9 minute read
UP TO THE CHALLENGE
Reflecting on the courage, creativity, and empathy of Brimmer’s exceptional faculty
By Nicky DeCesare, Associate Director of Marketing & Communications
I first encountered the preposterous phrase, “Those who can’t do, teach” in kindergarten. Once a week, I would wait patiently in my piano teacher’s living room for my lesson, listening as my older sister clumsily hunt-and-pecked her way across the keys in the next room. I’d often use the time to explore the room’s side tables and bookshelves, which were cluttered with education-inspired memorabilia from my teacher’s earlier days in the classroom. As I poked my way around the room, I came across a trinket spouting the quote. Confused, I asked my mother to explain it when she picked us up. She paused before responding carefully, “I think that some people like to make jokes about teaching being an easy job.”
“Oh. That isn’t very funny,” I grumbled, disappointed that the quip wasn’t any wittier than I had originally understood it to be. Though I couldn’t have predicted that I would end up with a career in education, even as a young child, I was bothered by the sharp, inaccurate tone of the phrase; I’ve only grown to feel more strongly in my dislike of it. Having taught for several years, I can personally attest to the fact that it was one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever done—and much harder to do well, at that. In my current role at Brimmer, I witness the outstanding teaching that takes place in each division of the School every day. What has impressed me most about Brimmer’s faculty are the exceptional qualities they share across disciplines and divisions, qualities that reflect the values and principles that have become the essence of a Brimmer education.
Of these, our faculty’s full embodiment of the School’s motto, “De Mieux, En Mieux,” is the first that comes to mind. Across the board, they demonstrate a consistent drive to reflect on and improve their craft. Each year, Head of School Judy Guild and Division Heads Emily Miller, Carl Vallely, and Joshua Neudel create goals and plans for professional development, which our faculty bring to life as they embark on opportunities to deepen and expand their content knowledge and explore the carefully chosen pedagogical methods and ways of teaching. Their desire constantly to better themselves as professionals is met with the School’s unwavering support and resources at a level that is unmatched by many peer schools. I look forward to the end of each summer, knowing that our faculty will return to campus full of energy and brimming with new ideas from their summer workshops and seminars.
Middle School Drama Teacher Nick Malakow
One of the most daunting challenges that educators face is staying abreast of a constantly evolving landscape of best teaching practices as schools seek to prepare students for a rapidly changing and increasingly interconnected world. Director of Innovation & Design Kathryn Lee, who is known for bringing her creative skills and outside-of-the-box brilliance to this task, sees challenges and change as an opportunity to create something better, more efficient, and even more beautiful than what currently exists. Her courses at Brimmer, which range from Problem-Solving Through Design to photography, graphic art, and fashion design, inspire her students to think critically and see the world with the same confidence. Sometimes these endeavors require a high level of technical knowledge and use of cutting-edge technology—laser cutters, Adobe Creative Suite, and 3D printers; others can be accomplished with cardboard, a ball of masking tape, some fabric, and a sewing machine. The skills and values that Mrs. Lee champions in her classroom—curiosity, empathy, creativity, flexibility, collaboration, perseverance, the ability to take risks, think critically, reflect, and incorporate feedback—are at the heart of both 21st century learning and the creative design process, habits of mind that are embraced by our faculty and embedded across disciplines and in all divisions of the School.
Equally challenging is the task of ensuring that both how and what we teach remain relevant to who our students are and the world in which they live. As the School made the decision to lift “Equity” into our Core Values this year, our division heads and teachers led the charge in making its meaning explicit in our classrooms, devising cohesive and age-appropriate strategies to explain the word’s significance to students ranging from age 4 to 18. By October, nearly every Brimmer student could confidently tell you, “Equity means everybody gets what they need to succeed, and not everyone needs the same things.”
Our faculty responded without hesitation when, last spring, the Brimmer community was called to look deeply at ourselves to identify the work we must do to dismantle anti-Black racism and other powerful systems of inequity, bias, and discrimination that affect our communities and our School. Lead by Director of Equity & Inclusion Jessica Christian, they supported each other through courageous conversations about racism, white supremacy, and racial identity. They embarked on additional professional development opportunities and undertook thorough literature audits with the shared goal of our making certain that our PK-12 curriculum becomes one that truly honors every child and family. After watching our reimagined Black History Month curriculum come to life in all divisions in February, Ms. Christian shared, “Our teachers deserve a standing ovation for the work they are doing this year. Their enthusiasm about this work is electric.”
Just as we hope our students feel a sense of empowerment and ownership of their education, our faculty embrace the same sentiment in their work. Upon her arrival to Brimmer three years ago, Kindergarten Teacher Sarah Wyllie noticed a need for a consistent approach to social emotional learning across the Lower School. After reviewing several different curricula with Head of Lower School Emily Miller and School Psychologist Beth Meister and soliciting faculty feedback through the process, the decision was made to pilot the Choose Love curriculum in all Lower School grades this past fall. Self-starters by nature, when our faculty find something that could improve their classroom, their division, or the School as a whole, they take the initiative to propose ideas, explore, research, and vet resources. This spirit is strengthened by the steady support of our academic leaders, whose trust, support, and guidance in our faculty help them turn their ideas into impactful action.
Upper School Math Teacher Tom Nelson
Their work ethic and commitment to improvement serve as a model for our students. In fact, several of our faculty members identified the impact of Carol Dweck’s research on growth mindset on their teaching philosophies. Director of Lower School Academic Services Kim Tolpa shared the major takeaway that “the abilities of individuals, groups, or organizations are not fixed, but rather can be developed and fine-tuned based on mindset and/or approach to learning and life.” By setting high expectations for students and scaffolding progress with thoughtful, well-timed feedback and achievable benchmarks, our faculty help students develop a strong positive sense of themselves as learners and provide a toolbox of strategies and resources to turn to when they need help.
Nowhere is this on better display than in Assistant Athletic Director and Math Department faculty member Tom Nelson’s classrooms, where he has mastered the special magic of balancing the sentiments of “You can do it,” “I believe in you,” “You’ll need to work hard to achieve your goals,” and “I’m here to help you get there.” Whether he is encouraging first graders along the learning curve of a new gross motor skill in PE class, coaching Upper School students through a plateau in statistics, or mentoring young student-athletes along their path to Division I and professional-level basketball careers, his ability to connect with students and encourage their growth and development exemplifies this quality shared by many of our colleagues.
Math Teacher Rupa Houndegla
Collaboration in all directions, between faculty members and leadership, is key in ensuring exceptional teaching exists throughout the School, and our academic leaders and faculty work together with a collective, generous spirit and commitment to this goal. A quick peek into a Brimmer email inbox would reveal long chains of shared resources and words of support and encouragement. Casual crowdsourcing for a lunch duty swap or a sub coverage is met with a flurry of responses. I have received breathtaking photos of early morning sunrises and late afternoon sunsets, snapped on cell phones as our teachers start and finish their days on campus, beautiful photos sent from the back seats of crowded buses around the globe during Winterim programs and local field trips, and a constant stream of snapshots of curriculum in action— “Just thought the Communications Office might enjoy this!” their notes often read. Even at the bookends of their busiest days, they think of others and how they can support their colleagues and the School.
Great teaching is, at its core, a highly empathetic endeavor. In order to teach effectively, educators must develop deep, trusting relationships with their students and families, and pair that interpersonal knowledge with an ability to individualize lessons for a range of learners with a variety of strengths, meet each student where they are in the learning process, and help set achievable goals for their growth. Even in a small school, this is no easy feat. It requires our faculty to adjust their curriculum from day to day and year to year as needed. It requires the ability to recognize and respond when the pace needs to quicken or slow or when a current event thrusts the need for an immediate lesson or discussion into the midst of a meticulously designed syllabus, as Middle School English Teacher Will Menardt expertly did in the days following Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman’s powerful performance at the Presidential Inauguration in January. It requires understanding that the opportunity to coast is rare; our faculty must actively engage in their work with a confidence in their abilities to pivot when and as needed at a moment’s notice, a quality that was put to the test during the global pandemic— a test that our faculty passed with flying colors. Knowing all this, I would still love the opportunity to make a few small changes to that absurd, age-old adage, if not ax it all together. Rather than “those who can’t do, teach,” it should read, “Those who can teach, do.” And at Brimmer, they do so at an exceptional level that drives an educational experience of the highest quality—one that has remained at the forefront of the educational landscape for more than 140 years. ■
Director of Innovation & Design Kathryn Lee pitched the idea of an outdoor art gallery as a way to lift spirits and create joy during a truly unconventional school year
