academic rigor with compassion
Ann Griffin arrived at Collegiate in the fall of 1972, an energetic young biology teacher with a kind heart and a mind of her own.
Because of her husband Bill’s job transfers, she’d taught in 5 schools the previous 10 years.
She found joy in the classroom at each of her stops, but something was always missing.
She just wasn’t sure what.
Early on as she labored in the cramped quarters of the old science building, she confidently told her new colleague Jeannette Welsh that she had always been loyal to her students but not to the schools where she’d worked because, after all, they were nothing but bricks and mortar.
“I bet you’ll change your mind,” Jeannette replied with a knowing smile.
She was right, of course.
As the years passed, Ann shared space with Charlie McFall, Joel Nuckols, and her friend Jeannette.
While they went about their business, she remained in the back, meticulously setting up labs, preparing lesson plans, observing, learning, growing.
“They related to students in ways I’d never seen,” Ann said. “They reached students who wanted to fly below the radar. The personal connections made teaching more meaningful and rewarding.”
In time, she became a believer, and in the years since, she has developed a well-deserved reputation not only for academic rigor and affection for her charges but for her abiding love for Collegiate.
“Mrs. Griffin is ‘genetically programmed’ to see the best in
everyone,” said Dr. Rohan Hazra ’84, a clinical investigator in the HIV and AIDS malignancy branch of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.
“She appreciates everyone's unique strengths while being understanding and compassionate about their unique weaknesses.
“Her field has literally been rewritten in the decades she has been in it, but she has managed to keep up and thrive because of the hard work and dedication she brings to the subject and her commitment to teaching.”
In 35-plus years on North Mooreland Road, Ann has taught all levels of biology, served as an Advanced Placement reader and a consultant for the College Board, and conducted AP workshops throughout the South and as far away as Athens, Greece.
She was named teacher of the year by the Virginia Junior Academy of Science (1980) and the Virginia Association of Independent Schools (1990).
She held the Massey Endowment for Science Chair at Collegiate from 1997-2000.
In 2002, she earned the Siemens Award for Excellence in Teaching Advanced Placement Mathematics and Science, an honor accorded only a select few nationwide.
The classes of 1976, 1982, and 1994 dedicated the Torch to her.
“Mrs. Griffin was the greatest influence on my education, without a doubt,” said Dr. Jody Smith ’86, a physician with West End Orthopaedic Clinic.
“She has a passion for teaching that makes students excited to learn.”
It’s certainly not recognition or compliments, though, that keep Ann going.
In fact, ask her about them, and you’ll likely get some humorous, often self-deprecating anecdote, a vignette about a former student, or a philosophical statement about the nature of pedagogy.
“For me,” she said, “there’re two travesties in teaching.
“The first is to cheat your students by not giving them your best every day, and that doesn’t mean I’m perfect.
“The second is to become a pied piper. When you connect with students, they allow you a certain amount of influence.
“Your responsibility is to keep that relationship in a growth mode for them. I want them to think for themselves, not say, ‘Mrs. Griffin said…’”
Our graduates remember their time with you with incredible fondness, I told her. Long after they leave your class, they still ask about you and stop by to visit. That must be very gratifying.
“I honestly believe,” she responded, “that that relationship comes from the academic challenge.
“I don’t want my students to be scared to break an academic sweat or intimidated if they don’t know everything.
“I want them to be wise and humbled by what they do know.”
Still an energetic young teacher despite a pair of arthritic knees, Ann regularly arrives in Room 208 of the North Science Building before 7 a.m.
There, she customarily greets visitors with “Good morning, Wonderful” as she prepares for another day, another challenge, another opportunity to convey her love for biology to her admiring protégés.
You’ve established an incredible legacy, I offered. You’re considered a mentor, an institution, the crème de la crème.
She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts.
Tears welled in her eyes.
“I just don’t see that,” she answered softly.
“That’s how I think of the people who’ve gone before.
“I just want to return a little of what I was so fortunate to receive.”
