Meet Tete Cobblah, who is the director of Diversity, the Fine Arts coordinator, a seventh grade advisor, and a soccer coach.
Q: What drew you to Fenn?
A. I was in boys’ schools from middle school through high school. I value the bonds and growth that focused education in a sensitized culture brings to boys. One tool towards meeting this goal is through the arts. I was drawn to Fenn thirty years ago, when I listened to the arts curriculum plans of Walter Birge, then head of school, and retiring arts teacher John Eliasson. It was clear the arts would command respect here and working on this goal was appealing. In those days we talked about the three-legged stool [of academics, athletics, and the arts.] I knew the worth of an institution that values the emotional development of boys, and our core values confirmed to me that the safety, warmth, and care I sensed on my first visit to the School was real and rooted.
Q. What do you enjoy most about teaching at Fenn?
A. Recognizing the light of inspiration I occasionally see in a child’s eyes as I tell a story or demonstrate an opportunity. I am also inspired by the variety of challenges that I encounter as a teacher. Each day’s lesson or challenge is unique and a joyous source of motivation. The students provide such a growth opportunity for me as a human being. I also enjoy working in my role as diversity director, learning along with my peers through the various conferences and educational opportunities the School allows us to experience.
Q. What do you hope to provide boys in your classes and what do you hope they will take away with them?
A. Through my personal stories and experience as an immigrant and teacher, I hope to bring “another world” to my classroom, a world that allows for wonder, enquiry, creativity, personal searching, and resilience. I hope to inspire students to become enthusiastic and motivated learners and to participate fully in their own learning towards becoming empathetic global citizens, and I hope to empower them to be actively aware of their place in the world. I hope they realize that life beyond Fenn is theirs to explore in a spiritual, productive, and rewarding way. And I hope they have developed the skills and understanding to engage productively and are appreciation for the diversity of perspectives, cultures, and differences that make our world beautiful.
Q. What are your passions and interests outside of teaching?
A. I love to paint, play the guitar, and watch soccer and badminton. I love composing and listening to music. I like to read, and my favorite books are Treasure Island, Things Fall Apart, The Mayor of Casterbridge, The Beautyful [sic] Ones are Not Yet Born, and Shogun. Movies and documentaries are also passions.
Q. Your two sons [Anoff ’01 and Kwame ‘03] are graduates; what do you feel Fenn did for your boys?
A. My wife [Elizabeth Cobblah, who teaches art at Fenn] and I pride ourselves in our intentional parenting to develop empathy, respect, and honesty in our children. Our sons tell us that Fenn echoed these same values in very meaningful ways through their education and with modeling by faculty and staff. Our boys are more centered, stronger, and braver because they are not afraid to fail, to cry, to share, to reach out, or to create change. Fenn has taught them that the real lesson is in the rising.