Mark Crotty works behind scenes, inspires many on campus

By Brad Girson, Views Editor

In the entrance to the Upper School’s new addition is Mark Crotty’s office. Next to his door, a plaque reads: director of curriculum.

In 1990, Mr. Crotty arrived at Greenhill to teach sixth grade composition. For seven years prior, he had worked at a small, independent school just outside of Lafayette, Louisiana, where he ascended through the ranks, eventually reaching the position of assistant Head of School.

Strapped on the fast track to becoming a Head of School, Mr. Crotty decided to break away from administrative work and return to teaching at a bigger, more established school: Greenhill.

Three years later, he began teaching freshmen and became the director of the writing center, until he eventually became chair of the Vision Committee, which was a strategic planning process devoted strictly to the Upper School.

Due to the success of the committee and the revamping of the curriculum, Mr. Crotty assumed the role of director of curriculum.

“What makes Greenhill’s curriculum so special is its ability to always improve. It is dynamic and flexible and always getting better,” Mr. Crotty said.

He is responsible for the entire school’s curriculum from pre-kindergarten through twelth grade. “My job attempts to weave greater intellectual creativity and innovation into our program,” he said.

His administrative duties yield little time for teaching, but his abilities in the classroom as a teacher and a mentor remain obvious through his classes The Myths and Meanings of War and Senior Rhetoric. The students of his second trimester Myths and Meanings of War class said they had a unique academic experience. “Mr. Crotty made the class so enjoyable that no one even remembered we were being graded. It was a really great learning environment that everyone really had fun in,” said senior Sam Chortek, a student in the class. Assessed through interactive blogs, group and individual presentations, and class participation, none of his students requested a single grade throughout the trimester.

Not only did the students appreciate the absence of grades, but so did Mr. Crotty. “The students did not say things to try to impress me or anybody in the class. They spoke because they wanted to speak and explore each other’s ideas,” Mr. Crotty said.

While the class was a junior and senior elective, students said that their attentiveness stemmed from more than just interest in the material.

“We worked as hard as we did and with as much excitement as we did because we all wanted to try reach the intellectual level of our teacher,” Sam said. These words resonate with Mr. Crotty’s fundamental belief in the responsibility of a teacher. “The most important thing a teacher can do is make a student want to do better: make them want to learn,” Mr. Crotty said.
Though Mr. Crotty’s students experienced academic enjoyment in the classroom, this enlightenment is rare throughout the educational world. “Kids of the high school age are instinctively curious and fascinated with learning. A concern I have is that sometimes school bends this out of a student. The ‘goal’ can overwhelm the joy of the process. I wish students would enjoy the journey more and take more risks while they are in a great place to do so,” Mr. Crotty said.

This idea runs concurrently with the mission of the school’s curriculum and the spirit of the school. The curriculum encourage teachers to develop courses about which they are passionate, which in turn creates classes as engaging as Myths and Meanings of War, but also it allows the older students at the school a chance to explore the areas they love and are interested in.

“A lot of adults are intimidated by teenagers,” Mr. Crotty said. “Come to Greenhill. You will see a lot of great things because there are so many different types of students who all have something important to contribute.”

The belief in the importance of diversity has been with Mr. Crotty since his love for soccer blossomed almost 40 years ago.
As a teenager, he played in an incredibly diverse soccer league where each team was comprised of people of a certain nationality. From the league, he learned a lot about different cultures and the importance many points of view have on the education of a young adult.

Mr. Crotty said he enjoys letting others take the spotlight.

“I like to work behind the scenes,” he said, “I am more interested in helping other people shine than shining myself.”

Photo by Jenny Wisemen