Now more than ever, our society needs great educators who have the innate ability to inspire and train the next generation of leaders.
The teaching profession has been under attack from all sides. Parents have become increasingly demanding in what is now a consumer-driven industry. Today’s children who came of age during the COVID-19 pandemic lack fundamental interpersonal skills. While schools continue to make strides in closing the pandemic learning gap, it still exists. Last June, the NWEA testing group reported that, on average across grades, students will need an extra 4.8 months of reading instruction and 4.3 months of math instruction to catch up to pre-pandemic academic achievement.
And, of course, teacher salaries continue to be a critical issue in the national teacher shortage and the number of teachers leaving the profession. Last fall, Education Week reported that while two-thirds of the nation’s teachers reported a slight increase in pay over the previous year, most report that “their base pay isn’t adequate,” per the 2024 State of the American Teacher survey. The survey found that the gap between what teachers are paid and the cost of living is particularly acute for teachers of color.
Independent schools are also facing these issues, of course, and hardly have a lock on extraordinary educators. Our public schools are filled with incredible educators. What independent school educators often have, though, are control over classroom curriculum and an abundance of classroom resources and supplies that many public school teachers would pine for.
For three decades, I witnessed how the independent school hallmarks of allowing teachers creative control over curriculum and typically smaller class sizes combined to create a teaching and learning environment where teachers had the opportunity to become a major influence in their students’ lives. I lived at Garrison Forest School, in Owings Mills, Md., an all-girls PreK-12, day and boarding school, where my wife Debbie, a master Chemistry teacher for 39 years, taught. She had the pleasure of working along with an exceptional group of talented faculty.
A master educator who inspired and led
I want to share an example of one such educator at Garrison Forest who transformed his students’ lives by teaching at an independent school. Doug Oppenheimer was one of those rare individuals who decided to plant his flag teaching middle school girls the importance of history. He was an experienced soccer player and coach before arriving at Garrison Forest in 2009—and had dabbled in acting, which did not hurt his prowess in bringing history to life. He was passionate about the critical role that history plays in society and was determined to instill in each of his students a love of that very history.
“Doug was in the prime of his life when he began working at Garrison Forest.“
Called Mr. O. by his students and student-athletes on the Garrison Forest soccer teams he coached, he was one of the most positive educators that I’ve ever met. He always had a smile on his face, a kind word to share and most importantly he pushed his middle school students to dream big. He had a rare ability to see the best in everyone he interacted with and approached every day and interaction with the goal of fostering a deep sense of pride in his young charges. As an on-campus faculty spouse, I would occasionally see Doug in the dining hall for a quick hello. He always wanted to know how I was doing and what our daughter was up to after she graduated.
Doug was in the prime of his life when he began working at Garrison Forest. He was committed to fostering a love of history. His classroom was a flood of readings, essays, debates, and research, with original student skits, films, ballads and more depicting critical events in history. He wholeheartedly embraced one of the joys of teaching in an independent school and created a curriculum that fostered critical thinking, instilled a passion for his subject in his students and nurtured their gifts.
He was my youngest daughter’s 7th-grade history teacher. I remember watching him teach during a parents’ visiting day and being impressed at how he engaged his students in discussion. He never talked at or over them and was a passionate advocate for all that one could learn from the past. He also did this on the soccer field where he focused on self-confidence, teamwork and the joy of playing together, not the scoreboard (though his teams often won). Eventually, he left Garrison Forest after 13 years in 2022 to work in the soccer industry, fittingly, in player and team development.
On February 1st, Doug’s many Garrison Forest colleagues and fans learned that he recently passed after a brave battle with cancer. Doug was simply too young to die. With his passing, the world lost a gentle soul who took the time and invested an enormous amount of intentionality in nurturing his students to become critical thinkers and better humans.
I type these words at 38,000 feet in the sky, flying to Orlando, reflecting on the hundreds of young women whose lives Doug enriched by being an incredible role model in both the classroom and on the playing field. As I look out the window above the clouds, I can’t help but think if Doug’s kind, enthusiastic soul is not engaged in deep conversation with some of history’s greatest figures.
I intentionally began this post with a snapshot of the very real challenges facing what is one of the greatest professions. Our children, country and world need teachers like Doug in the classroom and on the sidelines, guiding and inspiring. While Doug left teaching to embrace a new opportunity in the sport he loved since his childhood, the independent school ecosystem must do everything it can to address salary and benefit issues to ensure that gifted teachers like Doug remain in the classroom. Indeed, the impact our teachers have on the future truly has the potential to rewrite history.
Doug, your gentle kindness and passion for teaching will be missed. As we say in Judaism, “May your memory be a blessing. “
Thank you for all that you did to make the world a better place.
