Ralph Lelii

English Department, IB Coordinator
Joined George School in 1987
 

“Students who come here have an opportunity to get a first-rate education, to be treated with a large measure of respect, to participate in the IB with 800,000 other students from around the world, to be safe each day, and to have their dignity as persons acknowledged and elevated.”



How do you approach teaching?

I would describe my method as Socratic, as I try to set out in each class a number of questions worth pursuing. I use humor a lot because I think that the tragedy of our existence, as well as its endless beauty and meaning, exist on a continuum that stays afloat only through laughter.

I try to completely lose myself in my classes each day. Several times, I have sat in complete silence while students wrote on a question of some merit, and I was completely at peace in that silence, in the miracle of thought and self-awareness.

I love what I do, pure and simple. There is nothing else I wish to do to earn a living, and I think it a great privilege to do it. I am always excited when I am teaching.


More about Ralph:

In addition to teaching English, Ralph coordinates George School’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program and teaches its signature course, Theory of Knowledge. He also manages to read twentieth-century history every day for at least two hours. Ralph holds BA and MA degrees from Villanova University.