Let me help you by saying, I BELIEVE EVERY WORD. First of all, the person who wrote it did not appear to have any bitter feelings and I would say even remorseful because he knows the truth yet knows not what to do about it. It’s very scary to come out and expose someone who already has so much notoriety and hides behind an image.

Yes, it is true, Rafe has a HUGE influence on education and children and is also likely a megalomaniac among other serious mental problems. A basic definition of megalomaniac is: an unrealistic belief in one’s superiority, grandiose abilities, and even omnipotence. It is characterized by a need for total power and control over others, and is marked by a lack of empathy for anything that is perceived as not feeding the self.

A Pedophile prefers the company of children and is popular with both children and adults.

Rafe has a dark history prior to being a teacher at Hobart. I knew him. He was controlling, extremely manipulating, cruel, intimidating, verbally, sexually and physcially abusive. Yet he was also inspiring and intelligent and hid the dark side very well. I have personal awful experiences from him and I know several other people (who are now adults) who did as well. We are not children who hide behind our juvenile distaste of him and key his cars. We are adults who have our own lives and who also now have children.

Roj, thanks for keeping this up… the truth will prevail and I have no problem engaging in further conversation and/or answering questions.

That said, ANYONE can post on the internet claiming to be anyone, and for all we know the poster known as “Anonymous” could be one of the many jealous individuals all too eager to drag Rafe’s name through the mud by spreading lies. Do I have evidence that this is the case? No, I do not have evidence, just as the anonymous poster has no evidence that he/she is a former student or that these things really did happen. That is precisely my point.

What we do know, though, and have great evidence of, is that Rafe is a phenomenal teacher who has impacted the lives of many students and teachers. I hope that he continues to inspire fellow educators like myself with his stories, and that his colleagues realize that they should stop “hating” and take the time to learn from the man.

I don’t know what to say about what you posted. I wouldn’t advise you to lose heart because Rafe Esquith was and probably still is a great teacher. However, he is still very human and flawed and as much as I can say that some of what he says is bullshit, there is still a lot of good in what he does.

The only other thing I would advise you about is to remember that there is a line that needs to be drawn between what you say to your students and what you can say to adults. As a former student myself, this is something that he sometimes forgot about and people still remember it to this day.

I was wondering if you know of any place that I can find a detailed account of the reward system that Rafi uses in his classes? I would appreciate your help with this.

Say something nice? ummmmm Like chemo treatments being better than the school meetings??? Truth is NICE even when it may not seem so, I appreciate your clarity. You and Noam Chomsky.
Can I introduce you to Richard Mitchell? http://www.sourcetext.com/grammarian/

I use your Medal of Arts history to sell your book like I use the title of Chapter one to sell Freekenomics (Why teachers and Sumu Wrestlers are alike) This quote from Mitchell’s Graves of Acadame is the Karate book for good teachers….
“It is possible, of course, to
keep educated people unfree in a state of civilization, but it’s much easier to keep ignorant people unfree in a state of civilization. And it is
easiest of all if you can convince the ignorant that they are educated, for you can thus make them collaborators in your disposition of their liberty and property. That is the institutionally assigned
task, for all that it may be invisible to those who perform it, of American public education. (page 5) text free on the web at:
http://www.sourcetext.com/sharetext/ug/graves.pdf

BTW Every Library, including Texas Tech has your Hair book and I’m checking them all out to pass around, but how do you make them drink? Ciao. Mark

I watched the documentary on The Hobart Shakespeareans on PBS last night, and came across your website as I was searching for more information about Rafe Esquith and his class.

I just wanted to run a thought by you, and leave it to your own discretion regarding what to do with it.

I am a special ed. teacher and feel that over the years as I have gained more experience, I have become a better teacher and do a pretty good job in my class. (Sorry for sounding haughty; it’s only to make a point.) Still, every day I am hard on myself and feel bad for not doing more and giving more and inspiring more, etc.

Then I watched the documentary about Rafe Esquith and really felt inspired as a teacher to do more and give more and inspire more; to set higher goals which would help my students later in life as opposed to just dispensing information. (Okay, I oversimplified it, but you get the point. )

The reason I’m writing to you is that the comment above from a former student of Mr. Esquith’s may be valid and true, and while anyone in this country is certainly free to speak up when they have information or an opinion to share, I think it may be counter-productive to what Rafe is working towards and stands for.

Once I read that comment, I had second thoughts about how great that guy was, and even his very meritorious ideas and examples he set were tarnished by my new opinion of him. In short, the motivation for ME to do better was lost.

So of course, it’s your blog, and I leave it to you to decide what you save and what you delete, but I just wanted to share with you how my students may end up losing out because I read that comment; and to think how many other inspired teachers raring to go might lose some of that because of one comment.

Thanks for letting me voice my opinion.

Roxanne

How did you get 501c3 status for your classroom?

Did you create a shell organization for your class ot the entire elementary school?

I have a friend in teach for america in Philadelphia trying to getr the status for his classroom.

Tsiom

I just saw a documentary about your work with children. What i saw inspired a lot. I’m an african from Congo (Kinshasa) and i do believe that to make things better in my country we should start by educating our children. These last days, i’m seeing more and more inspiring people around me and that helps me to carry on with the project that i have for my country.
I just want to say thank you for giving yourself everyday for these kids and GOD bless you and give you the strenght to carry on with your work.