Good Teachers Instill More Than Three R's
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Imagine 20 or more children barely able to string words together to construct a coherent sentence being left in your care for six or seven hours. Add to that the responsibility of transforming those children into people of fine character who possess the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the field of work they choose, and you will know what teaching entails. National Teacher Appreciation Week, which has been observed the first full week of May since 1985, focuses on the role teachers play in shaping their students' lives, and is an occasion for students and former students to express their respect for teachers.
This year, as National Teacher Appreciation Week (May 2-6) drew near, iBerkshires asked several local residents to share their memories of a teacher who wielded a positive influence over them.
"I think I became a teacher because of Miss Erickson, my first-grade teacher at the old Brayton School (in North Adams)," said Jane Allen, a retired educator who is a member of the Williamstown Board of Selectmen. "One day she needed to speak to someone in the hall and when she left the classroom, she put me in charge of the reading group. I got to sit in her big chair and use her big reading book. I loved being 'the teacher' then and I loved being a teacher my whole career."
Thomas W. Bleezarde, the retired editor of the Williams Alumni Review, a former New England journalist and the author or editor of a half-dozen books, was sitting with a group of friends at Tunnel City Coffee in Williamstown when we approached him. "In the dedication of one of my books," said Bleezarde, "I acknowledge the influence of Joseph B. Salls ... our homeroom teacher in seventh grade, our New York state and United States history teacher in junior high and senior high school, and our senior class adviser (in New Lebanon, N.Y.) I went on to say (in the dedication) 'his mentoring gave me an appreciation for oral and written history projects ... and encouraged me to follow my family’s work in journalism.'
"Mr. Salls was a local boy with an appreciation for the role early eastern New York residents had played in the state and the country ... His particular passion was tales of the 'glory days' of the valley when it rivaled Saratoga for the title of 'Warm Springs' capital of the country (it lost and the big hotels are now just memories). Mr. Salls was a storyteller as much as a teacher and his ability to captivate and enthuse his students was legendary."
His salary alas, did not match his passion, said Bleezarde. "He supplemented his meager teacher's salary by cutting grass in the town cemetery, working on haying crews and writing an historical anecdote column for my family's weekly newspaper."
Susan Desiderio credits George Feder, an arts and drama teacher at Sheepshead Bay High School in Brooklyn, N.Y., with teaching her the importance of being authentic and true to one's self. "He was quite an amazing human being who opened up my literary world by introducing me to Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose writings prove that he was way ahead of this time," said Desiderio.
"George treated everyone as an individual and taught us all to value each other and all mankind. I still keep and cherish a small plaque which he hand painted and gave me as a gift. But his teachings were his greatest gift to me."
Williamstown Town Manager Peter Fohlin has two favorite teachers. "My first is Sooren Kachadorian, my sixth-grade mathematics teacher in Shrewsbury," said Fohlin. "He demanded perfect behavior and perfect work, although he never gave more than a 99 because he said only God was perfect."Mr. Kachadorian taught us all that if we applied ourselves diligently and asked for help when truly needed we could succeed. He also taught us to respect and have patience with each other, lest a piece of chalk whiz across the room and hit us in the side of the head. Those were the days!"
"My other favorite teacher is an English language arts teacher at Reid Middle School in Pittsfield — my wife, Mary. ... She traveled off island from Martha's Vineyard to Leslie University (Boston) to achieve her master's degree. A grueling demonstration of determination and dedication."
Robert "Bob" Greenberg did not need to mull over iBerkshires' request. He instantly replied that Bob Hatch, his football coach at Bates College, who was a professor of athletics, most impressed him with his good sense and educational ability.
"He was not only a coach; he was the one who taught me how to navigate through life, take my bumps and get on with what my goal was. He had a sign on his desk that [read] 'what you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you say.' That saying has guided my action with my family and especially my work experience."He appreciated achievement but his compliments were few and treasured. I remained in contact with him after I graduated in 1954 until he passed last year at the age of 85."
Eighty-nine-year-old Phyllis Oleson's memories of the teacher she "most loved" take her back to South Center School in South Williamstown, now known as the Little Red School House. "It's where my love of history began," said Oleson, who is an avid historian and longtime member of the South Williamstown historical committee.
"Mrs. Evelyn 'Belle' Smith was my teacher until sixth grade. She opened the world to us right away. She told us to ask our parents where [what country] they came from, and we learned there was a world beyond the place where we lived.
"She taught the joy of living — introduced us to music, brought in flowers and leaves in the fall and led us on walks to our favorite tree. When a Zeppelin came over one day, Mrs. Smith stopped school so we could go outside to watch, and when a group of gypsies came by, we went outside and waved to them."Oleson admired her teacher for the "wonderful way" she introduced a new student.
"A girl about 12 years old who lived in the mountains of Hancock was coming to school for the first time, and Mrs. Smith said, 'We want to make her feel welcome. She won't have clothes like yours. She will be wearing a burlap bag for a dress and a rope around it for a belt.'
"None of us laughed or did anything that would make the new student feel uncomfortable," Oleson recalled.
"My picture of school begins and ends at South Center. It was my most powerful learning experience, bar none even though I went on to Pittsfield and nursing school."
