by Jason Pergament | Jun 18, 2025 | News
Last night, I logged in to ChatGPT to see what they’d come up with for the “Jason” superhero. To move ahead in the process, I was asked to share the key elements that define who I am as a teacher. More specifically, what is my “Super Power”? A lot ran through my head. Was it the ability to help kids set strong goals? My focus on habits as a means of personal development? My insistence on looking at problems with a growth mindset? All of these differing descriptors kept bringing me back to the core element – I have the capacity to help everyone learn.
What every kid needs to reach their academic potential and figure out how to learn is so individual. As a teacher, I’ve found it’s my responsibility to get to know each student in my care.
I build rapport, learn interests, and remain mindful of obstacles to comprehension and success.
Through this process of relationship building, I have found success in engaging all sorts of kids with their education in meaningful ways that they may not have previously experienced.
So, what is a teacher? A teacher is a mentor, a coach, a cheerleader, and a guide. A teacher is an invaluable part of our society that is often overlooked. Like mild-mannered Clark Kent, the effective teacher holds superpowers that go unrecognized and underappreciated. On the whole, they are underpaid for what they offer. Just like Clark Kent, their compensation comes in the dharmic form of knowing that their efforts have made the world a better place. So if you have a teacher in your life who has made your world a better place, take this moment to reach out and let them know you are thankful. You’ll have a positive impact on their day far beyond anything you’d likely realize.
by Jason Pergament | Jun 8, 2025 | News
Sometimes the end of something feels scary. The decision to leave what is familiar means going out into the unknown. This is a universal truth at all ages, but this year it was different to be graduating with the Class of 2025. Some students were graduating with solid plans that they’d been thoughtfully calculating for years. Others graduated with little to no plans other than moving on. I fall into the latter category, and that feels extra scary.
But much like the kids, I am trying to stay grounded in the belief that I have a set of skills that I’ve been building for years, which will be helpful in whatever comes next. The ones with plans will march steadily towards those opportunities and, with perseverance, will prevail. The rest of us will have to spend a little more time seeking out those opportunities and, with perseverance, will prevail. Either way, the key ingredient will be that grounding belief, let’s call it faith.
But sitting back on faith can’t ever be enough. The belief that we have value means we need to pursue monetizing that value. We need to find a way to take the thing that we like, or are good at, and build a life around it that can sustain us. That is what I have come here to do.
To put my love for supporting and mentoring youth and present it in a new way that makes it available for a much broader swath of the community.
While the local community knows me as high school-oriented, my experience spans all grades, with Permanent NYS licensure from Pre-K through 8. As I expand the services available on my page, I look forward to engaging in conversations across all settings and demographics about how I can add value to their children’s education.
