“Michael C. Brown (who was my AP American History teacher and Head of Upper School, Ken Clauser (my Spanish teacher for 3 years), and Mark Harris (Aerie god), are three teachers who really changed my life (and perhaps are part of the reason that I teach today!)” Sarah Poole ‘89
Judy Poirier’s math help sessions (or sometimes just “chat” sessions) were a favorite of mine in 8th grade (and beyond). I’m sure no one from my class can forget Mr. Grossman for 6th and 7th grade math; on “Casino Day” he came through on his promise and wore a tuxedo to class! Of course there was Otter (Rob Brown) and his cats over Borneo, the Canadian (aka Tara Weinstein) and her cutting edge use of technology in the classroom, and Chris Perkins who I think enjoyed reading my homework responses aloud in class (“An ion product isn’t Petri or Siperstein, but it is Gleiberman.”) George Lewis made math class fun, though he had a mean “chalk fast ball,” (Mr. Lewis, how many times did we plant chalk in your eraser? Every class!?) Needless to say there wasn’t a teacher at Wheeler I didn’t find inspiring, they were all so enthusiastic about their subjects and so interested in our individual success, both inside and outside of the classroom. Returning to the Wheeler campus last year really drove home this point, everyone was so excited to hear about my life since graduating from Wheeler. Slipping up to the art department to visit Cali Almy, she opened her grade book and pulled out an assignment that I had written for her eight years ago, she had been carrying around all these years because she liked it! It was very touching, and goes to show just how much the faculty care!
I have many wonderful memories of Wheeler in those years. Maybe because of the burgeoning women’s movement, there was at times an Amazonian feel about the place, with boarders blasting the Supremes into the courtyard and 20 or 30 young women dancing on walls singing along to “Stop in the Name of Love,” or epic Purple and Gold athletic contests out at the Farm for Jamboree. I’ll never forget the pure joy I felt after a day playing out in those fields, when we gathered and sang class songs by the pond as we set candles on paper plates out over the water, in my first fall, 1969. It was at Wheeler that I first started writing lyrics and churning out doggerel for the Christmas party, Wheeler that gave me the opportunity and confidence to start writing and singing. It took a long time, but these finally bore fruit in my CD last year, “Original Jazz, Blues & One Lonesome Cowboy.” I remember Wheeler as a hotbed of creativity, and rites such as Jamboree night inspired a sense of infinite possibility and magic. Tom Faxon ? was the theatrical director then, and the challenging plays he chose [eg, The House of Bernarda Alba] and his seriousness of purpose inspired any of us with an artistic bent to push ourselves deeper. Wherever you are, Tom, thank you.
Alex Boeglin ‘03
I have very fond memories of Stephen Booth who made us write a paragraph every day in his English classes. His clear prompts and his brief, matter-of-fact comments took the pressure off of writing, somehow, and reduced it to something so simple, so manageable. I love to write, and for that I am always grateful to Mr. Booth.
My favorite has to be Mlle. Erlenmeyer. Because of the quality of her teaching, I ended up majoring in French in college, and today I still take French lessons to keep current. I’ll never forget her saying to me, “I will see to it that you get rid of your Lake Michigan accent!” (I was raised in the Chicago area.) My current teacher is from Paris, she says I have a great accent, so evidently “Miss E” succeeded. A close second would be Miss Conary. We continued to correspond until she died. I really enjoyed all the faculty and their disciplines even though I wasn’t in every class of each teacher. In all, Wheeler was very rich experience for me.
Andree “Nanook” Pagès ‘73
Susan Handy Littlefield ‘72
I attended Wheeler School for 12 years and during that time I had the privilege of being taught by many wonderful devoted teachers, however when I read my email this morning asking for alumni to share memories, I was immediately flooded with wonderful joyful detailed memories of my 4th grade year with Mrs. Barbara Simpson (then Miss Zeitlin). My 4th grade class had the honor of being Mrs. Simpson’s first class. Her excitement and love of teaching was evident from the start. She really made learning fun. I remember so many of the creative and fun activities we participated in, from having a recipe invention contest where we got to sample our home-made creations, to having a class mock election where we put up our own candidates, (which included the likes of Droopy Dog and Howard the Duck), a time capsule, and regular journal writing, which was a personal favorite. Mrs. Simpson often gave us specific topics but she also gave us the freedom to write about whatever we wanted. On the weekends Mrs. Simpson would take our journals home where she would spend time (I am sure many, many hours of her time) writing the lengthy comments and feedback we all longed for. In those comments she often shared memories of her own childhood and how she missed her family in Massachusetts. I still have all those journals today and reading them always makes smile. Mrs. Simpson inspired me in realizing that learning could be fun… reading, writing and history could all be taught (and learned) in an enjoyable, fun, and often entertaining atmosphere. During that year, every day I looked forward to coming to school. I recall my mother telling me how excited I was about her class. In fact, I raved about Mrs. Simpson so much that I begged my mother to invite her to dinner, which Miss Simpson graciously accepted. Unfortunately I feel that I did not truly realize or appreciate all that Mrs. Simpson gave to her class until well into my
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Rose Lenhart Magee ‘53 Now & Then @ Wheeler
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