Mr. Pavia Leaves His Mark at DHS

English teacher Matt Pavia arrives to class each day equipped with an impressive command of the previous night’s readings and inexhaustible supply of wit. But perhaps the greatest asset he brings is his dedication to Darien students.

"Mr. Pavia is a teacher's teacher," said fellow English teacher Jessica Ginsburg. "He possesses a passion for his content area, but he also clearly loves working with young people and meeting their unique developmental needs."

During the past school year, Pavia also took on a leadership role within the faculty. Pavia now serves as the committee chairperson to help ensure DHS safe passage through the 2012 NEASC accreditation process.

While Pavia has already become a major presence at DHS after eight years on the job, the Pavia family has been a staple of Fairfield County education for much longer.

Matt’s father, Tony Pavia, is finishing up his ninth year as principal of New Canaan High School. Before that, he was principal of Stamford High for six years, including Matt’s last two years at Stamford.

Matt’s mother, Robin, is director of special education for the Darien school district, and Matt’s younger brother, Jason, recently started teaching 7th grade history at Turn of River Middle School in Stamford.

Inspired by his parents, Pavia says he always wanted to be a teacher, but admits he wasn’t always focused on his schoolwork early in high school.

“I was a fifteen-year-old boy—is there any other explanation necessary?” Pavia quipped.

Pavia, who says he realizes that academic theories like transcendentalism might not be every student’s top priority, believes that considering the teenage perspective is important in order to relate to and engage less conscientious students.

“Matt has an uncanny ability to think on his feet and connect the class material to the student’s lives in an age appropriate manner,” said history teacher Pat Egan, who works with the same sections of American Studies as Pavia.

Faculty members and students alike say laughter can often be heard when walking by Pavia’s classroom. For his part, Pavia argues humor can enhance a student’s learning experience.

“You can bring comedy into a classroom and that doesn’t mean you have to compromise learning or compromise rigor,” Pavia said.

Pavia says he is always trying to find new ways to encourage students to read. The academic portion of his job can be distilled into three overlapping parts, Pavia said: to teach his students to read, write, and think critically.

“It is no wonder that many of the graduates from our [American Studies] class have come back from their first year in college and remarked that they wrote at levels well above their peers,” said Egan.

At the same time, Pavia says today’s students are often overworked, and wants to make sure they remain conscious of some of literature’s more fundamental lessons.

Pavia points to the example of Atticus Finch, the main character in To Kill a Mockingbird, who teaches that you can’t truly understand people until you consider things from their point of view.

“The majority of the students here at DHS are going to be very successful. That will happen whether I’m here or not, but I do have some responsibility to help them become good people,” said Pavia.