Tony the Tiger

Tony was another colorful, talented teacher I met at the King Fahad Academy in London six years ago. He was a tall, blond Brit that could've been a stunt double for Daniel Craig's 007.  To his chagrin I suppose, I publicly diagnosed him with ADHD shortly after meeting him.  Tony was eager and  earnest, sincerely motivated, and ardently ambitious - possessing an over-the-top personality that never slept, even off the amateur stage he loved so well. I would have deemed him a manic depressive, if I had ever seen anything but the frenzied zeal he offered everything, everyone.

Tony's work ethic was incredible.  His energy and passion were never far from his hands or his mouth.  The frenetic, staccato language he wielded was polished lyrically with an intelligent argot laced with a healthy measure of classic references.  Ideas exploded in his cranium - his creativity matched his metabolism, and I would have given a year's pay to map the short circuit that must have mangled his synaptic network, creating one of the truly few  unique individuals I have ever met.  I was never bored in his presence.

Unlike so many savants, Tony followed through on his plans, and those assigned to him.  He was the rarest of all pedagogues - loving equally the promise of an idea or theory, and the welfare of the children he taught and nurtured. He was an intellectual and a broke philanthropist, he was a leader and he was loyal, and he was strong and he was vulnerable.  I wasn't always sure what was going in his mind, but I trusted the process. Supervising him was a curious pleasure - I couldn't always keep up with Tony, but I had a heck of time trying. 

Tony rallied a wonderful group of ESL teachers and they created an intervention that literally saved a year of schooling for a cohort of young students who had suffered from the benign neglect of an ill fated language program. They worked hard, worked weekends, and worked a small miracle.  As is my fashion, I gave Tony but a few concrete goals, and he and his peers fleshed out the model, then artfully applied it.  I can honestly say I had never seen such a turn around in so little time.  Of all the challenges we overcame and the programs we developed across the institution, I was most proud of Tony and his team, and their loving dedication to a small group of students who no longer dreaded their alienated environment, but who now laughed and learned freely in the school they deserved.

I don't keep up with Tony as I would like.  Sometimes I worry about him, worry about the cost of  fueling that creative cauldron that warms everyone about him, hoping that he can afford the upkeep, and that he warms himself there too when the cruel winds of misfortune blow.

*Tony wrote a book, biographical in a way I suppose, that I found very fascinating.  If you care, you can find it here: http://anthonyheptinstall.blogspot.com/2010/08/foreward.html