I had the distinct honor to be asked by Kate Whitlow and her family to speak on her dad’s behalf…and then hurricane Irene decided to rip up the East Coast and ruin all of my flight plans. I was devastated that I could not be in the room with so many other fine people to pay tribute to a man whose life had the incredible impact on so many…Bob Whitlow was truly a unique person…and when one uses the phrase “1 in a million”…Bob fits into that category without question.
So here’s what I had planned to say on that warm day in August in the Oakland hills. From what I gather it was an amazing day and I am thankful that my brother and folks were able to attend:
When I see all of the people in the room that span so many strands of time that Bob linked together…how we all are like some type of weird extended family I cant help but think…Bob would laugh at the fact that there is standing room only for a guy that couldn’t stand.
I went back through a couple Facebook groups and some emails that a few people exchanged and found some common themes to describe Bob…I am sure there are more…but here’s a few: Dedication, inspiration, fun, love, caring, the yardstick by which many teachers will forever be measured, calm in the storm, experiential, witty, interest in each child, timeless connection, imagination, creativity, personal experience, empowerment, encouragement, Doy, activity, laughter, heart, music, continuous change, community, risk taking, experimentation, and encouragement…
Like many of you in the room…I had the advantage…no…really the dumb luck of entering Charquin as early as I did. I was 6…doesn’t everything seem to happen by luck when you are 6?
Charquin was a unique place. It was a place where we all got to strive to define and redefine educational goals. We got to replace obsolete assumptions about curriculum, testing, and literacy, and professionalism with a holistic understanding of teaching and learning. It was a very human process with cooperation, respect, and lots and lots and lots of negotiation
The Charquin philosophy created a space where there would be no remedial readers or math students. Each student was respected as an individual and as an important member of the community. Each student would be encouraged to use reading, writing, and math as tools to learn what they need to know. Students would not be measured against a standard.
The Charquin classrooms provided children with many opportunities to find meaning in their world…and to manage their own learning and use their literacy to effect change in their world…not the world…their world.
In my first grade year I remember following Bob through the three class at Laurel elementary…half pestering his determined walk…a walk that was probably away from me…at last I said in desperation I said “Hey dad can you help me with this math?” and we both stopped in our tracks and looked at each other…I remember feeling embarrassed and he was definitely shocked…but Bob brushed it off casually saying “as long as you don’t call me “mom” we wont have a problem!” We both laughed and he sat down on the floor with me and said…”so lets look at the math.” He was always quick with the right things to say.
In the beginning at times the kids and parents…particularly the parents… were more perspiration than inspiration. With parent meetings and committees Bob said a few years ago that my mom was a pain in his ass…but he was thankful to her because it pushed him to get his masters…to continually learn…to expand…to validate why he taught the way he taught. I know he was thankful to my folks and all the other parents…and that benefited all the kids to come after.
I asked a few of the kids I was in school with and a few others I was not to give me a perspective of impact on how Bob shaped us:
Kamrhan Farwell (Renee Miller) 1974-1978 said that none of us kids were held up as the good kid, or the smart kid, or the best kid, over the others. We were just kids, each very different from the next. She remembers bonds, created during our time in centers and at a host of sleepover parties.
Jodi Rice from the class of 1978-1984 said that Bob always knew how to make every student think they were his favorite…how true…and he carried that through his career.
Michael Hunter from the class of 1982-1989 said that Bob fostered a relationship between equals. His teaching was founded on this equality; on the understanding that children should simply be thought of as parents who hadn’t been hobbled by experience, and that parents similarly could be thought of as children who try to dress up their impulses with fancy vocabulary. What an elegant way to explain that we all truly never grow up…and neither did the Slob.
Renee Miller brought up something that had a big impact on the early years…and that was Bob’s accident. She mentioned…as we all did… feeling such incredible loss for him. That this young, exciting and creative teacher who we all looked up to had been cut down. But when she saw him afterward, Bob didn’t really seem to see it as a tragedy. It didn’t change his desire to be a master teacher, lifelong learner, etc. He was still the same Bob. It was in how he handled that in his own life that she learned most from him.
One of the later memories I have from Charquin was the addition of sex education in the classroom…and that came at a time where Bob’s life took a different turn and we all went along for the ride…so we have both Kate and Kathleen to thank for that…even if it was a bit early for some of us. So your arrival Kate…prompted much discussion…at home and at school.
When I had my See Ya Bye at Laurel Elementary School I remember being excited to go to a new school…maybe too ready for a change…and the following year entered Burbank elementary. When I got to this new place the rows of desks were weird and my most frustrating memory was feeling like I had to actually having to downgrade my education…I had the benefit of cubby holes, stations with bean bags, no fences…the choice to expand in ways that many do not…Downgrade your education? When do you get to do that?
So I should say that we…the kids…are thankful to the lineage of learning that Bob fostered. He created a legacy that is far more powerful than currency…as evidence by the people standing in this room. In 1990 Bob wrote an unpublished thesis titled “Instructional Materials and teacher change: confessions of a liberated teacher”…I think we all know in some shape or form that Bob has truly been liberated and continues to shine on us all with more lessons to come forth.
Thank you.
Charlie Murdach
August 27, 2011
