In a brief departure from our Where Are They Now series, this piece is an introduction to a retired Touchstone teacher  Marian Hazzard.  I use the term retired loosely, because when Marian gave up her 14-year tenure as Head Teacher at Touchstone, she hardly retired in the traditional sense.  Here is the article written by a current Touchstone parent that appeared in our weekly News Notes.

Many have seen Marian around school, attending meetings, working in the garden, tutoring students and writing the "Green Piece" articles that are published in our weekly News Notes and posted on the web site.
Who is Marian Hazzard and why has she and her family continued stayed involved with Touchstone for all these years?
Here's an introduction to Marian (and family).

Where did they come from? Why did they join the Touchstone community?
After living, studying, working, gardening, and starting a family in Berkeley, California, Marian and Ed were drawn back to Massachusetts by family and roots in the northeast and settled in Grafton.

Following a tip from a local real estate agent, the Hazzards attended an Open House to learn about a new school about to open in Upton. The school's mission focused on creating a community of learners that would value the social, emotional, physical and intellectual growth and wellbeing of it members as well as the wellbeing of the earth and the universe (guess who?). Soon after, they enrolled the girls in Touchstone's first two classes of students. The compelling mission, the educational philosophy, and the fundamental notion of husbandry of the community and the earth has been compelling enough to keep Marian (and Ed) involved with Touchstone ever since.

Emily and Phoebe have long since graduated from Touchstone. Emily (a teacher), husband Stefan, and baby Sam live in Minnesota; Phoebe and her husband Stephen both teach in a western Massachusetts elementary school. Marian, who was hired as a teacher's aide shortly after enrolling Emily and Phoebe at Touchstone, went on to complete her M.Ed. and became Head Teacher, responsible for Touchstone's nine and ten year olds classroom.

When my son, Owen, was a little guy, we visited all the classes at Open House We looked ahead eagerly to the time when he would be in Marian's class. He would be one of the big kids, writing reports, studying Native American culture and New England history, learning about the transition in our area from an agrarian to an industrial society.  Marian's interest in how people have interacted with the land over time combined with a commitment to using local resources helped her create classroom themes that made the subject relevant and personal for her students.

And then there was The Farm School!  In those days, Marian and Susan's classes went to the Farm School in Athol for three days each spring (and in those days, the kids had to raise half the money it cost to do this!). As those of you whose children have attended the Farm School know, kids go to Farm School and fall in love with it. Work on the farm is not just about farming: It’s about autonomy, independence, responsibility, meaningful work, and authentic connection to each other and to the natural world, including farm, field, and forest.

Marian's students studied the inter-relatedness of humans, plants, animals, and ecosystems. Integrating science and math in "the Touchstone way" meant data collection, analysis, and communication of results.  In one unit, students measured their individual classroom trash output, analyzed it, simultaneously integrating related historical events and thinking.
Retirement?

As Marian says, Touchstone's educational philosophy recognizes that “as much learning happens for students outside the classroom as within.”

So when Marian "retired" in 2003, it was to have the time to further explore methods and environments for learning. One result was the commitment to further integrate many of the things Touchstone was already teaching in a real and immediate way on the Touchstone campus.

Marian was already active on Touchstone's Green Team. Leading the effort to start a school garden as part of Touchstone's outdoor learning environment, Marian has worked with current Touchstone parents to integrate aspects of the Farm School experience into the Touchstone educational program for students at all levels.  From Sheryl's and Jane's classes planting seeds and digging potatoes in the garden to Susan's class constructing an accurate scale map of the garden layout, Marian's work continues to support and further the school's efforts to make education meaningful and relevant to kid's immediate lives.

So, who is Marian now? Touchstone trustee, co-chair of the Sustainability Committee, (past chair and member of countless other committees), tutor, musician, gardener, dog-lover, sustainer of Touchstone's progressive, constructivist educational experience…