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| May 12, 2017 |life| THE REMARKER |
SUBSTITUTE TEACHER BARBARA CURRIER
Old school meets new school TOGETHER AGAIN Twenty years after having Dr. John Perryman in class at Greenhill, Dr. Barbara Currier is now a colleague of the Master Teacher — at least temporarily.
ONCE A STUDENT OF SUBSTITUTE BARBARA CURRIER AT GREENHILL, ADAMS MASTER TEACHER DR. JOHN PERRYMAN NOW WORKS ALONGSIDE HER AS SHE SUBSTITUTES FOR MATH INSTRUCTOR AMY POOL WHO WAS INJURED IN A CYCLING ACCIDENT LAST MONTH. Matthew Zhang: What was Dr. Currier like as a teacher? John Perryman: Oh, she was fantastic; she was the chair of the department for many years at Greenhill. Knows her subject backwards and forwards, and even more importantly perhaps, she is an incredibly supportive, patient and kind teacher who would work with you to make sure you could grasp a concept after class. MZ: What was the most important lesson you’ve learned from her? JP: That you really are there to care about the student as a person as much as the student is someone striving to master and learn the material. You always got the sense that she cared about her students and that you could have some fun in her class, but she also ran a tight ship. So there’s a good sort of combination of occasionally having some light-hearted moments but also moments when it’s time to get down to work and getting down to work. But I do think that the thing that impressed me the most was that someone who was so good with subject matter, could run a tight ship but also you knew that this person cared about you at heart and was interested in your development as a good citizen of the community. MZ: Did Dr. Currier play a part in your choice of becoming a teacher?
JP: I would say every good teacher I had played a part in that. I always appreciated the ones that followed the model that she exemplified: complete command of subject matter, great in the classroom, interested in the kid as a human being, generous and patient with time, help the kid learn the material and also a big supporter of whether it’s the play, musical or sporting events. She was always a regular visitor and supporter at those so that’s always neat to see your teacher in the crowd cheering you on. So she embodied all those qualities that I think a top-notch teacher has to have. MZ: Do you see how your current teaching reflects how Dr. Currier taught you? JP: I do. I try to hold the kids accountable but also let them know that I’m an advocate for them, believe in them and want to be there to cheer them on all the great stuff they do on campus, whether it’s in the classroom in Decherd during an orchestra concert or in Hicks during a basketball game. I think it’s so important to support the kids both academically and in their other pursuits and let them know we are here. MZ: When Dr. Currier came to sub here, were you aware of it or were you surprised? JP: No, totally surprised. I think I saw her sub last year, and I’ve seen a couple of teachers who’ve retired on campus subbing, but no, as far as being a longterm sub, that took me by surprise. It
was great to see her, and that was a pleasant surprise. MZ: What was your most memorable moment of teaching Dr. Perryman? Barbara Currier: The whole class was memorable. That whole group of boys against the black board who all was in that row they were all just cut-ups. He seemed to resonate with my word problems because all my word problems were about baseball. He connected with that because I talked about sports in my word problems. MZ: What was your funniest moment with Dr. Perryman? BC: Maybe a year and a half ago, I had decided on a whim to spend an afternoon at the Kimbell Museum in Fort Worth, and I was standing there looking at a picture. I happened to look next to me, and John Perryman was there with his mother. I wasn’t expecting to run into anyone, and to run into both Mrs. Perryman and Dr. Perryman was sort of fun. MZ: What was your reaction when you found out Dr. Perryman was coming back to teach at Greenhill? BC: I was ecstatic. One of his older brothers had been at Greenhill almost his entire life. Tom Perryman was already there, so it seemed perfectly natural that John Perryman would be coming. And then I was very lucky. I know he taught my son, and if I remember right I
think he was the only English teacher in the Upper School to have my son twice. And he was my son’s favorite English teacher. MZ: When you came to sub for St. Mark’s, did you know that he was working here? BC: Yes. In fact, every time I’ve run into him over the past several years that he has been here, I’ve chided him that he was here, at St. Mark’s instead of at Greenhill, but I know that he is happy here and it is a good fit for him. But I certainty wish he was back at Greenhill. MZ: What were your most memorable moments as colleagues at Greenhill or here? BC: The thoughtful discussion, the thoughtful comments that he would make in faculty meeting. He’s not one who would speak up quickly and frequently, as opposed to me. I always had something to say. When Dr. Perryman spoke up at meetings, it was always worth listening to. He was a deep person. MZ: What’s it like working alongside a former student of yours? BC: It’s sort of fun, it’s not all that unusual at Greenhill. I was counting up this morning and could come up with eight current Greenhill teachers that are alumns, two more that are coming. There have been a number in the past. It makes me feel good that former students are teaching.
STORY MATTHEW ZHANG PHOTO RILEY SANDERS
Changes ahead for Leadership and Ethics Program
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eginning in the fall of the 2017-2018 school year, all of the components of the St. Mark’s Leadership and Ethics Program will be a part of a new program, titled Ethos. According to Malcolm and Minda Brachman Master Teaching Chair Martin Stegemoeller, the faculty leader of Ethos, now is the perfect time to bring all of the Leadership and Ethics components together into one program. “I think that when you think of our character of leadership at St. Marks, we have really good curricular activities in place, with English 10 for instance,” Stegemoeller said. “And the missing component in many ways is the hands [on work].” For Stegemoeller, Ethos allows both the faculty advisors and students to make better use of their time.
“Because of what we call lack in bandwidth on both the faculty side and the student side—free time and energy to fully devote ourselves to those things,” Stegemoeller said, “the success of some of those enterprises was hindered by a lack of time and lack of support.” Ethos is currently set to have 11 different committees, ranging from Telos 4, Telos 6, and Telos 8 to the “Committee on Chapel” and “Innovation Committee,” although more committees could be added. By streamlining the Leadership and Ethics program, Stegemoeller hopes to avoid past issues like lack of commitment within certain committees. “One of the things we will do is have a meeting every two weeks for the committee chairman to coordinate with their faculty sponsors,” Stegemoeller said.
According to Stegemoeller, committee chairs can decide whether they need a cochair, a secretary or any other position they might need, as everything will be based on specific committee needs. Stegemoeller is looking forward to a great sense of flexibility, while at the same time providing more accountability for the individual committees. “More freedom and more accountability at the same time,” Stegemoeller said. “That is the key. I’m just really psyched, and I just hope that if there are kids who are on a committee that kind of fizzled in the past, I hope they will give it another try.” Applications for positions are to be filled out before the end of the school year, and committee chairs will be selected over the summer. — Nick Malvezzi
LIFE