In less than two years teaching science at RA, Jerry Nash has quickly become one of those teachers our children cannot stop talking about. According to many parents, Mr. Nash’s fun and informative experiments (and tagalong stories!) are quite often the subject of dinner table talk. From vinegar and baking soda volcanoes with the preschoolers to tectonics and electricity with Grade 4, Jerry Nash brings a highly contagious enthusiasm for science and discovery each morning he steps into the science lab.
Growing up in Rocky Hill, CT, Jerry watched shows like Mr. Wizard (Don Herbert) and later Bill Nye (the Science Guy) after school instead of playing video games or watching cartoons. He recollects: “I was always interested in all kinds of science; I’d see something I was interested in and go find a book on it to learn more.” Lucky for RA, he bypassed a degree in Sports Management at Keene State College (but kept his love of golf intact) and instead enrolled at UCONN, taking “tons of science courses from astronomy to environmental law, and lots of chemistry,” ultimately earning his BA in Peace and Environmental studies.
“When I was a kid,” Mr. Nash recalls, “I would spend my summers at Lake Pocotopaug in East Hampton, and the woman who owned the cottage we stayed in would give me a penny for every invasive lake mussel I pulled out...I made a lot of money, but I also found a lot of trash at the bottom, and it bummed me out...so I’ve always had an interest in the environment and helping out the Earth.”
So how did Mr. Nash find his first job out of college? “I love live music,” he confesses, “and I ended up renting this thing called a Solar Roller from Vermont that absorbs sunlight... I started this event called SolarFest at UCONN, with music, non-profits, food, keynote speakers, alternative energy solutions, and the Solar roller powered the bands’ lights, etc.” The SolarFest was a big hit (and remains an annual event to this day!), and from that gig, Jerry accepted an internship at an energy cooperative where he taught families about energy conservation and alternative energy. “What I realized I liked best about that job was teaching the kids,” he explains, “so my next job was with HighTouch/HighTech in Weston, where I would visit schools to provide in-house science field trips to supplement the schools’ science curriculums in K-grade 5. If the kids were learning about space, I’d come and launch rockets, talk about centrifugal force, and pass around astronaut ice cream, fun hands-on experiments like that.”
But alas, after almost eight years traveling to a different schools each day, Mr. Nash longed for a more permanent home, a classroom of his own, one to share with his red-eared slider, Go-go (that’s an Asian turtle), his new skeleton-friend Bony...and a slew of energetic schoolchildren! “I knew Ridgefield Academy was the right place for me pretty quickly. I had other offers, but it was here I felt the best. My fellow co-workers are awesome, the families and the kids here are amazing and so supportive, and the view from the ridge! It just can’t be beat. I feel a very positive and special energy here.” With the company of Sirius satellite radio, Jerry makes a daily commute to and from New Haven.
And what is it Jerry Nash hopes his students have gained when they leave his science lab? “I would say a better understanding of the world around them, and maybe more importantly a deeper sense of wonder of how to understand things better. We live on a pretty cool planet with a lot going on...What did Isaac Newton say? ‘If I have seen further, it is only by standing on the shoulders of giants.’ I hope to encourage them to see a little further.”
For Lower School students, science makes the most sense (and is the most fun) alongside lots of hands-on experiments, which everyone knows Mr. Nash is full of. “We’ll do an experiment, they think it’s cool and fun, and then we talk about the science behind it all.” Just last week in Grade 2, students got to play with all kinds of tops before learning all about rotational force, center of gravity, balance and motion. Nash admits he has so many experiments up his sleeve he’s never used yet, ones he’ll pull out for Summer Camp or as a treat when the students are doing well in class.
As for personal inspiration, science shows in childhood and dad Jerry Nash Sr. (an engineer) top the list. Jerry also loves Rock & Roll. In fact, he and his wife Jennifer, a librarian for teens in Wallingford, fell in love at a Phish concert...a band that would become their favorite. He admits they have been to over 100 concerts (in 44 states!) together, many via a Volkswagen van he used to own.
Mr. and Mrs. Nash love to travel, having visited Thailand and England in recent years. Whenever they can, they escape to a cabin in Vermont which has no running water, no electricity, just a woodstove and propane heating for cooking. “I’ve been going there since I was twelve, and sometimes read my old journal entry from when I was a kid and had pig roasts in summer...” He skis, camps, is an avid supporter of our National Park system, and yes, his beard is real (a handful of students have asked). This summer, the Nashes are planning a trip to a brand-new territory: Parenthood. The word is out: baby Nash is due in July. The RA community wishes Mr. Nash luck and we’re sure he’ll bring the same enthusiasm to his new role as father as he does to our children each and every day.