NYC GATHERING & ON

NYC GATHERING  & BIG APPLE REFLECTIONS:

Thanks to alum Alex Alberstadt and husband Ken we had a great place to stay in Manhattan.  Her place is on East 85^th St about two blocks from Central Park, just a few steps from the Met. Museum of Art.  From there we could get to the Arsenal in Central Park (64^th St. and 5^th Ave) or we have a short 10 minute drive to Eric Peterson’s Park (formerly known as NYC’s Randall’s Island Park).  Being a rube from the sticks in the Mich., I was expecting problems driving and parking and we had neither (except for an insane wait getting to and thru the Lincoln Tunnel).

Anyway, as I told Alex, she should open a B & B and get out of corporate law as she is friendly, generous, flexible and sociable, attributes more helpful in the hospitality industry.

On Thursday morning we went out to Randall’s Island (East River between Harlem, the Bronx and Queens).  What a place!  The temps were brutal but the breeze off the water kept us comfortable.  Our tour director, Eric Peterson (formerly manager of Roeper School in the 80’s and 90’s, apprenticed to Mariann Hoag) gave us maps and took us on a 2 hour golf cart tour of this most unusual park. He brought us lunch to boot.  One of the park features that Eric is justifiably proud of is a thriving urban garden that is used in a variety of ways including teaching kids about nutrition. 

Below we have a photo on the right of Eric, Hindstrum and me in front of a rice garden while below left is a shot of our furry friend trying to talk to a topiary squirrel with little success.  From this experience he has concluded New Yorkers are rude and brusque.

At 6:00, Roeperians  started to drift in to the Arsenal.  We decided to have it  inside rather than on the roof terrace (amazing views of the Central Park Zoo)  because as one of the Arsenal employees  said, “It’s crazy hot up there.”   Later after the gathering when it had cooled to the low 90’s, Eric took some people up for a look-see. 

We had people from the 70’s through 2012.  Some were very local while others came in from 2 hours away in New Jersey and Conn.   We had:

Hannah Lawrence

Todd Baker

Sara Porter

Alex Alberstadt

Eric Peterson

Claire Schwartz

Carolyn Wember & husband Peter Kowalski

Victoria Shaw and husband Luc Faucheux

Stephanie Fried and husband  Mike Bifolco                                                                                                                                                    

Saul Hansell

Beth Zick

Erik Burbulla

Jenni  Gibb Kilmer

Jen Hansell and husband Fred Baumgarten

And walking in and surprising us greatly, Mary Kay Glazek , who just happened to be in town visiting grandson Teddy. The fact that she was in NYC with a 110 degree heat index instead of sitting on the shore of her Lake Michigan place truly shows grandma love.

Our discussion didn’t seem to have enough time; we didn’t even touch on the question of how technology could help us better fulfill our educational mission and live up to our philosophy.  We concentrated on the questions of “What kind of people do we need in our society and as workers.  What kind of folks will best build our future?”    “What does or should Roeper do to help prepare students to be those kinds of people?”

If you look at the names of the people who attended and took part in our discussion, you can see why I was hard pressed to keep up with my notes.  I apologize to the participants if I omitted anything or mis-summarized.

Eric P. starts us out by stating we need curious people – folks not afraid to ask questions, challenge, find out, and take risks.  He thought Roeper should continue doing what it did when he was there – offering lots of different experiences and variety.  He advocated not nailing everything down so outcomes were pre-determined; the adults need to be brave enough to let the kids take at least some control.  Students should be allowed to pursue their own desired lines of inquiry.

Jen Hansell wants to make sure that Roeper kids do not become smug and not open to learning because they think they knew it all.  She thought that was a bit of a possibility with the students she knew in the 70’s and 80’s.  What is funny is later other folks mentioned just the opposite in that kids at Roeper while intense were “available for learning” and did have a willingness to open their minds.  I suppose one way to reconcile those two thoughts is to say that gifted people if not shepherded properly could turn close-minded because of their intellectual gifts and intensity.

Mary Kay recounted how her son David, ’95, before leaving Roeper always thought that the feminism critique that our society shut down women so they were reluctant to speak out was disingenuous and overblown.  When he went to U. of M., he was shocked to find that women really didn’t speak out and were subtlety pressured into second class academic citizenship.

Sara Porter thought that although her parents get some credit for her strength, she credits her Roeper upbringing for her ability to feel and act strong despite societal pressure on her as a woman.

I asked how Roeper taught those lessons.  She responded that a basic respect was always there:  “we are all equal.  We are all worthy of respect. “   As Saul Hansell wrote back in the 70’s or 80’s and we have put on t-shirts and bumper stickers  (except  we had to remind him on Thursday that he had, indeed, penned the following):  “No one too small to contribute nor too big to listen.”

On the right, Alex, Sara, Eric, Em & Erik

David Glazek's (via MKG) assessment of U. of M. being a less-than-positive setting for women to be strong was backed up by the many female Roeperians at the gathering who had attended that university.

To answer my continued-to-be-asked question regarding how Roeper produces strong, empowered people, Claire responded that the education at Roep was always open and therefore, kids could take it over, at least to some degree, and make it theirs.  That experience gave one a sense of possibility and confidence.

Victoria agreed and noted the role of independent study by which a student could pursue a passion or area of interest beyond the proscribed curriculum.

On the left is Luc Faucheux, Victoria & Em

Beth opined that having a bunch of smart kids together helped.  They were just smart, they were interested in learning.  Finding out for its own sake was emotionally important.  Standards were high but they were standards growing organically from having bright, interesting people working together not standards because some administrators or state mandates imposed them from a-high.  Beth said it seemed less about competition and more about learning.  There was so much support from adults and other students.  People really believed that failure was not so much about not living up to external standards;  failure was not taking advantage of the many opportunities to grow.

On the right is Mary Kay, Eric and Beth

Eric commented  that teachers used humor (which appeals to the gifted mind) to give perspective and balance.  S.S. teacher Kate Millett used to tell a sixth graders upset over a not -perfect test score, “Oh well, your life is mostly will be over with grades like that.”

I ventured that it sounded like everybody was saying that Roeper is a community of learners, adults and students teaching and learning from each other.  The group agreed heartily and told me to write that down and I did.

Mary Kay expressed the idea that the teachers model that community of learners idea.  She told how current teachers, Max Collins (Social Sciences), Michelle Stamler (Photography), Jamie Lyons-Eddy (math), Jamie Benigna (Chem) and  Andrew Blechman (Physics)  have formed a summer book club to read a thought-provoking book on statistics and the inter-disciplinary connections of stats.   This demonstrates how Roeper teachers are always learning and learning together.

Saul ventured that education was at Roeper and should be everywhere “rigorous.”  It should challenge assumptions, make people sweat, cause cognitive dissonance and lead to growth.  It should be worthy of students’ time and energy. He continued that people need to be fearless in this rapidly changing, crazy world.  They need to believe that answers can be found and problems solved.  This way of thinking doesn’t get paralyzed by dreams of perfection but supported by accepting messiness and moving on.                      Below is Saul and Jen H.

Alex said that there was a whole set of expectations and assumptions supporting a sense of safety to speak out and take chances.

Jen H. said there was always time to fool around and play with learning. 

Victoria contributed that freedom and choice was always empowering.

Alex brought up that Roeper was so small that one couldn’t hide. In addition, there were so many different ways to engage that a person could always find some comfortable avenue for growth.

Claire expressed the idea that the emphasis was less on fitting in a box than on pushing the envelope.  “Expansion not limitation” was the mantra when she was at Roeper and she hopes it will always be that way.  There should always be the freedom to try out new things and pursue what one thinks is worth pursuing.

Mary Kay recounted how one summer she had a summer study group on James Joyce and ULYSSES at her home.  No grades. No college credit.   But students, parents, staff members and alums all showed up to work and work hard.  Such effort was based on people wanting to learn.

Stephanie said that Roeper teaches you how to understand and accept people.  Diversity is based on people accepting who they are themselves so they are ready and able to not just tolerate others but revel  in and gain from others.  Such understanding is critical in the modern workplace.  People are going to encounter and have to deal with a lot of difficult, quirky people and if you have gone to Roeper, you will know how to best take advantage of what such folks have to offer.  She said that the misfits and outcasts she encounters in her workplace today are valued by her because she learned to positively view and utilize the misfits and outcasts of Roeper that didn’t seem so “misfity” and “outcasty” once they came to Roeper.   A co-worker will say something like “That Sam is a weirdo” and Steph can authentically respond “Maybe a bit but I love him because…”

Below is Stephanie and husband Mike:

Hannah said it is a matter of recognizing the strengths of people which comes from being comfortable enough in oneself to be receptive and not threatened.

Eric added that not having class ranking and stuff like that helps.  Since Roeper-thinking is nuanced and precise our community doesn’t say “Smart, smarter and smartest” but recognizes all sorts of talents and gifts so people value the contributions and abilities of almost everybody.

Mary Kay recounted how one of her sons (let’s just use the name “Chris” to protect his identity) came home to talk about another student.  This “Chris” was always the type of person who learned easily.  He came home to talk about another student.  Let’s call him “Olesh.”  “Chris” wasn’t dismayed by “Olesh’s”  freaky-smartiness in math and simply said  “I’m good at math but Olesh has ‘math-imagination.’   Think about the comfortability and insight necessary for a kid to say something that.  I hope that Roeper can take some credit for some of both.

Alex said one key is the reliance on collaboration and cooperation.  Solving the problem and accomplishing the goal were the foci not so much the gaining of individual fame or glory.

Todd chimed in that he came to Roeper in 6^th grade and found such an atmosphere of support that contrasted  greatly with his previous school atmosphere.  He found people humble and appreciative of the skills and talents of others.  People seemed open and receptive partially because it was useful and helpful to have strong and accomplished people around.  He also appreciated that other people could understand and appreciate him.

Alex added that Roeper always seemed to remember the ethical component in making decisions.  Referring to principles not resorting to expediency as the default position.

Victoria chimed in that everybody always knew that education involved ethics.  Problems were opportunity for growth.  Disputes were good practice for conflict resolution.

We had to quit because of time but as we did, someone (I don’t remember who) excitedly ran up and exclaimed “We didn’t talk about social justice; it is the basis of the school.”  Good point.  Maybe we need to have a NYC Alumni discussion group meet or an online forum convene to talk about the role of social justice in our community.

Eric took a group up to the roof where no one melted and all enjoyed the spectacular view of the zoo.  We scrambled to clean up so the nice Arsenal folks could go home.  Eric Peterson was wonderful as usual.  Of course, the person who took charge cleaning up, organizing and packing was the same person who always makes these things work and I have to thank Linda again for all she does quietly, quickly and with grace.

ON TO CAPE COD:  We zipped out of the City in a flash with no traffic.  I swear people must exaggerate the problems with parking and driving in NYC.

Before, we knew it we were in Norwalk, Conn where some of Linda’s 19^th century ancestors lived.  We visited historic Lockwood Mansion, a huge Victorian masterpiece estimated to have been built for about $400 million (in today’s dollars) in 1864-68 by Linda’s great, great grandfather LeGrand Lockwood.  The docent and the mansion historian were thrilled to talk to Linda especially since she could shed light on one of the family portraits on display since she grew up with it in her grandfather’s home in Buffalo before it was donated.

Unfortunately, we told Hindstrum about the family history connected to Lockwood House and LeGrand’s fortune.  Although we told him that the family money was gone and the house sold out of the family due to the Gold Crash of 1869, the machinations of Cornelius Vanderbilt and the early death of LeGrand, he got it into his little brain that he had a claim on the house.  We only got him to leave when we told him that the house had a serious infestation of birds (ala a Hitchcock movie); Hindstrum hates birds. In any event, we left before the police or Animal Control arrived.                                                        

We aren’t going to mention to Hindstrum that another branch of Linda’s once owned a big chunk of Orange County before losing it.  He is already squirrel non-grata with Disney since last year’s dragon incident.

Fortunately, most folks staying on the Cape were not camping so we have a quiet spot to stay in Shawme-Crowell State Park.  Although, any kind of driving is crazy.  Compared to Cape Cod, traffic in NYC is light.  When we get finished working on the blog (where else – Starbucks), we are going swimming in the ocean but the 2 mile drive should take about an hour. 

On the right, Hindstrum seeks to share his banana/acorn smoothie with any available beach chick while we work on this blog.  

Hope to see you soon at either:

BOSTON: On Sunday, July 21 from 4:00-7:00 we will be at the home of Michelle Efros Fox, '95, 18 Frances St., Needham, MA 

WEST CENTRAL MASS.  Tom and Laura Roeper will host all available Roeperians at their home on Wednesday, July 24, 6:00-8:00 PM.  149 High St., Amherst, MA
For those in Mass., please feel free to come to both gatherings.  Actually, any Roeperian who comes to multiple GTE events will be lauded, honored and mentioned.

If you need to get a hold of us the day of an event or while we are on the road between July 6-July 25,  please call Linda at 248-318-0386 or me at 248-943-3256.

If by chance you are in Mass., Vermont, NH or upstate NY and want to get together but can’t make the Boston or Amherst gatherings, we might be able to arrange something.  Give us a call.