I want to give some recognition and thanks to an educator, Jeffrey Benson, who is truly one of the best. If you have a chance to familiarize yourself with his work, you will find it a rejuvenating treat. We worked together years ago, and have recently reconnected when he came to work with some or our teaching staff, administrators and School Committee members.
I met Jeffrey more than 20 years ago, when in 1993 he hired me to teach music in the alternative school that he served as Educational Director. From that start I went on to teach photography, English, and Historical Research there. In that model the teachers all got to meet with the Educational Director weekly for supervision. This was a great gift, and a model that played to Jeffrey’s strengths, because in these intensive meetings we were able to get down to the real essence of our practice in a very meaningful way and truly get to grips with the elements that were giving us trouble, both in curriculum and the human interaction that plays such a large role in teaching at any level. I have been very fortunate in my professional life and connections, and the chance to discuss and ponder the art and science of teaching with someone as skilled as he, has to rank among the highlights of my teaching career.
Years past and we both moved on to other things, keeping in touch on a casual basis. In 2014 Jeffrey published the book Hanging In, about the value and also the difficulty of hanging in with difficult students. By this time I had left teaching for administration and was in my 5th year as superintendent in Stoughton. I opened the book and after the first page, just closed my door and read the rest of it. I will admit that the hours my job requires don’t leave nearly the reading time I would like, but this was a must read for me, because it is the sort of book that reminds you instantly of why you went into education in the first place, and what truly great transitional work teaching can be at its best.
Jeffrey has come to Stoughton on a number of occasions in the last 2 years, working with our middle school teams who serve students with a wide variety of needs in inclusion and semi-separate settings. He has done team building work with both our School Committee and with our Leadership team. All teams are unique, and ours features a number of veteran members who have been together for 5 or more years, as well a handful of new comers. Jeffrey’s experience working with young people and adult l learners enabled him to design work for all of us that was astutely tailored to help us get a great start to the year as a united and cohesive team.
His work on teaching and on school leadership and educational change is a great blend of inspiring and practical. You can learn more about him and his work at JeffreyBenson.org.