After 21 years at Algonquin, English teacher Deborah Saltzman will retire at the end of this year, cementing a legacy of uplifting hundreds of students through literature.
Throughout her decades teaching, Saltzman has taught nearly every English class offered. However, she initially started her career as a product developer for IBM, and only moved to teaching after spending time as a stay-at-home mom once she had children.
“I decided in the midst of being home that I wanted to go back to work, but not back into high tech, and I had a lot of different ideas,” Saltzman said. “I’ve always loved reading and writing, and the idea of teaching was just appealing. My mother was a teacher, and I just kind of decided impulsively to try it.”
After attaining her teaching degree, Saltzman joined Algonquin in 2005, and taught courses ranging from British Literature to AP Language and Composition. Her distinctive teaching style has made her popular among students and endearing among colleagues.
“As a teacher, she’s so reflective,” English department head Jane Betar said. “She’s so resourceful, she reads so much, she’s so cultured and she brings so many angles of perspective into the way she teaches.”
Junior Olivia-Green Seol, who had Saltzman in both her freshman and junior years, is grateful for how Saltzman has helped her grow as a student.
“Ms. Saltzman really impacted how I see the grading process and how I write essays,” Seol said. “She just helps me realize that not everything’s perfect and therefore I cannot have a perfect grade, which sometimes freaks me out a little, but I think it’s necessary to know that not everything can be perfect.”
Saltzman’s method of teaching is rooted in her deep appreciation for literature.
“I love losing myself in a book … you can escape into worlds that are so creative, and it’s all encompassing,” Saltzman said. “I would love to say that I’ve inspired people to read and expand their horizons that way.”
Some of Saltzman’s favorite teaching moments have come through course development. One class that she especially enjoyed creating was called “Reading and Writing Memoirs.”
“That course grew out of personal narratives that my freshman wrote, and I had taught creative writing a few times, and that was my favorite part of creative writing to teach. So, I developed a semester class, where we read published memoirs, and then used them for inspiration in writing about people’s own experiences. Students don’t often get to write about themselves, and I had a lot of positive feedback that they never may have thought they had much to say. But they found their voices opened up and revealed [that] they did have a lot to say.
Saltzman has noticed the ways in which new technologies such as artificial intelligence have disrupted the classroom and student capabilities. Consequently, she has stressed the importance of practicing critical thinking and persuasive writing in her classes.
“A lot of what English teachers focus on is effective communication,” Saltzman said. “When you are dealing with colleagues or friends or parents, there are often situations where you need to be effectively persuasive. And that’s a skill that, if you have a machine create those words and sentences and paragraphs for you, you just don’t learn how to do it.”
Saltzman’s commitment to ensuring that students are well-prepared for the future
Unsurprisingly, Saltzman will carry her love for writing with her as she moves onto retirement.
“I love teaching, and I don’t want to completely stop being a teacher,” Saltzman said. “I would like to find opportunities for teaching on a smaller basis, maybe in a vocational training program for immigrants. [Or] maybe teaching memoir writing or poetry at a senior center, a community education [center] or even a prison.”
Beyond that, Saltzman hopes to dabble in pottery and spend time with her father and her new grandchild, who was born last October. Her message to her hundreds of students, past and present, is to seek an occupation that makes you happy.
“I changed careers and didn’t start teaching till my early 40s,” Saltzman said. “At that point, I found a career that was incredibly rewarding to me. And so, one piece of advice is to keep an open mind about your future career choices and realize that you’re not stuck in the first one that you try. It’s so important to strive to find work that is fulfilling and gratifying.”
