Chaninah Maschler

Remembering dear Mrs. Maschler today

I dearly loved Chaninah Maschler. She was a beloved mentor, guide, and friend. She was my freshman science tutor and she made biology come alive for me for the first time by encouraging me to draw what I saw under the microscope and journal about it. When we watched chicken embryos develop, their hearts beat for the first time, and the web of pulsing capillaries expand I was caught -for the first time science became a creative enterprise to which I could contribute. She made it come alive....

I never knew anyone else who had such a passion for life, equally intrigued by Euclid and Sesame Street. Nothing made me happier as a student than a day when her deeply clouded brow would give way to a radiant sunny smile.

One anecdote to show her deep care for her students. She asked about a mutual friend, David, who was playing in a student band. She had grave reservations about this movement "Punk", which struck her as wallowing in the grotesque for its own sake, and had heard that David's student band fit into this genre. I told her that over the past year the band had made a transition from Punk, and might now be described as "Pop". What is the genre, give an example? Well, the Beatles. "Oh, well that...

Chaninah taught me to read as if my life depended on it. Once that happens there is no going back. I am so thankful she was my teacher! She taught me it is in no one's interest to be forever deferential. Sometimes you have to just stand up. Especially if you are a teacher. May all the good she has done live forever in hearts. I and a few others wrote more about her here: http://on.fb.me/1D9ZCmf
In particular, one alumna captures Chaninah using Sesame Street as a definitive text. She had...

My thoughts and prayers are with your family during this difficult time. I met Mrs. Maschler at her dental office. I always looked forward to our visits. We had some wonderful conversations. I will miss her visits. May your many wonderful memories of your dear Mother bring you comfort in the days ahead.

An outstanding woman who raised two outstanding daughters.

I was also one of the lucky students to have Mrs. Maschler for Freshman greek. Greek was challenging and I was challenged. She helped me get over my fears. She also introduced me to New York Times and the great american authors (Fitzgerald, Hemingway etc.). To this day (24 years later) I always think of her when I pick up one of those authors. You will always be in our hearts Mrs. Maschler.

My chief regret is that she had to put up with my ignorant, younger self as a Freshman at SJC. I loved her passion for poetry, and her insistence that all of us keep a book of poems by our bedside and read one every night, _every_ night, before we went to sleep. What a treasure she was!