Reflections on Kay Sadighi…
Kay came to BCD towards the end of my time there. Before Kay, science was a subject we were taught. Study Introductory Physical Science with Kay was a revelation — science was suddenly a process, a mode of inquiry, a set of tools. We learned astonishing new meanings for words like “mole” and “model”, and then we put these ideas to work distilling wood chips and making batteries. Kay’s enthusiasm was so infectious. I’m grateful I got to be in her classroom!
-Alison Buttenheim ‘84
I loved her enthusiasm and high energy. My favorite days were dissection days, and I do believe they were her favorite, too.
-Sheela (Siegel) Clary ‘87
I came to BCD to fill the spot that Kay left. Had I known what I know about her now, I can’t think of a more intimating position to be in. Over the years I have gotten to know this dynamic, smart and giving woman. She has come into my classes to talk about her various projects from rattlesnakes and bears to purple loosestrife and phragmities. She introduced my class to Kampoosa Bog, volunteering to take them out. Most recently she has met us down in Florida to help out as a naturalist and to tell stories about Florida panthers such as Beach Boy. Kay is truly a wonderful giving person who continues to touch the students of BCD. I thank her for that and for being a role model for me. I am truly sorry I cannot be there to honor her.
-Sue Benner
Mrs. Sadighi was a force as a teacher. Always positive, always energetic, she had an infectious enthusiasm for her subject and a knack for getting it across to students. Never one to withhold praise or fear students’ swelling heads, I remember beaming with pride when she looked over my final exam, with me anxiously looking on, and said, “Oh this is good!”
She made science accessible to students, I might venture to say especially to girls, who thought they couldn’t do it. I never carried around the idea that I couldn’t “do” science because I was a girl.
-Rachel Siegel ‘89
Dear Mrs. Sadighi,
You made science not only challenging, but fun and when we completed all our work on a Friday, you sometimes let us talk about “life and stuff.” I still use this phrase and every time I do, I think of you fondly and smile. It reminds me not only to work hard and enjoy the work, but also to connect with others and allow for levity to make life less heavy and serious.
Thank you and congratulations on this well-deserved honor!
Much Love,
Rachel Schroeder ‘87
I had the pleasure of working with Kay when I first arrived at BCD. Kay and I coached the Alpine Ski team together. Two things stand out for me regarding Kay. One, is her passion for science, especially the environment. She was always drawing connections with everything to the marvels of science. One memory is riding the chairlift as she enthusiastically talks about her new ski jacket and how it is designed to collect solar energy to help keep the body warmer. This was not a sales persons pitch but rather an explanation worthy of a Noble Prize. It truly was fascinating. Her child-like enthusiasm was infectious to all who engaged in conversation with her. The other, is her innate goodness. She was and still is a person who sees the best in everybody and takes a keen interest in who they are as a person. She is also very trusting of others. For someone like me, who enjoys joking around, the “G” in goodness could also be the “G” in gullible. It was easy to string her along with a good yarn, only to be punched in the arm with the statement, “you get me every time”. She was a great colleague and well loved and respected by all. It is easy to see her gift as a teacher.
-Paul Frantz
I never liked another science teacher after her – she was such an amazing teacher! She taught me the periodic table so effectively, but all other efforts failed by teachers after that! I don’t have much beyond that. I used to love going to science class! She was patient with my efforts, and it turned out I was never really a scientist, but I didn’t know it when I had her as a teacher. It really took me until High school when I was re-learning all the modules she had already taught us, to actually realize that I wasn’t particularly skilled at science experiments.
-Shyla Ruffer Matthews ‘86
It couldn’t be easy, having her own kids in the room. She explained why she asked us to call her Mrs. Sadighi in class: it was too distracting to hear, “Mrs. Sadighi?… Mrs. Sadighi?… Mrs. Sadighi? … MOM?” I understood, and extended this small courtesy. I did take advantage in other ways. There aren’t too many other teachers whose shoes I would have glued to the floor with nitrogen iodide.
The most vivid memories I have of her as a teacher are from a field trip, where she took her responsibility to us so much to heart. She made two midnight trips to the emergency room, each with a hurt student. In the words of Allen Archer, The lady was NOT happy, but still she did all she could to make the trip a great experience for us. At the beach she had a very close call in a riptide, keeping a weak swimmer afloat for long minutes until the lifeguard arrived. This episode inspired at least one student essay starring the dashing lifeguard.
We shouldn’t make it sound entirely thankless, though. Her enthusiasm for bringing concepts of science to vivid life inspired us, the Class of ’88, to choose as our gift a laser for the science lab. In an age of cheap pen-sized lasers and LED key rings, it’s easy to forget that a laser was a stretch for us. Mrs. Sadighi was so touched by this gift, she taught herself, and later classes of students, how to create holograms.
When you care so much, it’s easy to give yourself too little credit. I think she’s been a little surprised each time former students or their parents expressed gratitude years later, as many have done. So it’s especially fitting to see BCD honor her, alongside such distinguished colleagues and friends, as part of this fine celebration.
-Joseph Sadighi ‘88
My clearest memory is of Mrs. Sadighi taking me to the hospital to get stitches in the back of my head after falling off the top bunk on the Cape Cod trip. We were jumping from bed to bed, why that was a good idea I don’t know. Then Ross Hill was taken the next day when he cut his head open doing god knows what. Mrs. Sadighi was very worried that the doctors would question her ability to care for children and the possibility that they would report her to some agency.
From that same trip, I vividly remember going down to the beach and splashing in the water to see the phophorescents. It was the first time I had ever seen them. I remember vigorously splashing with my foot and seeing it light up below. Pretty cool!
The smell of dissection comes to mind when I think of the science lab behind the shop.
-Lizbie Sawyer ‘88
Speech by Courtney Smith MacDonald ‘88
After all these years, BCD remains a very special place to me. I spent my childhood here, starting in kindergarten and reluctantly leaving at the end of 9th grade because the idea of a secondary school had not yet been hatched. I have fond memories of eating lunch at our desks, of reading on the windowsills, games of capture the flag, the spring fair, field day, soccer games and cross-country ski trips, and of the chipmunks peaking into the classrooms and scurrying through the walls. My classmates were like an extension of my family; we grew together and learned to embrace one another’s differences. Teachers were not just authority figures; they were our mentors, engaging us through hands-on experiences, encouraging us to be creative thinkers, and instilling in us a life-long love of learning.
Mrs. Sadighi was one of those dedicated teachers who brought science to life and shared in our excitement of discovery. Everyone who has shared a story has spoken of her enthusiasm. One former student wrote “I liked Mrs. Sadighi for her infectious enthusiasm…I was not a good science student, but I enjoyed labs with her because of her energy, exuberance and enjoyment of the subject.” Another wrote, “I loved her enthusiasm and high energy. My favorite days were dissection days, and I do believe they were her favorite, too.”
My memories of her are much the same- she had a little bit of that mad-scientist quality to her- the image is that of her speaking animatedly, gesticulating with her hands, safety glasses holding her hair back. I can still smell the formaldehyde and chemicals in the air and can recall sitting at the counters lining the windows where we did our experiments- determining the boiling and freezing points of liquids, studying microscopic organisms under a microscope and dissecting worms. I can still hear the scratch of chalk on the chalkboard on which she’d write instructions on how to map dominant and recessive genes, balance chemical equations, or important definitions for words like “mitosis”.
Science was not second nature to many of us so discovering and mastering something new gave us a real feeling of achievement: peeling back the delicate layers of skin on a frog to reveal its organs, corroding a penny or successfully connecting the electrodes so a light would light up. Mrs. Sadighi encouraged our inquisitive sides through hands-on experimentation (all with safety goggles on, of course). One former student wrote “I never liked another science teacher after her – she was such an amazing teacher! She taught me the periodic table so effectively. I used to love going to science class! She was patient with my efforts, and it turned out I was never really a scientist, but I didn’t know it when I had her as a teacher.”
Another wrote, “Before Kay, science was a subject we were taught. Study Introductory Physical Science with Kay was a revelation — science was suddenly a process, a mode of inquiry, a set of tools. We learned astonishing new meanings for words like “mole” and “model”, and then we put these ideas to work distilling wood chips and making batteries. Kay’s enthusiasm was so infectious. I’m grateful I got to be in her classroom!”
And from her son Joseph: “It couldn’t be easy having her own kids in the room. She explained why she asked us to call her Mrs. Sadighi in class: it was too distracting to hear, “Mrs. Sadighi?… Mrs. Sadighi?… MOM?” I understood and extended this small courtesy. I did take advantage in other ways. There aren’t too many other teachers whose shoes I would have glued to the floor with nitrogen iodide.”
“Her enthusiasm for bringing concepts of science to vivid life inspired us, the Class of ’88, to choose as our gift a laser for the science lab. In an age of cheap pen-sized lasers and LED key rings, it’s easy to forget that a laser was a stretch for us. Mrs. Sadighi was so touched by this gift that she taught herself, and later classes of students, how to create holograms.”
On our class trip to Cape Cod, I recall her enticing all of us back down to the pitch black beach to see the bioluminescent plankton in the surf. Joseph shared memories from that same trip, where she took “her responsibility to us so much to heart when she made not one, but two midnight trips to the emergency room, each with a hurt student. In the words of Allen Archer, The lady was NOT happy, but still she did all she could to make the trip a great experience for us.”
A staff member who coached the Alpine Ski team with her noted her passion for science, especially the environment. “She was always drawing connections with everything to the marvels of science. One memory is riding the chairlift as she enthusiastically talked about her new ski jacket and how it was designed to collect solar energy to help keep the body warmer. This was not a sales person’s pitch, but rather an explanation worthy of a Nobel Prize. It truly was fascinating. Her child-like enthusiasm was infectious to all who engaged in conversation with her. She was a great colleague and well loved and respected by all. It is easy to see her gift as a teacher.”
I think Joseph said it best when he said, “When you care so much, it’s easy to give yourself too little credit. I think she’s been a little surprised each time former students or their parents expressed gratitude years later, as many have done. So it’s especially fitting to see BCD honor her, alongside such distinguished colleagues and friends, as part of this fine celebration.”
Thank you, Mrs. Sadighi!
Courtney Smith MacDonald ‘88