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HIGHER LEARNING
As summer comes to a close, the kids have headed back to the classroom, and we’re all settling into the schoolyear routine again. It’s a routine we’ve come to feel especially grateful for. Afterall, our schools play such an integral role in our children’s lives, and by extension our own — a fact that has become even more apparent after the upheavals in our schools during the last couple of pandemic years.
Marin County is home to 18 different school districts, 78 public schools and more than three dozen private schools. While these schools serve a broad spectrum of students from different backgrounds and abilities, their goals are aligned: to provide the best education possible to ensure students grow into well-adjusted, self-reliant adults who aim to better themselves and the world around them. At a fundamental level, our schools wouldn’t be successful without the boots-on-the-ground efforts of our hard-working teachers. Their dedicated endeavors can make all the difference to spark students’ love of learning.
Think back to your own time at school, and you’ll undoubtedly remember at least one teacher who made a difference in your life. Our staff at Marin Magazine recently took some time to recall some of our own standout teachers — from elementary school through college. Here are a few of our memories:
“I’ll never forget one of my high school English teachers, Mr. Bonnell, whose lectures on Homer’s Odyssey were so engaging that even as a cynical teenager, I found myself enthralled by the story,” shared Editor in Chief Lotus Abrams.
Media Director Lesley Cesare fondly remembers her 5th grade music teacher at Bahia Vista Elementary School in San Rafael. “He was the jolliest, warmest man I’d ever known,” she says. “‘Mr. B’ taught us to perform 'Pearly Shells' at schools around Marin. It was such a great experience.”
During a year abroad in college at the University of Edinburgh, Regional Content Director Jessica Gliddon had a professor from Ireland who got her into James Joyce and W.B. Yeats. “Being in his class so inspired me that I flew to Dublin after that and looked at the places featured in Joyce's novels and later wrote an article about visiting Yeats' part of Ireland,” she recalls.
And Art Director Lisa Hilgers credits a college professor for making a big impact on her future career path. “I had an art history professor who changed the trajectory of my life,” she says. “I took my first art class with her and then dropped my business major because I knew I didn't want to do anything else. She had me closely examine the
Marin Magazine Editor in Chief Lotus Abrams and Publisher Leah Bronson
Sistine Chapel in a way that I had never seen before.” How can we help The responsibility to provide our children with meaningyour favorite ful and effective education doesn’t rest solely on teachers’ organization? Since shoulders, however. From administrators and curriculum January 2020, our tools and strategy developers to summer camp providers and those designhave raised: ing the spaces where learning takes place, there are many $32,826,806 and made: individuals who play a critical role in bettering education. That’s why in this issue, we’re celebrating local innovators who are making a big impact in the field of education here 30,771,088 in Marin County and beyond (“Head of the Class,” page
Lives Better 40). These dedicated individuals are working to ensure all students have the best possible opportunities for success at every stage of their education, from preschool through college and even adulthood. Beyond the pages of this magazine, you’ll find so many more educational resources when you subscribe to our e-mail newsletter, visit marinmagazine.com and follow us on social media @marinmagazine. Here’s to a great school year! Leah Bronson, Publisher Lotus Abrams, Editor in Chief Discover more about education in Marin and the Bay Area by scanning here:
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