A Legendary Educator: Dr. Jim Cullen on his Time at ECFS and Moving On

Dr. Jim Cullen has been a Fieldston parent for twenty-three years and a Fieldston teacher for nineteen. The 2019-2020 school year marks his last as a teacher in the Fieldston community. His sons Jay and Grayson graduated in 2011 and 2018; his daughter Nancy, a senior, graduates in just a few weeks. Dr. Cullen is beloved by the student body and has taught core curriculum courses such as 10th Grade United States History, and popular electives like The Civil War, Hamilton: A Musical Inquiry, Scientific America (in collaboration with physics teacher Jon Lambert), Rock, Rap, and Country (in collaboration with Tom Christensen), Empire as a Way of Life, Bearing Manhood, Varieties of Religious Experience, and the United States Since 1945. He is also an acclaimed author, writing and publishing over a dozen books on American popular culture, including “The Art of Democracy,” and “Born in the USA: Bruce Springsteen and The American Tradition.” Some of his books have been incorporated into the Fieldston history curriculum, including a well-respected volume on how to write history essays, entitled, “Essaying The Past.” Dr. Cullen’s most recently published book, which was released two months ago, is a cultural exploration of the Norman Lear sitcom “All In The Family.” Dr. Cullen was often “the face” of Fieldston at the Head of School book club gatherings, providing context and background for plays like “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” or working in one of several Fieldston summer programs. Dr. Cullen will start his new position at Greenwich Country Day School’s new high school this fall. As the end of his time at Fieldston nears, Dr. Cullen sat down with the News to discuss his many years as an Upper School teacher.

Asher Zemmel: What will you miss most about Fieldston?

Jim Cullen: “The answer is obvious but necessary to say: the students. Over the course of the past two decades, I have been privileged to work with a steady stream of brilliant, hardworking, and creative people, whose energy and commitment to the greater good has been inspiring and humbling–people who were far more worldly than I was when I was their age. I would say the same for many of my colleagues. I’ll also mention the campus: I felt so grounded in this space for so many years.”

AZ: What will you miss the least at Fieldston?

JC: “I wish Fieldston would take a more inclusive view of diversity, moving beyond a race/gender binary to more fully consider other dimensions of human experience. I also wish it would achieve a more nuanced view of equity that celebrates academic excellence while acknowledging structural barriers to achieving it. School leaders now seem to regard the pursuit of such excellence as something from which students need to be protected, rather than a worthy goal to be embraced and pursued.”

AZ: What inspired you to become an History teacher? 

JC: “This is something that happened to me relatively late. I was an English major in college, and didn’t take a U.S. history course until I was in graduate school. I love my country and I found I wanted to understand it better, its successes and failures, and teaching is a very good way to learn.”

AZ: Can you share some highlights and regrets from your Fieldston teaching career?

JC: “One of the really great things about being a History teacher at Fieldston is that you have so much freedom to design elective courses. I’ve loved so many of them, notably teaching “Scientific America” with Jon Lambert and “12 Albums that Changed the World” with Tom Christensen. One particular highlight was offering an elective on the musical Hamilton in 2016, thanks to a Fieldston parent who gave me a free ticket to see it before it went on Broadway. Regrets: Not many. The one I experience every year are great kids I know or observe who I don’t have the opportunity to work with in the classroom. I think of them as ones who got away.”

AZ: What was your most challenging moment as a Fieldston teacher?

JC: “That would be last year’s protests. I disagreed with the reasons for, and some of the demands of, the protesters and their supporters. I consider this one of a number of such events in recent years that have been marked by empirical falsehoods, uncorroborated assertions and forgotten apologies that were overlooked at the time and ever since. As a historian, I can’t help but look forward to a day when these narratives get rewritten, because that’s the great thing about history: the story’s never over.”

AZ: Can you describe the legacy you left at Fieldston?

JC: “It’s very hard for any teacher to have much of a legacy on an institutional level, because it only takes a few years for an entire student body to not know you ever existed. On the other hand, there are hundreds of Fieldston students with whom I have shared memories — and, I would like to think, planted seeds for flowers I’ll never see.”

AZ: Has there been a shift in the culture of Fieldston since you started teaching, and if so can you describe it?

JC: “The main one I see is less acceptance of multiple points of view. There seems to be an idea that allowing the expression of ideas — “platforming” them — is dangerous. I understand the logic of that. But I also think it’s at best counterproductive (as the progressive journalist Walter Lippmann once said, “When everybody thinks alike, nobody thinks very much”). It’s also dangerous in driving problematic ideas underground. Ironically, in suppressing honest dialogue through authentically open questions, I think Fieldston may foster conservatism among the student body.”

AZ: If you feel comfortable sharing, why are you leaving Fieldston?

JC: “ I’ve been hired at Greenwich Country Day school in Greenwich, Connecticut. The school has been around for about a century, but never had a high school, and is the process of building and launching one. The school is especially interested in my experience with interdisciplinary work, notably the Form IV Humanities program I helped develop with former principal John Love, Wally Levis, and Vinni Drybala. I’m at a point in my life that if I was ever going to leave, it would have to be now. It’s hard to do, but I’m looking forward to a new set of challenges.”

AZ: What’s the best movie you show to your classes?

JC: “I’ve loved so many. It’s always a joy to introduce adolescents to films like Casablanca. A generation of my Form IV students are familiar with the Daniel Day-Lewis film festival I ran each year: The Crucible, Last of the Mohicans, Gangs of New York; Lincoln; The Age of Innocence, and There Will Be Blood. So much good history, and great artistry.”

AZ: How would you describe your teaching style?

JC: “ Basically, it’s Socratic. At the core of it is a principle that I think is particularly important right now: There are people out there who are at least as smart as you are — and at least as good as you are — and who think differently than you. Seek them out, and listen to them before, and after, you make up your mind.”

Both current and former students of Dr. Cullen were asked about their experiences in his classes during their time at Fieldston. All of their varied responses exemplify the appreciation and gratitude felt for Dr. Cullen throughout the ECFS community. 

Margot Gordon (IV) said “I learned comprehensive American history from various perspectives, perspectives Fieldston does not tend to expose us too. I really enjoyed his teaching style and his class in general.” 

Another sophomore, Aleksi Sefanov, said “He was an amazing advisor, an amazing teacher, but an even better person. One memory I will fondly remember is Mr. Cullen bringing us food every day in advisory. Whether his wonderful wife made treats or he went and bought them, every day after school he thought about us, as he always had snacks on the desk when we walked through the door.” 

Ari Rosenstein (V) said “Mr. Cullen is one of the most engaging and informative teachers I have ever had the chance to work with. Everyday he brings an amazing energy to the classroom that encourages his students to work their hardest. His number one priority is the success of his students, and his love of teaching infuses every moment in the classroom. Words cannot describe how grateful I am to have studied with Mr. Cullen and I will forever cherish the things he has taught me.” 

Jake Horowitz (V) stated “I’m crushed. Mr. Cullen was my favorite teacher in the whole school. He’s changed the way I view the world and the way I view history. I literally wish I could’ve had him for every semester of high school. I enter every class still talking about the topic. I know that he will continue to educate and motivate even more students and I wish him the best of luck as he moves on to the next chapter of his life.” 

The admiration for Dr. Cullen and his teaching stretches far beyond Fieldston students. His colleagues from the early days of the Humanities course expressed how “If you were in the classroom team-teaching with Jim, you had to bring your “A Game” into the classroom every single day.  He made you teach at a higher level.” Dr Cullen is well respected by his fellow faculty and Fieldston’s leadership.

Dr. Cullen’s passion for teaching and his determination to help students achieve academic excellence will be sorely missed. The community has only kind sentiments and supportive wishes for Dr. Cullen as he moves on from ECFS into the next chapter of his teacher career. Perhaps what best sums up Dr. Cullen’s work at Fieldston and his departure from ECFS is his own commonly used phrase, “Onward!”