Upper School History Teacher
Know Your Pelicans
George retired in 2021 after teaching for 30 years.
What is your favorite thing about Packer?
Our diversity. People sense it when they enter the building. We encourage and respect each other for our differences as well as our similarities. I also love our Neo-Gothic building and still enjoy finding odd corners and hidden spots I didn't know existed.
Describe a favorite or memorable moment in your classroom at Packer.
I'm not sure if this counts as it is not in the classroom, but I love getting students outside the building and into neighborhoods like the Village or Chinatown.
Name a book/artwork/piece of music that changed your life and explain how.
The first book that changed my life was The Sailor Dog, by Margaret Wise Brown. The scruffy little guy sails off and lives a life of adventure. It jump-started my imagination and wanderlust. Musically, it was Elvis and later The Rolling Stones. I first saw Elvis on "The Ed Sullivan Show" at age 6 and my grandparents hated it. I saw The Rolling Stones in the 1960s and my parents hated them even more. I figured there must be something worthwhile in that.
What is something that most Packer people wouldn't know about you?
I flunked out of college, worked in construction and factories, reapplied, got back in, and graduated (eventually).