an impact on me as teachers. Going to Staples during the Vietnam war, quite a bit of apathy in high school. My math teacher Mr. Adler inspired me treated me like a grown-up. you remember those things. My four kids I’ve always asked them what teachers had an affect on your life and they could each point to a junior high school teacher and a high school teacher who had a positive affect on their lives.Teachers then, and teachers now never get there just dues in life
Jarret, Thanks for the shout out! I am sure I thanked you for the wonderful article you wrote about our family when Denise and I retired in 2016. I have the article pinned to my office wall. Hard to believe that Denise and I worked in Westport Schools for 39 years. But harder to believe both of my children worked for Westport Schools too – one as a school nurse and one as a special education teacher. Westport Schools was good to us. I was lucky to have great administrators like Jim Farnen, Toby Watson and Sally Grosse as my supervisors over the years. We’ve all been blessed by our good fortune in Westport. For me personally and I am sure for the rest of the family it has always been about our students who made to job so wonderful. Students like you! Thanks again for the kindness!
Jarret,
Thank uou for your kind words. It is always gratifying to hear words spoken and lessons taught so long ago did not fall on deaf ears. You and so many others who arrived in class eager to hear and learn made teaching in Westport an exciting experience. We were the envy of educators across the state.
Bravo Jarrett! So seldom do people publicly recognize the teachers that have made a difference in their lives. As an elementary school teacher in Westport, I sometimes hear from past students and occasionally when I see them out and about, still get hugs (it used to be allowed). Thank you for sharing your thoughts. It is truly about ‘the magic of actually caring that makes all the difference.”