D
on a silly costume? Sing harmony in an ad hoc barbershop quartet? Pose as reading comprehension coach “Ian the Inferian,” find myriad ways to sculpt language into clever and irreverent puns, or find satire in even the driest of topics? That’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Landmark’s beloved Rob Kahn. Rob’s journey to Landmark started in 1972 when, as a sophomore at Harvard, he found a posting for a summer job at Landmark School “teaching bright students who had difficulty reading.” Rob took the job, completed his undergraduate degree a couple of years later, and has been at Landmark full-time ever since. In his 49 years at the school, it is no exaggeration to say that he has positively impacted hundreds of faculty members and thousands of students. In the early days, Rob taught language arts, served as an academic advisor, department head, and residential staffer at Landmark’s North Campus, now known as the Elementary•Middle School (EMS). Around this time, Rob and fellow teacher, Mary Beth Mould, fell in love, got married, and, as a talented couple with a wide range of skills, were asked by founder Charles Drake to head up to Nova Scotia, where a number of Landmark families were clamoring for a school that was closer to home for their students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities. With financial support from these families, Landmark purchased the old Paramount Hotel (complete with disco in the back) to serve as the schoolhouse—and Landmark East was born.
K I E RA N K E SN E R ‘ 09
ROB KAHN’S REDIRECTI 64
The Lantern
SPRING/SUMMER 2020
