FALL 2025 Ransom Everglades LOG 37 classroom. From the time I started at RE, the emphasis was on discussion-based teaching, but over the years we became even more focused on the Harkness method. Many of my best memories are of sitting around the Harkness table in the Ransom Cottage sitting back and listening as my students dove into the task of analyzing novels like Frankenstein or Beloved, or lyric poems like John Donne’s “Love’s Alchemy” or James Wright’s “A Blessing.” At the end of each year, I was always amazed and moved by the many notes I received from students who deeply appreciated how much they had learned in my classes. RE: What’s a funny memory you have? TD: One moment that stands out was the time a student asked if she could borrow my tie and wear it for good luck when she took the AP exam. RE: What is one of one of your favorite recollections? TD: There are many, but I’ll focus on a small one that stands for many. It came during a somewhat routine afternoon when my AP class was discussing Nawal El Saadawi’s “Woman at Point Zero.” Becca Hadwin ’18 was reading a passage aloud. She had a great ear and was very sensitive to the sounds of language. As she was reading, she got fully caught up in the rhythms of the passage and everything except her voice and the language of the passage fell away. When she stopped there was absolute silence; everyone in the class was mesmerized, and it took a minute or two before we could resume our normal conversation. I don’t think any of us had realized until that moment just how beautiful and moving the language of the passage was. It was a revelation that depended not only on the sensitivity of the reader but equally on the willingness of the class to surrender wholly to the moment, to invest themselves fully in their learning. At their best, and they were often at their best, my students at RE really cared about their education, and they contributed to an environment in which we could all learn from each other. RE: What do you miss the most about RE? TD: It’s a toss-up. Of course I miss the day-to-day discussions with students and helping them learn and grow; I miss tennis season, too, and getting to see the students in an entirely nonacademic context. But I also greatly miss the day-to-day interactions with caring, supportive and talented colleagues. Everyone I worked with was generous with their time, not to mention with actual teaching materials. If you needed help with something, or just wanted to try out some ideas about a book or a classroom strategy, someone was always willing to lend a hand or an ear. We learned so much from each other. And if you just wanted to relax and hang out, good friends were always available. RE: What have you been up to in retirement? TD: In 2022, my wife, Sue, and I sold our house in Pinecrest and moved to the west coast of Florida, to Lakewood Ranch. Since then I’ve been enjoying a more relaxed lifestyle. But I keep busy enough. I take lots of long walks with Sue and Marley, our 6-year-old golden retriever. I spend time each morning tending to a backyard garden, where my wife grows vegetables and I grow lots of herbs. I’m reading more for pleasure — mainly contemporary novels — than I’ve had a chance to do in years. I have plenty of time to pursue my passion for cooking, Asian cooking in particular, and especially Sichuan food. I’m not only playing a lot of tennis, I even started playing competitively again — after nearly 45 years. And I’ve been working on my French. I’m determined to become fluent (or at least close). Sue and I are traveling as much as possible to visit family and friends and see as much of the world as we can while we still can. We fly to Denver and L.A. regularly to visit our two sons, Josh ’13 and Matt ’10, and we’ve also taken some more ambitious trips: to St. Martin for our 40th wedding anniversary; to Paris and the Loire Valley for my 70th birthday celebration; to NYC for the U.S. Open and some Broadway plays; and to Maui in January with my brother and his wife because there are whales and sea turtles and great scenery and food. We’re currently looking forward to meeting up with Josh and Matt and Matt’s fiancé, Jay, at the Grand Canyon. Jane Dolkart, Tom Dughi, Buzzie Borona-Polson
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