Of Teachers, Mentors, and a Seesaw

by Mike Davis, Ph.D.
Head of School

I had an email exchange with retired Upper School mathematics teacher Richard Kelly that made me think of the role of teacher as mentor.  Among our alumni and faculty, Mr. Kelly is a highly respected teacher.  Our paths crossed at Colorado Academy, and I am so glad that I got to him know him in the years before he retired in 2013.  He played many roles at CA: Math Chair, Economics instructor, AP U.S. History teacher, social justice champion, innovator, and provocateur, and more.  There is so much to say about him, but he is one of those great instructors who inspires and challenges you simultaneously, still to this day.  In our email conversation, he veered onto the topic of mentorship: "My sometimes contrarian nature caught my teachers' and professors' attention, and I suppose that's what real education is all about---a seesaw, one-on-one, a student with a mentor who doesn't ever give up, a mentor always at the other end of seesaw.”  
 
Mr. Kelly’s quote evoked some of own memories of influential teachers.  One was Mr. Tyrone Newton, an amazing seventh grade social studies teacher who inspired his students to think about the role of social justice in history. He took no quarter. One minute, he would have you laughing hysterically; the next you feared he might throw you against the lockers for misbehaving.  (He never did, but he was a strong guy.) Another was my English teacher, Mr. Chris Boyle.  He taught me for two years in high school. The only “A” I ever received from him was my last high school English paper. He made me work for it, but he was always friendly and supportive as he dissected my then-horrible writing.  My geometry teacher, Ann Carol, made my history-oriented brain love math.  She understood how to get through to me, and she gave me confidence in a subject that was not my best.  She also didn’t hold back when she felt when I could make better decisions.  Howard Zeskind was the Assistant Headmaster of my high school and also, he was my high school history teacher and lacrosse coach. He was a major influence on my decision to teach high school and to be an administrator. He had the ability to “read” kids and an easy style that made him very approachable.  He introduced me to the complexity of the world of ideas and guided me in so many discussions of tough political issues. 
 
My college advisor freshman year was a professor named Elizabeth Caselli, who taught me in a number of courses on early Christian history, but she played the largest role in challenging my rather insulated worldview.  She did so with such compassion and without judgment. I credit her with allowing me to develop a more heightened sense of empathy.  Finally, I had several amazing role models in graduate school at Vanderbilt University. One was Dr. Sam McSeveney, who served as interim dissertation advisor while my mentor was on sabbatical. I would regularly submit writing that would be returned to me covered in red ink. Yet, McSeveny pushed me to believe in myself and to think more expansively about my research. He encouraged me to pursue several prestigious fellowships that eventually funded my research. I was in my early 20s at that time, but still, I would get nervous going into his office. But, by the time I finished my dissertation, however, I realized he was one of my biggest fans. Lastly, my assigned dissertation advisor was Dr. Tom Schwartz, who couldn’t have been a better role model as a teacher.  Every meeting we had, he was fully engaged and focused on helping me develop my ideas. He approached his work with a sincerity and authenticity that were rare.
 
I feel fortunate to have had such influences throughout my education. As an administrator, I look back and realize that there was some tension in every one of those relationships. It wasn’t fun all the time. There were moments of anxiety, stress, and, even despair (all on my part, but maybe theirs, too, as they probably cringed at the things I did and said). But, their collective efforts allowed me to mature into a writer and thinker. Through their actions — which were never cheap efforts at getting students to “like” them — they pushed, prodded, and challenged their students to rise to their best.
 
Kelly was known to say, “I tell my students, ‘Sniff around a problem and be calm. Look at your tool kit.'” That’s exactly what Caitlin Morris (’96) remembered from him. “From his teaching, I learned you have to approach math with a calm and logical brain,” she says. “That turned the light on for me, and I went on to get a degree in finance.”
 
That must have been that seesaw that Mr. Kelly was talking about.
 
 
 
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