Teacher Eric Harris says a good mentor makes the difference

By Ginny Privitar
CHESTER — Eric Harris, a newly tenured teacher at Chester Academy, was inspired by a memorable teacher and coach he had while attending school at Monroe-Woodbury.

What made you decide to become a teacher?

“I had an English teacher in eighth grade, Mr. Jim Taravella. He would later be my basketball coach in high school as well. I was really into basketball. I played in high school and college. We got along really well and I guess he saw something in me — I guess it was my personality. He had always suggested I become a teacher.

“Mr. Taravella’s appeal was that he did not take himself too seriously. He was never afraid to crack a joke or make fun of himself. He was also very good at what he did. He knew his stuff, and you could tell that he was a professional.

“I was always interested in basketball, and teaching and coaching go hand in hand. When you’re a teacher you’re essentially a coach, and when you’re a coach, you’re essentially a teacher.”

Taravella died in 2006 and never got to see Harris teach. “I coach basketball in Chester. And I kind of got into teaching through coaching. I love being around basketball and adolescents.”

What was a particularly rewarding experience for you as a teacher?

“You get a lot of students — no matter what grade they’re in — that have this desire to engage, and some have this desire to disengage, on both ends of the spectrum. There are some students who are resisters — learning is uncool to certain people. When you get a couple of those students who really enjoy a novel or a play, and they go ‘Hey Mr. Harris, I really like this,’ you get a feeling of satisfaction that reminds you why you are there.”

What do you hope to instill in your students?

“The past couple of years I taught 10th and 12th grade English. My classroom is structured not only for English, but for teaching students how to be successful in life. Even if they don’t love reading and writing, I understand that. You try to instill a work ethic and a sense of accountability. (I tell them) work hard and be nice to people, and at the end of the day, you’ll be successful."

If you had to take different career path, what would it be?

“Besides teaching, it would be sports, and basketball in particular. I always liked the field of journalism. I wouldn’t mind being a writer.”

One day he may marry his passion for writing and sports. In fact, Harris had a brief stint as a writer for The Chronicle. As a college student he was hired as an unpaid intern in the summer 2005. He remembers initially going to the unpaid internship with “not a lot of enthusiasm, but as summer rolled on, I worked hard and they saw something in me and said, ‘Let’s pay this kid as a freelancer and let him do a couple of stories.’” Harris wrote a story about the Heritage Trail published in The Chronicle.

“Seeing my name in the paper felt really good. You like seeing your stories published.”

That experience has made him want to give the same experience to his students. For a time, some of his students were involved with a writing project at Straus News, which publishes The Chronicle. He hopes that might be a possibility again.

"I would like give Pam Chergotis (editor of The Chronicle) credit for helping me become a better writer, and that has helped me become a better English teacher.”

Harris and his wife, Kristin, welcomed their new baby boy, Austin, in May. “It’s been a great year teaching — and with him showing up," he said.

Editor's note: The Chronicle regularly profiles newly tenured teachers in the Chester and Goshen School districts.