Issue link: https://trevordayschool.uberflip.com/i/1529130
Bill Evans, a man of many talents and a 30-year veteran Middle School and Upper School English teacher, retired this spring from Trevor as a writer, a thinker, a doer, and an advocate for teachers and for students alike. Bill is a gifted poet who perceives language in the myriad ways it can be heard and experienced and then reconstructs those words for use in his work. He has an uncanny ability to build relationships with his students through the writing process. He gets to know them through working and editing their own written material and in teaching them how to develop abstract and creative ideas that also lead them to analytical thinking. Bill and I have been creating and collaborating for many years: in Middle School MiniTerm showcases, Middle School English classes, LitMag assemblies, and in our co-taught English Radical Texts interdisciplinary course (originally titled English Literature and Performance). What I have always admired about Bill is his ingenuity and creative spirit to dive into an experience with an open mind and a willingness to explore. He is a swim teacher and poet by nature and lives his life embracing these methods of instruction and creativity. Bill often explains that writing is like swimming: You just have to get in the water and try it, sink or swim, before you understand how to do it. He is a gifted teacher with a big heart and an even bigger personality that fills a room. This empty space will be hard to fill as he ushers in his retirement. We look forward to having him as a guest poet in our spring poetry visits during National Poetry month so that he can continue to offer his creative guidance in our English Radical Texts classes. Good fortune and well wishes, Mr. Evans, in your much-deserved next venture. Jennifer Rathbone Upper School Performing Arts Teacher and Advisor, Production Manager, Class of 2027 Dean, and Performing Arts Department Chair Mr. Evans is one of the most special teachers Trevor Day School has ever had. I'll never forget when he was assigned to be my 8th-grade advisor—I had hoped I would get him. From the moment he met me, he believed in me. (No idea why, as he didn't know anything about me yet.) His positive attitude and belief that every kid was special made people succeed. I hadn't experienced how powerful someone rooting for me (before they knew anything about me) could be. It made me not only believe but know I really could do anything. I had always struggled in school, and his sureness of my success was an inflection point—it actually drove me to succeed. His whimsical approach to teaching and ability to understand each child's quirks made him a transformative teacher. Not every kid is the same, and it's his understanding of that fact that makes his teaching method so effective. It was impossible to fail if Mr. Evan's was guiding you. I had always disliked reading, but somehow in 8th-grade English, he convinced me that poetry was the coolest thing in the world. I'd written a poem called "I Like Apples." It went something like, "I like apples, apples are great, I'm allergic to them, I want one now." He loved my poem and encouraged me to continue writing and growing. That was the beginning of something that is a hobby to this day. No matter what idea you had, or how crazy it was, Mr. Evans would take you seriously. He added magic to each day. His infectious smile and booming laugh were something I looked forward to daily. Even now, ten years after I've graduated upper school and almost 15 since he was my advisor, his impact is everlasting. Mr. Evans, thank you for believing in me and showing me how to believe in myself. Carson Brisk Trevor Day School, Class of 2016 Princeton University, Class of 2020 Faculty Retirements BILL EVANS Upper School English Teacher and Advisor TREVOR DAY SCHOOL / 9 I N S I D E T R E VO R T R E VO R T R A N S L AT E S F E AT U R E A R T I C L E S A L U M N I