Tribute to a Mentor

The field of education, and education reform in particular, has lost one of its giants. Theodore R. Sizer, Ted to those who knew him, passed away last week at the age of 77. His obituary chronicles an extraordinary life spent in some of the nation's finest secondary and post-secondary schools as well as his efforts to remake American education around small schools, committed teachers, and authentic demonstrations of mastery.

Although I entered our first meeting in 1989 with a not-so-healthy balance of curiosity and cynicism, I quickly become one of many who consider Ted Sizer to be a friend and mentor. He had recently stepped down as chair of the education department at Brown University, but Ted was still very involved, respected, and even worshiped. In fact, the whole teacher education program had been formed around his ideology. Of course, I didn't know any of this when I started there that summer. In truth, I'd never heard of the guy. When the opportunity arose to meet him to discuss the possibility of being one of a dozen or so graduate assistants for his very popular undergraduate class on school reform, I tagged along with a few friends, as interested in the free food that was promised and meeting the person of whom everyone at Brown spoke in such reverential terms as I was in being a TA.

Having been around the block once or twice, Ted had experience with smart alecks of my ilk and won me over almost immediately. Without a doubt one of the smartest people I've ever known, he was also among the most unpretentious. Perhaps what made him such a wonderful teacher was that Ted was a great listener. Our weekly evening meetings at his home to discuss his class and our discussion sections were characterized by his giving us a little direction, our doing lots of brainstorming and a fair amount of arguing, him providing more gentle direction, and us reaching the exact point he knew we would at the beginning. Of course, at the time, we thought it was our brilliance that brought us to great clarity, when it was really him all along.

On my best days, I'd like to think that I live up to the model that Ted provided and to the belief he had in me. On my worst days, I take comfort in knowing that he would know just what to say to inspire me to be my best. Although it's been a few years since I last saw Ted and his wife Nancy, a great teacher and scholar in her own right, his ideas, his model, and his manner continue to inspire me as an educator and as a leader.

Hopefully, it's not too late to say what I should have said years ago. Thanks, Ted.