new teachers build community

Hebron becomes ‘new’ each year as faculty work together and plan for the year ahead, a year that will not only be a new experience for students in the school but also a year that must be richly formative for students on their way to college and to life. Beginning teachers are especially important to the year because they bring fresh vitality, insight and training to the school’s program as well as connections to what have been their own recent shaping experiences in college and graduate school. Featured here are two new members of the Hebron community, Maddy Bennett and James Falconer, who represent versatile additions to Hebron’s academic, athletic and performing arts programs.

“I didn’t know that much about boarding schools or even Maine in general. We had visited the coastal beaches when I was a child, and that was my first and only impression.

But when I came to Hebron, it looked and felt just like my home.

Being here has felt like coming home for me. I am with such good friends, and it all seems so right.” English teacher Maddy Bennett begins to speak about her coming to Hebron, how circumstances combined to have her consider an opportunity that was entirely new for her. Maddy grew up in central Vermont where she attended local schools and played basketball before choosing to attend St. Michael’s College to study literature and education and to continue with collegiate basketball. Initial work on a major in Early Childhood Education followed by an internship working with very small children led to an abrupt change of career direction. “I found myself thinking, I’m not sure I am ready for this; and I made the switch to English Language Studies and continued directly to graduate school.” A degree in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) was followed by continued study and work for the Applied Linguistics Department at St. Michaels as well as doing admissions work and teaching ESL students. She became particularly interested in the sociocultural theory of Lev Vygotski who posits the influence upon developmental learning not only of adults and peers but also of the effects of cultural norms. This thinking has impacted

Maddy Bennett “ approaches to second language teaching as well as working with students in an international cultural setting.

Maddy’s experiences in the TESOL program at St. Michaels led to Hebron, a wholly different sort of opportunity from what she might have earlier imagined doing. “I didn’t know that much about boarding schools or even Maine in general. We had visited the coastal beaches when I was a child, and that was my first and only impression. But when I came to Hebron, it looked and felt just like my home.” Maddy’s initial work in Hebron’s summer international programs tapped directly into her training, and when the opportunity arose to join the English Department, it seemed an especially good opportunity. “I loved it here. I loved the fact that there was a great sense of community; and coming from such a small Vermont town, such a small college, and now coming to this small community . . . well, it was what I was looking for, the sense of real value and commitment to what we are doing.”

And, true to the culture of the Hebron community, Maddy is doing a lot in her first year. Her teaching assignment includes British Literature for seniors, American Literature for juniors and a new course, Critical Reading, Writing and Discussion, an ESL offering which helps students to develop important skills in support of their work across the curriculum. Research methods and outlining, practicing for debate or an oral presentation, preparing the lab report or a resumé, even writing effective emails become practical subjects that help support students in all grade levels as they pursue their Hebron studies. In addition, Maddy is a ‘dorm friend’ for students in Sturtevant Hall and coaches soccer in the fall and basketball in the winter season.

When asked what is at the heart of her teaching, Maddy was quick to respond, “I want to be a teacher who connects to a student’s individual identity. This is so important when working with international students, not just because of language differences, but because I need to connect with a student’s culture and share it in an authentic way. I want my students to be able to express themselves in the identity that they choose, because so often when acquiring a second language one loses that personality piece. I want to pull out that personality as much as possible, honoring it and sharing it in the context of this Hebron community.”

Connecting with young people on a personal level seems especially natural for Maddy. At the close of a late

afternoon basketball practice, the players cluster around ‘Coach B’ for a bit of advice and the plan for a coming trip. In spite of a difficult beginning to the season, the mood is upbeat. “We focus on the positive,” Maddy says, “setting appropriate goals that are achievable, trying to be better every day, but also keeping it fun.” Basketball taps into Maddy’s own experiences as a highschool and college player. Her Union-32 teams made the Vermont state championships, and she captained the St. Michael’s team, but competitiveness is but part of her focus. “I am a competitive person, and I love to go back to basketball and coach Hebron’s girls and bring some of life’s lessons to the court. I get to teach these girls how to play basketball, something I love, for the game teaches so much - discipline, loyalty, leadership, dedication, hard work, patience. I want to be able to share these skills so that some day when these players face something personal they will have these experiences in their back pocket.” Sports become one more facet of the full experience for a new teacher. Preparing classes, working with the English Department, being an advisor and dorm counselor are all integral parts of a teaching experience that becomes a whole life experience, an experience that can be sustaining for years to come. n

“I feel that I am getting to do something big, helping kids to figure out life in the important years, doing a bit of payback for all the experiences I had as a kid.

James Falconer

That’s good; that’s really good . . . and even five minutes early ‘cause you’ve got places to go and things to do . . . like study hall!” It is near eight on a Monday evening in the bottom of Lepage Arts Center, ten singers circled around an ancient upright, heads nodding and leaning in, eyes intent on the sheet music they hold. Music and math teacher James Falconer ends the weekly rehearsal session for the HeBeGeeBees, Hebron’s acapella group, with an energetic review of the night’s session, details for an upcoming All-State audition for many of the group and the ever present reminders for young people balancing the many activities of their packed Hebron lives.

It is familiar ground for Falconer, a native of South Portland and recent graduate of Holy Cross with dual majors and a degree in Mathematics and Music. In his first year at Hebron, James teaches the most capable math students in two sections of Advanced Placement Calculus as well as music for 6th and 7th graders, con“ ducts both the Middle and Upper School Choruses and coaches the HeBeGeeBees, is a resident advisor for Atwood Dormitory and coaches Soccer - in all a diverse assignment that brings James in contact with a great cross section of Hebron students. “It is busy, very busy,” he says, “but it is a good kind of busy. I like it that I meet with such a variety of students daily. I really enjoy doing multiple things each day, and it is everything that I enjoy. I have college friends who have launched in business and are grinding their way up doing the same things each day, and already some are not liking it. I feel that I am getting to do something big, helping kids to figure out life in the important years, doing a bit of payback for all the experiences I had as a kid.”

South Portland proved fertile ground for James. Active in sports and activities, he first found joy while singing in fifth grade chorus and acting in a simple play about our fifty states. In seventh grade, his enthusiasm for singing earned him the role of kid brother Randolf MacAfee in the high school production of Bye Bye Birdie. It would be an understatement to say that he was hooked! At Holy Cross, James became a member of Choir and Chamber Singers as well as the co-ed acapella group, Fools on the Hill. He also sang in a local church choir, performed and directed in musical theater and coached other aspiring student singers. At the same time, he found that he really enjoyed the challenges of mathematics as well. “They really are rather connected disciplines,” he says, “for each is all about relationships and patterns, and the challenge in each becomes the way in which one figures out the relationships of a mathematical solution or creatively explores the possibilities present in harmonic relationships.”

The HeBeGeeBees have finished practice for the night, exploring the harmonies of their parts to Adele’s hit “When We Were Young,” a number chosen by all the group and being prepared for the fall concert. They gather coats and book bags and head out into the chilly evening for study hall. One member stays behind just to sing for a few moments more to the silent walls. “Hebron is a kind of dream job for me,” James reflects. “I am getting to share things that I am passionate about, things that matter in the way of making a life. It is so good to get what you need to do together with what you want to do.” n