Post Magazine: The Human Touch

The Education Review issue of The Washington Post Magazine explored how relationships forged in classrooms can forever change the lives of students, teachers, principals and parents.

Editor Lynda Robinson was online to discuss the issue andto allow readers to share their most profound educational relationships.

Lynda Robinson is an articles editor of The Washington Post Magazine.

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Lynda Robinson: Good afternoon everyone, and thanks for being part of this chat about the profound connections that students, teachers, parents and principals make with one another in classroom settings.

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Corpus Christi, Tex: I was so moved by Jose Antonio Vargas's story and by the folks who helped this boy out. Is there a way to contact him?

Lynda Robinson: Yes, Jose Vargas's story was truly amazing. He can be reached at vargasj@washpost.com. He was actually the inspiration for the entire issue. He was telling me one day that he was going home to see his mother because she'd been ill when he suddenly stopped and said, "She's not actually my mother." When he told me that she was his high school principal, a little light bulb went off in my head. I knew we could build an entire issue around people telling stories about their most significant educational relationships.

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Alexandria, Va.: I loved this issue - thank you so much for bringing together all these testimonials from capable writers who have clearly benefited from their experiences as students and teachers. It did a little more to legitimize teaching as one of the most important professions in the country, and one we should put more emphasis on. Regardless of what people claim to think about teachers' wages, etc. - I'm sure most people can think of a teacher who affected them in this way, or were that teacher, and I think that shows that they're worth much more than we initially give them credit for.

Lynda Robinson: So glad you enjoyed the issue. It was really rewarding to put together. These stories are an important reminder that test scores don't change lives; teachers, professors and principals do.

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Arlington, Va.: I realize that this comment is long. If you choose to post any part of this comment, please feel free to use whatever short excerpts seem the most interesting or relevant.

I enjoyed reading the teacher/student/mentor stories in "The Human Touch" in the Washington Post story this weekend. I have been both a student and also a teacher so I know first hand the ways in that teachers and students alike can touch and learn from each other.

Would you consider doing a similar follow-up feature? I can think of two school-related groups of people who were overlooked:

Bus drivers, janitors, cafeteria workers, and other personnel who don't have degrees and who don't teach in a classroom, can still have an important impact on students. These people are often "invisible," but some deserve a great deal more credit than they normally receive.

I still have fond memories of the bus driver who transported me each day from my home in Wellesley, Massachusetts, to a public school in nearby Newton that had a mainstreaming program for deaf students like me. This was a "special education bus" so there were only a few of us students each day, traveling to and from our Wellesley homes to schools in nearby towns. Mary Jane Kelley always took a personal interest in each and every one of us as a person regardless of age or disability. For some of the more troubled students on the bus, I think she was probably the only adult who took a sincere interest in their lives, interests, feelings, and opinions.

Lynda Robinson: Oh that's a lovely story, and yes, you're right: secretaries, school nurses, janitors, counselors, recess monitors, all kinds of people can make a huge difference in the lives of children.

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Warrenton, Va.: Thanks for the very nice issue. I was really touched. Which of the essays, may I ask, touched you most?

Lynda Robinson: I thought all of them were wonderful, really. I particularly loved Jose Vargas's piece, which was the inspiration for the entire issue. I also was touched by Chanelle Hardy's story of connecting with a troubled fifth grader and then losing him to the mean streets of Washington. And I got big kick out of Eric Wee's tale of learning the most from the student he liked the least.

Which ones were most powerful for all of you?

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Silver Spring, Md: Of course teachers and staff at schools should be paid well, but when money is an overriding factor for teachers rather than love of teaching and love of children, it makes you wonder how much money will be enough.

Lynda Robinson: The issue really didn't address any questions about pay. I doubt many educators are in the field for the money. I'm guessing most go into education to make a difference in the lives of others, and many of them succeed.

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Sterling, Va.: When did all of these stories take place?

Lynda Robinson: Some took place a while ago. Many of them are ongoing. David Rowell, for instance, wrote about his college writing professor, with whom he had a deep connection spanning decades. It ended with Max Steele's death earlier this year. Other relationships were more fleeting, but had lasting impact.

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Arlington, Va.: Once you identified the theme, how did you choose the stories or identify who had stories to tell?

Lynda Robinson: I networked with lots of writers inside and outside the Post. Some of them had stories they wanted to tell themselves. Others suggested principals or teachers who might have good stories to tell. Jay Mathews, who covers education for the Post, suggested I contact Dan McMahon,the principal at DeMatha High School. He had a wonderful story to tell about his relationship with Buck Offutt. In one case, I contacted the former superintendent of the Anne Arundel School System and she didn't want to write a story, but put me in touch with her daughter, Julie Desai. It took a while to find the right mix. And I never did find a great story from a math or science teacher, which I really regret.

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Maryland: I'm deaf. In school, I was bullied by students and teachers alike. it was a kind resource room assistant who cared for me daily. I make it though HS, Gallaudet and now the real world.

Lynda Robinson: That's a testament to the importance of everyone who works in a school setting. Are you still in touch with the resource room assistant?

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Washington, DC: Your profiles are all about public school students. What about private schools, where teachers and students interacted more hours than public schools?

Lynda Robinson: Actually, the preschool that Brigid Schulte wrote about is private and so is the story by the principal of DeMatha Catholic High School. There's no question that private schools generate the same important educational relationships as public schools.

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Maryland: No, the resource room assistant left because the teachers with their MA did nothing to help me. She wanted to go to grad school for her MA in teaching but when she saw those teachers do nothing and act nothing, she lost interested. Last I heard she worked for some non-profit organization.

Lynda Robinson: oh that's too bad.

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Lynda Robinson: Do any of you have classroom relationships that changed the way you saw the world or saw yourself?

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Lynda Robinson: Okay, time for me to get back to work. Thanks for joining us today to talk about the Education Review.

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