Turning Problems Into Solutions
Lake Geneva, Switzerland is known as a playground for Europe’s rich and famous. It’s also known for having an abundance of boarding schools. It was at one of those—Leysin American School, just outside Lake Geneva in the French Alps—that Jerald “Jerry” Bleckel spent four years teaching math and soaking up the culture. He and his wife, Betsy, moved there in 2004 for the experience and for the opportunity it offered their two boys to learn a foreign language.
Returning from Switzerland, Bleckel rejoined HPA in 2008 after having taught here from 1986 through 2003. He might be the perfect person to confirm whether it’s true that boarding school students in Switzerland have their own maids. “Yes, it’s true,” he said. “Much to the envy of students at HPA, I’m sure, where we have to do our own laundry.”
At HPA, Bleckel teaches math and physics. HPA’s AP math and science programs are among the state’s finest and Bleckel is proud to be part of it. Like most teachers, he has his own way of engaging students, adopting what might be called a dialectical, quasi-Socratic approach. “I ask questions,” he said. “They answer. I try to lead them to where they ought to be.”
He views math as a foundational tool that prepares students for whatever they want to do. “It isn’t what we do with math,” he said. “It’s what do we want to do with it? I’m building a bigger foundation for whatever they want to do,” he said. “I teach them how to be problem-solvers—any kind of problems. That’s my goal.”
Bleckel also coaches the boys junior varsity basketball team. Basketball is a sport he’s passionate about, and he’s quick to point out that playing for HPA—a boarding school—has its ups and downs. “It’s an incredible opportunity for international students to play basketball here, because they actually get to play, which might not happen at other schools.” On the other hand, he says, “The boarders all go home at Christmas, while other teams are practicing.”
Bleckel says students new to HPA, particularly those who are attending boarding school for the first time, are surprised by the close relationships between students and teachers at the school. “Some come expecting an us versus them experience,” Bleckel said. “But they learn very quickly that it’s just us. Teachers are more like mom and dad.” It’s good for students and teachers. “You get a community of kids here that is really on your side.”
