At Work: The Beckers were the quintessential boarding school teachers, always finding time for their students,
even if it resulted in a cold lunch.
her as a leader. Those skills were put to the test when at other schools. So how was he able to get away with it?
she served as a student member of the disciplinary com- “The faculty was very much behind me,” Larry ex-
mittee, reviewing some of her peers who were involved plained. “And I did make an effort to get to know all the
in a disciplinary incident on campus. kids and spend a lot of time with them. The dilemma
She and Mr. Becker didn’t see eye-to-eye on all of for them, I think, was that they did not like the way I
the issues at hand, but she said there was “a lot of dis- was tightening things up, but they kind of liked me and,
cussion” that went on between the two of them, and I believe, came to view me as fair, consistent and, above
that Larry always valued the student perspective she of- all, caring.”
fered. It wasn’t just students who were won over by the
Beckers. Those three characteristics helped Larry trans-
form Brooks from a place that, according to some, had
Faculty Champion a morale problem on the faculty. It took time, but even-
The Chapel grows quiet as Larry addresses students and tually he was able to lay the foundation for the school
faculty for the last time in this intimate and familar set- that exists today: namely, a place where the faculty feel
ting. As he walks to the lectern, he looks nervous, but as privileged to be able to work and teach, and a place
soon as he starts speaking, a calm settles over his face and where loyalty and pride in the school permeates every
his commanding voice fills the room, drawing the atten- corner of the campus.
tion of even the most distracted teenager. “When he came to Brooks the faculty was discon-
Larry is a rare individual who has managed to gain tented and at odds with itself and with the administra-
the respect of his colleagues on the faculty while also tion,” explains Michael McCahill, a former history
being seen as a champion of the students. His talk at this teacher who also served as dean of faculty and director
final Chapel (see page 32 for the full text) illustrates how of the Robert Lehman Art Center during his tenure.
deftly he has handled this precarious balancing act. “Larry set a standard of behavior for us and, in a low-
Specifically, he talks of overturning numerous Discipline key but clear manner, he upheld that standard.”
Committee decisions in his first year as headmaster, an “Not one person left the faculty during his first year
act that might lead to student revolt and faculty mutiny as headmaster,” adds Tom Burgess, who taught Classics
Winter 2009 29
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