For those of you who might not be aware, there are a lot of faculty changes going on at St. Ignatius. Quite a few veteran teachers have either retired or are continuing their careers at different venues. Best wishes to all of them. This caused me to wonder who are Ignatius' "iconic" teachers of today and tomorrow. Who will take the place of O'Mara, Fr. Link, Connelly or Raispis? Many from my generation (or later) might say, "No one!!!", and they're probably right. That doesn't mean that Ignatius is suffering a vacuum of great teachers. It's just that things are different now. The world is different now.
For the sake of clarity, today's "reminiscence" is about Dr. Jane Delaney. As you might guess, I feel that she is a very likely prospect for the role of the next generation of "icons". In 2004 she was awarded the Raymond T. Grant Educator-of-the-Year Award. That was the first inkling that I had of the respect her students had for her, but when I asked her what other professional recognitions she may have earned, I was over-whelmed. Three times she was named Outstanding Elementary Teacher by St. Ignatius College Prep, Nazareth Academy made her the recipient of the Teachers Who Make A Difference Award, she was a semi-finalist for the Golden Apple Award. There have been other accolades, but that's enough to give you the idea. I'm sure that she would be the first to tell you that such recognitions are fine, but that's never been her goal.
I actually took the 37-mile trip to school just to interview Dr. Delaney to find out what makes her so successful, and I studiously wrote down what she told me. After dwelling on my notes for a long time, I realized what is more important is how different the process of education has become. It's not better, it's not worse...a statement many of my peers would disagree with...but things are different now. If I had to read and memorize ("memorizing" was very big back in the day) "The Cremation of Sam McGee" (by Robert Service), I would have had go to my nearest public library and hunt through the card catalog and stacks to find the right book. I have a 9-year old grandson who now could probably "google" it in less than a minute. If you generalize that to all areas of learning, it becomes apparent why I say that things are different now.
To be a great teacher now, the same elements are necessary as they were in yesteryear. A teacher has to be intelligent and well-educated, have a passion for the material and the students (or in Jane's case call it "love") and have a high enough energy level to "do 5 shows a day" then coach or moderate a sport or activity. There is one other quality that I have noticed in my experience: Charisma. Like beauty, I can't define charisma but I know it when I see it. Jane has all of these elements.
My original intent was to put down what she told me were the driving forces in her method, but, upon reflection, it occurred to me that, even if I understood it completely, I'm not sure that I could explain it. In my teaching years, we tried to convince our charges that we were the fountain of all truth in our respective fields. "Learn what I tell you, and give it back on the test."
Dr. Delaney is at the vanguard of the new wave of teaching. That's why I'm featuring her in this blog. The theme that I kept hearing from Jane was open-to-growth...not only for her students, but for herself. In her classes, learning is a collaborative process. She even admitted that there are students who are more skilled (or talented) in the realm of technology than she is. Sometimes she learns from them.
This should not be interpreted as, "Let the students wander aimlessly." This is where the intelligence aspect enters. She sets the assignments, and, where and when necessary, she steers the class in the appropriate direction. She also does that on an individual basis. Her students have come to trust her to guide them, but they are allowed to discover. They are "learning how to learn" and they are incorporating the facilities that are available in the world today. When they have moved on to another class, to another school, they take that skill with them.
I close by saying that, while Dr. Delaney came to mind when I was "cogitating" the next icons, she is NOT to only one. To all Ignatius teachers and coaches, "Keep up the great tradition!...and thanks."
