In a fourth season episode of The West Wing, Donna Moss, a White House staffer with access, appeals to her boss, Joss Lyman, the Deputy Director of Communications, to recognize one of her teachers, Mrs. Molly Morello with a Molly Morello Day to indicate what an amazing influence Mrs. Morello had on Donna’s life. Joss puts her off, feigning disinterest in the question, but approaches the President in secret, supplying him with a memo about Mrs Morello and her lifetime of service in education. At the end of the episode, the President calls Mrs. Morello and has Donna explain what an influence the teacher was.
I dare teachers not to cry watching this.
Oh, to be clear: the episode was a tribute to the real Mrs. Morello who was staff writer Eli Attie’s teacher and who inspired him.
We never know the influence we have… While culture tends to promulgate the “those who can, do, those who cannot, teach” idiocy, there are hundreds of examples of brilliance and impactful teachers in reality and in pop culture. Every-other-week this year, I will share my brief reflections on Smart People Doing Smart Things be they in literature, in film, in music or in real life. Many will be teachers, but not all. Many will be fictional, but some will be real. All will be inspiring. Welcome to IntelliPop!
