In this episode we hear from Jim Pesek, an alumnus and current faculty member and the Director of Service Learning and Global Citizenship. With a unique experience at and after TJ, we're so lucky to have Mr. Pesek as a member of the TJ faculty.
Matthew Troutman (00:00):
Hi, I'm Dr. Matthew Troutman head of school at TJ. I'm coming to you with another part of our alumni conversation series. This time we're going to be speaking with Mr. Pesek, Mr. Jim Pesek is a alumnus of this school, but currently he is also a teacher at the school. Mr. Pesek is a perfect example of a TJ graduate. He excels in a number of things. Currently. He teaches both Italian and math, both in statistics and geometry. He teaches at the ninth grade level, the junior level senior level. He's a great example of a TJ alumnus lifts up the world with beauty and intellect. Let's start the conversation with him now. So I'm here with mr. Jim Pesek, a teacher alumnus all around TJ model, citizen. Jim, where are we finding you today?
Jim Pesek (01:01):
I am in my living room in my house in South St. Louis city
Matthew Troutman (01:07):
For if we're doing this just based on audio, you can't see, but there's a great bookshelf behind Mr. Pesek as we would expect. Right.
Jim Pesek (01:15):
Well, we won't talk about the fact that immediately behind my head is actually the section for all the books from my class on death and dying. So that's, I refer to that shelf as the death section, but we won't, we won't go into that
Matthew Troutman (01:30):
Top hits from the, from the section on death. We can, we can do the book club in a little bit here. So so Jim, I kind of wanted to step back and you know, you've been at TJ for a while, both as a student and as a teacher. But let's go back to the beginning. How did you find out about TJ?
Jim Pesek (01:50):
You know I've wondered that myself I mean, the problem for me is that I had older siblings who were there before I started. So I mean, only for one year, but still it was enough that there was sort of a notion of like, it felt like a forgone conclusion by the time I started, you had no choice. Yeah. if nothing else, my parents didn't want to deal with transportation of, you know, two kids at one school and one at a different one. Right.
Matthew Troutman (02:20):
Other than your siblings experience, did you have any kind of notions about TJ before you came in?
Jim Pesek (02:26):
I mean, I did. I enjoyed the time that I spent there. I'd gotten to know, you know, various students you know, a lot of my brother's friends would come over to the house and everything. So like I kind of already knew the kids and knew that it was a group of people that I felt like I could fit in with. And felt comfortable with
Matthew Troutman (02:47):
You kind of found your, your group, your, your people could really get comfortable. Was that true in the did you have a shadow day or a visit day?
Jim Pesek (02:56):
I did. I visited so the year that I visited when I was in sixth grade was the year the Sayers was being built. And so I distinctly remember having an visiting an English class in the room, but as now the computer lab and there was all sorts of construction noise happening right next to it, the hallway through class. And interestingly enough, the day that I visited there were, there was one other visitor on that same day and her li her name is Lonnie Mahata and she ended up also coming to TJ and being my best friends the whole time I was there.
Matthew Troutman (03:42):
Oh, nice. So you had somebody even before you came in, other than your siblings to it that you knew exactly. Yeah. Well, you know, I'm kind of curious based on that, you know, what are some of the, what, what do you remember as your experience at TJ? If you have any individual stories, that'd be great, but, you know, overall impressions.
Jim Pesek (04:02):
So I, I mean, obviously I had a lot of experiences over the years and, you know, some of them were more interesting than others. There's you know, the, the fact that I had more weeks of consecutive doghouse than any other student in the school's history. So I remember a lot of time shoveling horse manure into Ken Colston garden and the on campus faculty house and re mulching the path that is now paved that was between the circle in gray
Matthew Troutman (04:39):
All of these efforts that didn't quite pay off 20 years later. Right.
Jim Pesek (04:42):
I know, but honestly, the, I think the memories that sort of pop up the most are just like the flashes of moments. Like distinctly seeing in my mind Martha Patton who graduated one year above me seeing her in a long flowy skirt skipping down the sidewalk and drawing pictures with sidewalk chalk on like a beautiful spring day or, you know like cell Trimble's sitting outside of his dorm and green like with a book and looking very studious and unapproachable. And just like, I have such very vivid flashes of just like a site around campus to the point where now sometimes when I walk around the school I just have a moment of like a flash of memory of, I remember in this spot seeing this person.
Matthew Troutman (05:49):
Oh, wow. Yeah. It's almost as if they're they're still here. Right. You know, in that way, that's pretty cool. Is it mostly with dorms in classroom spaces or both?
Jim Pesek (06:01):
I'd say mostly around campus, so in dorms, but also in public spaces my classroom memories tend to focus more on teachers than on like fellows.
Matthew Troutman (06:15):
Right. Sure. And you know, these, these moments, these stories are kind of around the experience and all of what you hopefully learned at at TJ. I'm kinda curious if you, could you kind of talk a little bit about how that, where did you go after TJ and then how did you how are you set up for what was coming next? And then how did you get back here? How did you come back?
Jim Pesek (06:42):
Good question. I so I went to college at Wesleyan university in Connecticut where I was firmly decided that I would be a double major in math and physics which ended up being neither of my majors who would want to do that? Yeah. Then. Yeah. well, it was more that I took what seemed interesting and took what seemed fun. And I knew I wanted to go abroad. Absolutely. I really wanted to go to both Germany and Italy. And then scheduling wise, it didn't work out. And I ended up going just to Italy for my I went for the entirety of my sophomore year to below. And ya. But honestly, like I was that weird kid at the beginning of freshman year, who was in a third year Greek language class where I was a freshman and everyone else in the room, there were eight students in the class, one freshmen and seven seniors who were all classics majors.
Jim Pesek (07:51):
And I, you know, so I took that. I took just a variety of classes that felt like the logical continuation for me. You know, I took a, a linear algebra class called vectors and matrices. That was just, it seemed interesting and fun. I would agree. And it was, it was like, it was a really great class. And you know, I took Greek history, Greek drama, a bunch of classes on the Romans. But then also, you know, tested into second year Italian language and took a German class. And then by the time I was ready to declare a major, they came to me saying, you need to declare. And I said, well, what have I taken? And we kind of sat down and looked through, and at the end of my sophomore year, I'd already completed all but one class for the Italian major and all, but one class for the classical civilizations major by your sophomore year. Wow. Yes. And so how did TJ prepare me? It just got me to a point where, you know, generally the intro level classes don't count toward the major. You have to have upper level classes to have them count. And I went to college ready to be in the upper level classes because why not? It just seemed like the logical next step from what I'd come from. Right.
Matthew Troutman (09:26):
You knew you could, you could hold your own in that, that class with all of those seniors in Greek, right. Because you had the preparation from who would have been your Greek Greek teacher here.
Jim Pesek (09:36):
I had bill Rowe for my first year and then Boaz Roth for Greek too. And Greek three. Because I whereas now I think we have a lot of students who accelerate in math so that they can take an extra AP or an extra science or something. I accelerated in math, so I could take a third year of Greek.
Matthew Troutman (10:01):
I would be curious, I bet we would have a few students that would like to have that option.
Jim Pesek (10:06):
So yeah. And so after three years of Greek, you know, at TJ being in senior level of Greek in college, just made sense, right?
Matthew Troutman (10:18):
Yeah, absolutely. So how did you get from, from college? You had all these experiences you shifted to Italian and, and global studies is that the other one
Jim Pesek (10:27):
Classical civilizations it's classics without the Romans.
Matthew Troutman (10:33):
Got it. So having that background, how did you get back to TJ?
Jim Pesek (10:41):
Well, I moved back to st. Louis after I graduated, spent a couple years just working at a coffee shop in a restaurant and ended up getting to know a regular customer who he is dr. [inaudible] And he is the chair of the Italian department at st. Louis university. And I just chatted with him in Italian every day when he came in to get his morning coffee. And one day he walks in and says, Hey, how do you feel about teaching? I have a class at SLU that I need someone to teach for intro Italian, and his exact words were, I keep interviewing people and they all suck and I think you'll do a good job. So I started teaching at the university and then after two years teaching there I moved to Pittsburgh for a master's in Italian literature at the university of Pittsburgh.
Jim Pesek (11:47):
And discovered in that program that while I love Italian and Italian literature and everything to do with it, I do not love the world of higher level Italian academia. And after that program ended, I got odd jobs here and there. And then went into AmeriCorps and served at a public high school in Pittsburgh where I taught French and like five levels of math and a couple other things, and really discovered a love for working with high school students. And so then after that, I just started the search for a teaching job somewhere to teach ideally math and Italian at the high school level. And at the same point that I was actively looking for a teaching position it turned out TJ was actively looking for a teacher of math and Italian. Right. So kismet, I guess.
Matthew Troutman (12:54):
Yeah. Well, from the hiring side, I know how difficult it is sometimes to find people who have these diverse interests. Whereas, you know, we know that a TJ grad like yourself will have diverse interests, but also be be skilled enough to, to teach at these different different levels. So you teach now Italian math I'm just kinda curious, is there a course that ideally in some magic world that you haven't taught yet that you would like to teach?
Jim Pesek (13:27):
Or you're asking about one that exists at TJ or one that I would like to create?
Matthew Troutman (13:30):
Ooh, good question. How about one of each
Jim Pesek (13:35):
Course that already exists? I think I would really enjoy teaching an English class that has a particular focus on theater. So sort of the model of English eight for a number of years, that sort of thing. That's interesting. That would, that would be a really fun thing to teach, I think. And then I would love to create a psych psychology class at TJ and teach that I the joy of finishing all of your degree requirements as a sophomore is that then you spend the rest of college just taking any class. That seems interesting. And I ended up taking, I think like six or seven psychology classes, including the one with the books right behind me. Oh, wow. So I mean, that was a 300 level psychology social psych class. Right. And so I took a lot of psychology in college and loved it and would really enjoy teaching that. Yeah.
Matthew Troutman (14:43):
In in the spring, at least during normal years, we have a couple of weeks between our AP courses and the end of or at the beginning of exams. And during that week, we have done some optional courses. You, you taught one on, on what was the title of it, death and dying.
Jim Pesek (15:02):
So I've done two different ones. One was, I teamed up with Heidi Peroni, who is our biology teacher, who has her degree in bioethics. And Reed did a sort of mini seminar on death and dying. And then most recently I did a class a seminar on gender theory. So that was another really fun one that I think would also be great to teach again. But I don't know that that would make sense that TJ is a four year class. Right, right. The way psychology possibly.
Matthew Troutman (15:41):
Yeah. Cause that would you know, just from a purely practical standpoint, it seems like something that like psychology that is connected to the sciences directly, I think would, would tick some of the boxes that colleges are looking for. Since our, we have a very limited amount of elective courses, so. Okay. You've been teaching for awhile. I have a question. What is something that you noticed you saw or was surprising that was different as from being at TJ as a teacher versus TJ as a student. So what's something that you noticed or saw or surprised you?
Jim Pesek (16:24):
I think it was Finally realizing why the rules that annoyed me existed. And it was getting an understanding that sometimes sort of the things that feel most of noxious and restrictive as a student are the things that are most in place for the sake of the student's safety. Right. And that, I feel like when you're a kid, you kind of have a notion of like, it's fine, what's the big deal. And then as an adult, you're like, yeah, I know that's a big deal.
Matthew Troutman (17:06):
Do you think that's more from a, just being on the other side, you know, on the faculty side, the teacher side, or is that a function of age?
Jim Pesek (17:16):
I think it's age, honestly. I really feel like TJ is incredibly transparent with its students as far as like, you know, generally when a student says, you know, or asks, why is this happening? Why are you doing this? Why, whatever, we're honest with them. And we explain it and we say, this is our reasoning. And this is, you know, the, the decision that was made and what the you know, as much as we can share what the process was of coming to that decision. And so it's, I think it's just age, because I think when I was a student, I was told why things were happening. I just disagreed. Yeah. Yeah.
Matthew Troutman (18:00):
Yeah. I think that's also developmentally appropriate too, to disagree at this times. And especially with our population they were very bright students and like to challenge and that also fits in developmentally. So okay. You get the opportunity to sit down with a, a sophomore and provide some advice to a current sophomore. What would you, what would you say to that sophomore?
Jim Pesek (18:27):
To a current sophomore? I would say Honestly, I think it would depend on who the sophomore res because I have two pieces of advice, depending on which kid we're talking about. I would either say stop taking it so seriously and have more fun. Or I would say, you know, you're going to be grateful for this in the long run. Learn to suck it up a little better now. I don't know. Maybe that's not the best phrasing. Yeah.
Matthew Troutman (19:05):
We can workshop it. We can work on it a little bit. Yeah. So I'm kind of curious if you can figure out or decipher why I said sophomore and not a senior, not a seventh grader.
Jim Pesek (19:19):
I mean, it's about halfway through, so it's, you know, a kid who's already had some time at TJ has the sense of what it is and how it works. But isn't yet in the throws of, of senior year in colleges and being so tied up in what comes next that there, I think sophomores is the perfect time to really appreciate TJ for what it is, as opposed to figuring out what it is or worrying about what comes next.
Matthew Troutman (19:52):
Yep. Yeah, that's exactly it. Okay. So I'm curious about your perspective. You have a unique perspective being a student, a teacher, and now jumping into a number of different roles. By the way, we should probably just go over what are the current titles that you hold and
Jim Pesek (20:14):
That's yeah, that's a good question. So faculty and director of service learning and global citizenship, which is only my gaudiest title and you know, seasonally, a JV volleyball coach, a yoga instructor. And then most recently I have taken on a position in the academics office sort of as part of the academic leadership. And as of yet, we're still in negotiations, I believe as far as what the official title will be on that one
Matthew Troutman (20:55):
And be creative, I think whatever, whatever would best serve a service to go out to the community and promote TJ. Yeah. so you have your hands in a number of different aspects of TJ sports teaching, academic administration, from your perspective, what, what would you say is the strongest possible academic background? What does that mean to you?
Jim Pesek (21:22):
It's a combination of things. It's the ability to find the important bits and learn them. It's these skills necessary to take intro information and process it, process it rapidly and effectively such that even if there's something you don't know yet, it's okay. It's about figuring out how to get that and work with it. And, you know, what is the most effective, efficient, and practical way to get the information you need and turn it into whatever you needed to be taught?
Matthew Troutman (22:08):
I like that that's well said. Yeah. It's the curiosity to seek out new information and the confidence that you can do it. I mean, we provide the skills that makes it possible for students to do this exploration. So before wrapping up, I do want to ask a few rapid fire questions. I don't know if you got a chance to prepare these, so hopefully we can get off the cuff answers. So looking back, favorite TJ meal or TJ dish as a student
Jim Pesek (22:42):
Oh, pot pie day where Viera would make a pan of pot pies for each table and a pan of pot pies for each Pesek boy. So I would sit at a table of eight with one pan in front of me for myself and the other pan for everyone else.
Matthew Troutman (23:01):
Right. Did you ever sit with your brothers?
Jim Pesek (23:05):
Generally we tried to avoid it.
Matthew Troutman (23:07):
Okay. That would also be a crowded table if everyone has their own pan. How about a memorable teacher when you were a student?
Jim Pesek (23:19):
I will. I mean, there's so many teachers that I really adored for so many different reasons. I loved mr. Henderson's just quirkiness and a willingness to accept that weird is normal. I will never, ever forget in seventh grade having to start English class every with a prayer to the goddess Athena as, as taught to us by mr. Bern Oh, why? Oh, why is that the unit help us to learn, but most of all help mr. Bird. And that was how we started English class every day in seventh grade.
Matthew Troutman (24:07):
Do you start your geometry statistics class, Italian class at the similar recitation?
Jim Pesek (24:15):
No, I don't make the students pray, but I think sometimes they're doing it anyway when I go to grade their work.
Matthew Troutman (24:24):
Okay. Fair enough. Fair enough. Looking back now, is there somebody that made a particular impact on your life?
Jim Pesek (24:35):
So you mean teachers, students,
Matthew Troutman (24:37):
Any of the above?
Jim Pesek (24:43):
Ooh. I feel like everyone I mean, that's the thing. I just, I feel like it's the combination of all the people and all the personalities and all the everything. I think, you know, there were people I didn't get along with. There were people that I adored and if I didn't have every single one of them, I would've missed out on part of the experience
Matthew Troutman (25:11):
On the flip side. Is there anybody that you would love to apologize to now?
Jim Pesek (25:19):
Apologize probably. There are probably a number of them that I should apologize to you. I can't think of any that I feel a strong need to apologize to.
Matthew Troutman (25:34):
So is that a similar answer, everyone?
Jim Pesek (25:37):
Yes. Probably.
Matthew Troutman (25:40):
How about your favorite book from TJ from that you read during your time as a student?
Jim Pesek (25:49):
I really adored the brothers care myself which is funny because if, if anyone were to, you know, force free today to tell you anything at all about what the book's about, I couldn't like, I couldn't even begin to give you a hint as to what the story is. I just remember that I adored it,
Matthew Troutman (26:12):
I think, broad strokes. It's three brothers. How about something recently? Have you read anything recently that you would recommend or has made an impact?
Jim Pesek (26:25):
So I recently re-read dune just as a so my husband's been trying to dive into classic Saifai. So we got that as an audio book and listened to it together. And I'd read it before, but it's, it was nice to have a second pass at it. Other than that, I'll be honest. Most of my personal reading at this point is young adult fiction young adult fantasy. So sort of very cheesy pulp fiction that has no purpose whatsoever, other than entertainment.
Matthew Troutman (27:05):
Yeah. Entertainment is still good. All right. Then using one word, which to explain your answer, which dorm is the best. So you get one word to explain your choice,
Jim Pesek (27:21):
Gray and your word central air,
Matthew Troutman (27:33):
Pretty close. Any TJ person you'd like to provide a shout out?
Jim Pesek (27:46):
I think any, I think there are a number of people who get shout outs for me as TJ people who left the school before graduating but are still part of TJ for me and for so many other people. So Lisa Pollack and she's the first to come to mind. She's someone. I absolutely adore who TJ never would've been TJ without her. So I think that's great.
Matthew Troutman (28:29):
Yeah, pretty much the TJ community is made up of the people in it. And whether it's a day six years or Mike, you longer being a part of the community, it's it's, it's all of the people contribute to it. And so, yeah, absolutely given some time to recognize everybody. So I have one last question for you to wrap up it's points back to our mission, which I think the most unique phrase that we have is we provide our students that desire to uplift the world with beauty and intellect. So I'm curious, how do you live the mission? How do you uplift the world?
Jim Pesek (29:13):
So I think part of it is teaching. I, I think I have been a teacher long before I was ever employed as a teacher. It's in my nature to want to make sure that people understand how the world works and how life works and how language works and how everything works. And so I think it is very important to help people understand whatever it is that is puzzling them. Even if my job in that process ends up being even if my role is to share my own misunderstandings I think that still can be very helpful. And then as part of that, to find the beauty in everything knowing that, you know, there is beauty in Italian there's beauty and the structure of English grammar. There is beauty in math. There is beauty in history. There was beauty and learning about other people and about the world and about everything in it. And finding that beauty, I think is the most important thing. And not just, you know, when people say I hate math, my response is always, you know, you just haven't found the beauty in it yet. And so I want to help them find it.
Matthew Troutman (30:59):
That's a great place to, to wrap up Jim Pesek. Thank you for the time this afternoon. And thank you for joining the conversation series.
Jim Pesek (31:08):
Thank you.