MacDuffie Voices

“MR. V. ROCKS!” says 6th grader Eli Schwartz about MacDuffie science teacher, Mr. Greg Vennell. Mr. Vennell has captivated this year’s 6th grade Life Science class by involving his students in various hands-on activities and labs, such as performing controlled experiments and adopting a tree on campus to study seasonal changes.

Inside or outside the classroom, Mr. Vennell makes learning science both fun and memorable.

A 2003 recipient of the Pioneer Valley’s Excellence in Teaching Award, Mr. Vennell’s love for science and commitment to the community as a whole has continually enriched the lives of MacDuffie students. Originally coming to the area to attend Springfield College as a Biology Major, Mr. Vennell received his Masters in Science Teaching from Antioch Graduate School in Keene, New Hampshire. After teaching science at the Woodstock Country School, a small boarding school in Vermont, he discovered MacDuffie when his wife, Lynn, wanted to relocate to the Five-College Area.

For the past twenty-six years, Mr. Vennell has taught our students about the importance of science in their lives. Although now there is a greater emphasis on technology than when he first started, his goal has remained the same: to teach students how to become better problem solvers and get along with each other. His thorough knowledge of science combined with the genuine warmth and compassion he feels for all his students has made him one of MacDuffie’s all-time favorite teachers. A consistent “good sport” – from jumping up on stage to dance hip-hop for the Rundown Game to shaving off half his beard for Halloween – Mr. Vennell has always been accessible to students here. “He taught by example to never take yourself too seriously, ” Abney remembers.

His influence has spread beyond the classroom. During the nuclear freeze of the 1980s, he started S.T.O.P. at the School, a student-teacher organization to prevent nuclear war. “I’ve been against war since Vietnam,” he explains. His interest in peace education began with a simple idea. “The way we treat the earth is connected to the way we treat each other.” Under his guidance, MacDuffie students became deeply involved in promoting world-wide peace.

What was once an after-school club morphed into Peace Studies, an inter-disciplinary class aimed at the prevention, deescalation, and solution of conflicts. The class is modeled on the premise that “there’s no way to peace. Peace is the way.” In other words, peace isn’t something to obtain; rather, it’s the way that you live your life. Exercises include conflict resolution skills building and studying the significance of nonviolence.

Mr. Vennell has also been instrumental in helping MacDuffie adopt a greater appreciation of diversity. Fifteen years ago, he started what is now a cherished school tradition – Diversity Day, dedicated to celebrating and investigating different cultural traditions. Each year, an entire day is dedicated to educating the student body on various cultural identities. Numerous speakers and performances are scheduled, with our international students frequently leading workshops.

As Head of the Middle School and a longtime educator, he recognizes the challenges inherent in this pre-teen age group. “They are at all different levels of development and going through many physical, emotional, and psychological changes all at once.”

He credits MacDuffie’s strong faculty for understanding this precarious stage. “We work on developing their skills so that they can be successful anywhere.”

Although Mr. Vennell has witnessed a variety of changes during his tenure at MacDuffie, including the transition to co-education, the spirit of the School has never changed. “I think MacDuffie is a place where people try to treat each other well. No one slips through the cracks here. We give students a safe environment to explore who they are.”

Every June, as he watches seniors graduate, he is amazed at how strong as individuals they have become, remembering when they first stepped onto campus years before. Here at MacDuffie, everyone knows that Mr. Vennell has had a big part in their growth and success.