Honoring Beloved Teachers
Dr. Ruthie Stern and Mr. Neptali Castro are retiring at the end of this academic year. Ms. Kelli Hesseltine spoke about her colleagues at graduation, and her remarks are reprinted below:
I'm lucky to have the opportunity to speak to you today about two well-loved teachers who are leaving HSMSE this year. Dr. Ruthie Stern, the chair of our English Department and our Lead Teacher, and Neptali Castro, our Drafting teacher and resident artist - both are retiring. I'll start by stating the obvious: They will be missed. While neither were technically "founding" members of our school in that they didn't begin here in its very first year, both became, in their time, "foundational" members of our community. They are teachers who, in the excellence of their craft and in their passion for knowledge, formed the bedrock and shaped the vision of HSMSE. Their impact on our school is obvious to every student who ever spent time in their classes, or who ever huddled in Dr. Stern's office at lunch time, or who started the day laughing in Mr. Castro's room before school. For my part, I was actually hired by Dr. Stern and knew her first as my professor at Teacher's College. She was everyone's favorite professor, and as her student, I learned what most of you already know. The love, respect, and unflappable maternal patience that Ruthie Stern has for her students fortifies you for the life ahead. She sees the best in you before you might see it yourself; she definitely finds the best in your papers...or at least wills you to get it in there with her steely-sweet Israeli "sabra" resolve. Ruthie Stern is fully aware of the realities of being in the classroom every day and yet she is still in love with teaching and is still so obviously delighted by her students - you guys. When she offered me the job here, she told me, "I'm going to give you the opportunity to work in the best school in New York City. The students are amazing and the teachers are fantastic." She was right; she IS right. Ten years later, I know that there is no one who loves and praises this school like Ruthie Stern. In many ways, the powerful love that she has for family (we will miss the ringtone that announced the daily calls from Sol and her boys) extends to our school and especially to her students. A few weeks ago, while grading the new city exams, the English Department was groaning amongst the stacks of essays. Not Ruthie. She sat across from me saying things like, "Our kids can write. They can really write. Listen to how good this is..." Your time with Dr. Stern has taught you to respect your own ideas by writing with clarity and sophistication. She has taught us all how to be fierce - fierce in our resolve, fierce in our compassion, and even fierce in our love of literature. Dr. Stern loves this school and the people in it. We will miss her wisdom as an experienced educator, but we will really miss her staunch confidence and her constant certainty in our collective and individual greatness. Did you know, Ruthie calls her youngest son, Dani, every morning to wake him up for the day? (Don't worry, Ruthie, Jen has got this covered once you retire; she's willing to take it over.) I'm going to arrange to have her call us at HSMSE every so often, to remind us in the midst of the yearly grind and chaos just what a special place this is, what a special place she's helped it to become.  And now, Mr. Castro, who is squirming in his seat. Mr. Pedroso told me that it's good that I'm giving this speech aloud because if I sent it to Mr. Castro in an official DOE email, he would never read it. Mr. Castro was my commuting buddy on the subway every day for almost five years, and I can admit to him now that some days I actually hid from him on the E-train because the philosophical and contemplative approach he has for everything can sometimes be a little intense at 6:00 am. (Sorry, Neptali.) However, sitting next to Mr. Castro on the subway, I learned what most of you know from sitting in his classroom. He has an insatiable curiosity for discovering, engaging in, and even creating the world around him. A great Drafting and Art teacher, Mr. Castro's day job centers more resolutely around being a dreamer. His lessons to students involve showing them how to find knowledge, and truth, and beauty in the mundane. Whether painting ties, working leather, or drawing blueprints for his dream house (I'm told there's a guest room for each us, plan your visits), Mr. Castro reminded us daily to be present, to be alive, and to be aware in each unexpected moment. His art - the chandeliers and lamps, the metro card sculptures, and the most beautiful paintings ever to be made with a laminator - inspire us to find pleasure, joy, and simple beauty as we travel through each day. Mr. Pedroso told me, "You know, with Neptali, we don't have to wonder what he's going to do in retirement, because in a way, he's been retired for a long time." Now, of course Mr. Pedroso didn't mean that Mr. Castro hasn't really been grading your drafting projects all these years; he means that Neptali Castro is one of those rare individuals who has never waited for the weekend, or the summer, or even retirement to do what he loves or to pursue his passions and intellectual interests. He is the best kind of example for you as you set off to college; he is a life-long learner who constantly seeks out new adventures and new horizons, whether in a classroom or in a studio, or on a new but familiar continent. In this sense, Mr. Castro will never retire; he will do his life's work always. Mr. Castro reminds us, in the words of his beloved philosopher, Osho, "Creativity is the greatest rebellion in existence." And we will miss the beautiful rebellion he brought to these halls. And so, at this point, I will call forward one of "founding" faculty members who has agreed to show Dr. Stern and Mr. Castro the ropes of retirement. Mr. Andy Podell will present Dr. Stern and Mr. Castro with small remembrances from all of us and all of you. We're giving them signed yearbooks and framed photographs of their classes, so that next fall when they're in Tel Aviv and Colombia respectively, they'll have a little piece of HSMSE with them. ___ Thanks to Ms. Hesseltine for sharing her remarks with the newsletter. And many, many thanks to Dr. Stern and Mr. Castro for their enormous contributions to their students and to the HSMSE community. Congratulations on your retirements, and please stay in touch. Despedida and להתראות. |
This summer, four HSMSE students will conduct research with faculty at the Grove School of Engineering. 
The Outdoor Track team had their team banquet and signed dedications on each other's photo panels. 
