History teacher Len Rabinowitz can be found at the Ashland High School, in the back of Mindess School with his telescope sharing the stars with interested gazers or playing music at The Corner Spot. Here he chats about his teaching career and what motivates him.
Whitty: How long have you lived in Ashland?
Rabinowitz: 21 years. We moved into town in 1997. I was teaching in Sutton and [my wife] Kab was working closer to the city. Ashland seemed a nice in-between.
Whitty: How long have you taught in Ashland? What do you teach?
Rabinowitz: I have been a teacher for 25 years. I started in Ashland in August 2001. I will be starting my 18th year here in a couple of weeks. I teach history and social sciences at the high school. Notably, I teach a course on the History of Genocide, which is unique and popular with students.
Whitty: I noticed that you have a variety of interests—history, astronomy and music. Do you relate to all these subjects as a teacher?
Rabinowitz: I do. One nice thing about history is that it encompasses everything—everything has a history. Nor is history segmented; events in one area affect events in another. Einstein’s work in relativity was affected by World War I. His being a violin player may have helped his capacity for imagination and thought experiments. When learning about a time period, I try and bring in relevant musical, artistic, cultural, scientific and technological developments of the time period. Many of these stories are untold but are important and fascinating. I have a particular focus on the Apollo moon landings as I grew up with that—it is living memory for me. Students know more about nonsense conspiracy theories than they do about the facts of what happened, and what an incredible achievement it was. It is important that these stories are told, particularly as these people age and die off.
Whitty: What is your approach to teaching?
Rabinowitz: I am deeply committed to factual knowledge, reasoning, scientific awareness and human rights. I want my students to realize their full capacity and their full capabilities. As human beings, they should never underestimate what they are capable of doing. We live in an age of fake news, science denial, conspiracy theory, lies and increasing tribalization and division. I want my students to be able to combat that with the power of their minds, their knowledge, and their capacity for empathy and understanding. I want them to be active, thoughtful participants in a healthy democracy, with a full understanding of the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. I want them to care for themselves and other people. I want them to dream, to wonder and to be amazed, and not just chase money and practicality. I want them to have inspiration and awe. They can lead rich and meaningful lives—they only have to choose to do so, and have our love and support.
Whitty: Where did your love of teaching, astronomy and music come from?
Rabinowitz: It is a product of my background. I was the third child in a highly educated family. My father has a PhD in engineering. My mother was a painter with an MFA. I was always reactive to sounds—some of my earliest memories are of music playing. I remember a record called Tine the Ballerina, which had sounds that actually scared me! I grew up in the 50s and 60s—times of a revolution in popular music. My older siblings brought all of that into the house, and I always had an ear for melody. My parents played classical music at home when I was a child and even occasionally some jazz. I started playing the flute at age 9 and went on to guitar at about age 11. As a teenager I had no desire to be anything other than a rock musician, and I had as good a shot at it as anybody. I took all of the music classes in high school. My parents always supported me with good instruments and lessons. I applied to one school out of high school—Berklee College of Music- and got in. I went for two years but did not graduate.
I grew up during the height of the space program. My Dad was a radar defense engineer who worked for the Pentagon for a few years. We lived in DC when Kennedy was assassinated. To me, the space program was absolutely fascinating and exciting! I watched all of the launches and followed all of it. One of my earliest memories is of sitting on the bed with my Dad watching John Glenn take off on his rocket. My Dad got me a telescope when I was about 6. I had that instrument for about 20 years. I remember him setting it up with my brother and looking at Venus. My parents bought me astronomy books, and I was just fascinated by the pictures. There was something so awe inspiring, optimistic and positive about it. I loved it!
I grew up surrounded by history, government, and politics. My Dad would pontificate about [these subjects] at the dinner table. My Mom read art books and painted. Impressionist, landscape style. They took us to museums. Family discussion was always about these things. It took me decades to realize that not every gets Scientific American and The New York Times at home. But I did, and I would read them. I read a lot of popular science and science-oriented science fiction at the time. Loved Star Trek, and still do! I got interested in history when I went back to school in 1988. I majored in it and was fascinated. For me fascination includes wanting to tell someone else about it so that led me to teaching. I have a strong keep-at-it, nose-to-the-grindstone, try-and-try-again, fail-and-keep-going attitude, which serves me well in teaching and my other endeavors.
I simply want to give to my students the gift that was given to me—a love of knowledge, awe, inspiration and caring for other people. Pay it forward as they say!
Issue Date:
September, 2018
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