Head of School's Message: April 15

Mr. Scibberas was my English teacher for the last two years of high school. Born in Malta, he had a high-pitched voice that is slightly characteristic of people from that Mediterranean island. He pronounced a few words in odd ways. ‘Obviously’ sounded like ‘Bobsleigh.’ Together with ‘Scibby,’ these were the nicknames we gave him, behind his back of course.
 
He was a demanding teacher. In a typical class we would pour over a chunk from a novel, poem or play. He would pace the room posing questions about the reading. Each question would require a written answer. We wrote paragraphs every day. If we didn’t support an argument in our pieces, he handed the work back. He had an excellent sense of humor and his kindness and fairness made him a beloved figure. No one wanted to disappoint him with shoddy work.
One of the books we read was Robert Graves’ memoir, "Goodbye to All That."  Most of the autobiography covers Graves’ wartime experiences as a member of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers during World War I.
 
With the centennial of the outbreak of the Great War approaching, I borrowed the book from Pasadena’s Central Library in early February and read it again. Mr. Scibberas spent every Saturday morning in the local public library. He was a book borrower, rarely a buyer, and encouraged us to be the same. It seemed fitting to borrow it.
 
I wrote Mr. Scibberas a letter once I finished reading. He lived a mile from us in Beckenham, in the county of Kent ten miles southeast of central London and I remembered his address because in high school he would ask us to mail essays to him during vacations as we prepared for exams. In the letter I thanked him for instilling in me a love of literature and that I still felt his influence evidenced by "Goodbye to All That."
 
He wrote back. My letter had been forwarded to him in Bournemouth on the Dorset coast in southern England where he now lives. At 86, he described himself as "reasonably sound in wind and limb." He lives in "a decently furnished cave that my daughter built onto the side of her house." From there, "I can still shuffle to church, the library and the coast to watch the Isle of Wight."
 
Ever the active learner, he wrote that he is looking forward to going to Salisbury Cathedral in October to take part in a George Herbert festival. I had never heard of Herbert. Mr. Sciberras included details, “1593-1633, Herbert was an Anglican priest who wrote some beautiful poetry. Most people would have no interest in Herbert and frankly why should they?” It felt like an assignment. I immediately bought a copy on Amazon and will read through it before corresponding with him again.
 
Referencing "Goodbye to all That," Mr. Scibberas wrote that he was glad the books that he taught had become meaningful to me, “In a world full of gadgets it is very important to study the myths of our own being. They are best found in history, literature and artistic strivings, are they not?’
 
A quality education depends on relationships and rigor. Students will work hard to meet the challenging expectations of teachers who connect with them. Quality suffers if that equation is unbalanced. Mr. Scibberas was a master at finding that balance. We have many teachers at Chandler whose lasting impact on their students will be just as profound as Mr. Scibberas impact has been on me.
 
Most sincerely,

 
John Finch
Head of School
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