Leadership Matters September 2014

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small army of former students who still are actively involved with Hobart and Esquith’s programs. Another, a graduate of the Yale School of Law, helped establish a 501(c)3, raised money to fund the special programs at the school and chairs Esquith’s non-profit board. (“It’s kind of neat that one of my

show; we focus on preparing ourselves for the show. We don’t have a cast party after the show. The show is the party, and when it’s over we start the next day preparing for next year’s show.” He wears the same outfit to school every day: vest, tie and white tennis shoes. “It’s about consistency. I

former students is now my boss.”) The Shakespeareans’ website was designed by two other former students, and another former student is now teaching at Hobart. Though Esquith probably could rival the Lakers for hardware, he’s not really about awards. The humility he saw in Joann is a loftier goal. But one award, the Sondheim Award he received in 2011 from the Kennedy Center, does have special meaning for Esquith. That’s because you can only be nominated by former students.

might be the most stable force in their lives and I want them to know what they can expect every day from me.” Why would someone with Esquith’s obvious talents and abilities spend his whole life teaching fifth-graders in inner-city Los Angeles? “My smart-alec answer is for the money,” he said with a laugh.

“In the teacher movies I’ve seen, they save every kid. I know some of those teachers and I’ve never seen that happen. I think it does a disservice to young teachers. I fail all of the time, sometimes heart-breaking failure and Hollywood wouldn’t allow that.” - Rafe Esquith

Really, it’s about his deep commitment to his students. His father died of lung cancer when Rafe was nine years old, so he truly can relate to children from single-parent homes. He listed his wife and a former student as his two biggest influences. “My wife is the person who taught me that tests matter, but the things tests don’t measure are the most important things about a person,” he said. “Then there was one child, the only student whose name I didn’t change in my books. Her name is Joann and she was 10 when I met her. She was a musician, not just an ordinary musician, but an extraordinary musician – and no one knew it. She was so humble that her friends didn’t even know that she played the piano. I found her humility to be so special. I learned from her that the reward is to be great, not to show people that you’re great.” Joann, who went on to attain a Ph.D. in music from Northwestern, now serves as the Hobart Shakespeareans director of music. She is one of a

Esquith has turned down offers for a movie about his life and teaching career. He said the Hollywood treatment is too phony for his taste. “In the teacher movies I’ve seen, they save every kid. I know some of those teachers and I’ve never seen that happen. I think it does a disservice to young teachers,” he said. “I fail all of the time, sometimes heart-breaking failure and Hollywood wouldn’t allow that.” So there probably won’t be a movie about the teacher called “a modern day Thoreau” by Newsday, “a genius and a saint” by the New York Times, and “the most interesting and influential classroom teacher in America” by the Washington Post. But if there were… “I think the title of it would be ‘We’re Never Done,’ “ Esquith said with a chuckle, adding that at age 60 he’s not close to being done. “Wait ‘til you see my next 30 years!”

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