In Appreciation of Teachers
- Allan Shedlin
- 29 minutes ago
- 3 min read
By Allan Shedlin
Grampsy and Founder, Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F)
EDITOR'S NOTE: Allan wrote the following post for the Daddying blog, May 31, 2023, in celebration of an elementary school teacher who had great significance in his life. We're reprinting it today in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week 2025, May 5-9, and to encourage our readers to join us in giving thanks for teachers who've inspired not only us, but also our kids and grandkids at various times in our and their lives. And, if you're lucky, one or more are still around, and you can reach out to let them know how much their positive influence has meant to you and/or your children. Daddy on.
I Really Lucked Out In 5th Grade
I really lucked out in 5th grade – I mean I really lucked out!
I had a teacher whose humanity, wit, sense of humor, and sense of fun combined with an obvious sense that he cared for and about each of his students. As my first male classroom teacher, he presented a role model for my 9-year-old boyhood that was inspiring. He presented a way of being that was likely the primary determinant of how I wanted to move through the world. That teacher was Joe Papaleo.
Although his students referred to him as “Pappy,” as an indication of our affection for him, Joe was 24, fresh from graduating from Sarah Lawrence College on the GI Bill, and this was his first teaching job.
I’ve often noted that very few of us ever gets exactly the dad or mom that we most hoped for. Of course, I’ve also noted that there is no such thing as a perfect parent – or a perfect daughter or son or partner or…
When we don’t get the parents we most wished for, we may either deliberately or subconsciously create what I call a patchwork parent – we gather personality traits/qualities, personality patches, from others we admire.
Recently, I was given the opportunity to write a testimonial for the most significant patch in the patchwork dad I created. Until I was offered the opportunity to write that testimonial, I had never really thought about Pappy in those terms. I urge each of the readers of this blog to take time to think about their important patches and to contact them – to offer them a living testimonial.
READ the rest of my original Daddying post HERE.
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Allan Shedlin has devoted his life's work to improving odds for children and families. He has three daughters, five grandchildren, and numerous "bonus" children and grandchildren. A trained educator, Allan has alternated between classroom service, school leadership, parenting coaching, policy development, and advising at the local, state, and national levels. After eight years as an elementary school principal, Allan founded and headed the National Elementary School Center. He’s written about education and parenting for major news outlets and trade publications, and given numerous TV, radio, and podcast interviews. In 2008, he was the first male honored as a "Living Treasure" by Mothering Magazine and founded REEL Fathers. In 2010 he advised the Obama White House on fathering policy. In 2017, he founded the DADvocacy Consulting Group. In 2018, he launched the Daddy Wishes Fund and Daddy Appleseed Fund. In 2019, he co-created and co-facilitated the Armor Down/Daddy Up! and Mommy Up! programs for veterans and their children. He’s conducted daddying workshops with Native American pueblos, veterans’ groups, penitentiaries, Head Start centers, corporate boardrooms, and elementary schools. In 2022, Allan founded the Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F). In 2024 he was named to Who’s Who. Allan earned his elementary and high school diplomas from NYC’s Ethical Culture Schools, BA at Colgate University, MA at Columbia University’s Teachers College, and ABD at Fordham University. But he considers his D-A-D and GRAND D-A-D the most important “degrees” of all.
