The older I get the more I realize that there aren’t any
heroes, there are just people who manage to make it through life with a bit
more of their integrity intact than other people do. Which is why I am
surprised to hear myself say that one of my heroes died today.
His name is Jeff Jonathan and he is somebody you have
probably never heard of. He was the Director of the school I taught at in New
Haven. And he was a great man.
Being in charge of a school is not an easy job. Yet Jeff led
the school with a strength and a steadiness of purpose that inspired everybody
there to be their best—or at least to be the best they were capable of that
day. He hired me to teach the oldest kids in a Progressive elementary school
even though during the job interview it was clear that I did not even know what
the term “progressive education” meant.
He took a chance on me and I grew so much professionally
because he did. Jeff made me want to be a better teacher by his example. No
matter the situation, Jeff would boil it down to the bottom-line question: what
is best for the child in this circumstance? That was always his main
concern—what is best for the children?
Jeff put up a long hard fight with illness the past few
years. Each time it looked like he might
not make it through, he managed to tap into astoundingly deep reserves of
strength and make it back home again. In the midst of his own struggle, Jeff
lost his wife to her own fight with illness. I was reminded of Job.
It is easy enough to be kind, honest, forthright, and loving
when things are going well in your life. It is a much more difficult thing to
remain all of those things when subjected to heartbreaking sadness and
unfairness. Jeff Jonathan, though you have probably never heard of him, was a
giant among men. He will be missed, but not forgotten.
