y sister told me that Robin (Toews) would be the best teacher I would ever have. And she was right!" These words -- written in a boy's diary when he was in Robin's fourth grade class at Portola Valley's Ormondale School 17 years ago -- encapsulate the feeling that hundreds of students, their families and friends have about Robin Toews.
She is a living legend. With her blue eyes sparkling and her Native American jewelry jangling, Robin has captured the hearts and tapped the curiosity of her students with her magical gift of teaching for the past 43 years. Her classroom is chock-full of her students' art and poetry, plus feather masks, California mission replicas, and rocks everywhere.
What has given her the most satisfaction in her years of teaching is "being there when a child, all of a sudden, understands a concept, an idea, a skill, and the excitement of learning takes place," she says. "What's really exciting, is when children are able to teach others what they know because then you know understanding has taken place.
"I really think it's important that children have an opportunity to be outside and observe the natural world through art, writing and science -- which they can do in Portola Valley because it's such a beautiful place."
Robin decided to return to the Bay Area 40 years ago and landed a job teaching third grade in the Portola Valley School District. Superintendent Anthony Rose interviewed and hired Robin, who had taught third grade for three years in the China Lake School District on the Mojave Desert after graduating from San Jose State.
Over the years, Robin has taught at all three Portola Valley schools: third grade for two years at PVS, the former Portola Valley School now Town Center; teacher-in-charge of the brand new Ormondale school with grades 3 and 4 where she began her 37 years of teaching fourth-graders. She and the fourth grades moved over to the new Corte Madera School in 1962, back to Ormondale in 1977, and then returned to Corte Madera two years ago.
"If fourth-graders ruled the world, it would be a very nice place," says Robin. They're some of the most sensible and comfortable people in the world -- very fair, generally really kind, and they listen to each other."
Robin singles out Tony Rose as "an outstanding influence in my life" as a teacher, administrator, mentor and friend. She also treasures the years that Del Alberti and Michele Sanders Garside were superintendents of the district. "They gave the teachers a chance to learn more about children, teaching, and different aspects of learning," she says. "They modeled the power of positively looking at children's work."
A Gold Rush trip for the district's fourth-graders became an important and integral part of Robin's teaching. She and teacher Cindy Ruby came up with the idea in 1974. The school board turned down their request, but PTA President Ruth Wrucke responded with, "We will back you, and give you a chance."
This week of learning first-hand about the Gold Country has become a cornerstone experience for fourth-graders and a highlight of their years in the district. "We were able to put together a whole historical unit and incorporate all academic skills as well as social skills," says Robin. The children experience history on a different level than in the classroom by walking in the 49ers' boots, she adds.
"The children and their way of learning remains the most important (consideration)," says Robin, adding that they still are children and not mini-adults. "They will learn when they are ready, and we, as parents and teachers, need to be patient as well as be prepared to support them."
Some of Robin's memories are taking off with her class at Corte Madera and hiking up the hills on the Bovet Ranch, now Portola Valley Ranch, to write. Their school below often disappeared in the fog. "It was like Brigadoon," she recalls. "We would ask ourselves, is there really a place or is it our imagination?"
Teaching takes many forms. Robin recalls the excitement of filmmaking with her students in the district's Challenge Center, a pilot program offering students a variety of learning experiences. Their first film, entitled "Words of the Earth," was about the Bovet land. The next year, groups of students formed their own film companies, used Super 8 film and produced documentaries based on their themes, some with animation. "It was incredible how much the children learned," she recalls.
When Robin and the fourth grade returned to Ormondale School, Robin used Corte Madera Creek as an outdoor classroom. Her students would write poetry, take spelling tests, pan for gold and celebrate the beauty of nature. She especially enjoyed working with science specialist Marge DeStaebler of Portola Valley in developing the creek as a learning center and training students to serve as docents for other classes.
Robin, a poet, artist and photographer, has represented the Portola Valley district on the San Mateo County Art Committee for 35 years, exploring all types of media with Dick Sperisen of Menlo Park, the county's arts education coordinator. One tangible project was students creating the large clay panels outside the entrance to Ormondale.
While it's hard to think of the Portola Valley School District without Robin, she has some ideas about the next chapter. She will continue to serve on the board of directors of the James Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, to consult for the Stanford museum's exhibitions of California's historical art, and to work with Dick Sperisen to encourage children's art.
Robin's gifts to children and the community are beyond measure. Her daughter, Lisa, says it best: "When I distill all that you have given us, your students, it is the gift to love, to learn and to respect all living creatures."
Honoring Robin
Robin Toews, who is retiring after teaching 40 years in the Portola Valley School Distict and three more in China Lake, is being honored on Sunday, June 25, in Portola Valley's renovated Historic Schoolhouse. The informal gathering begins at noon and will continue until 5 p.m. and beyond.
The Portola Valley Cultural Arts Committee will present her with its first honorary award. As a poet, musician, artist, naturalist, environmentalist and historian, Robin exemplifies the many disciplines represented by the committee, said event chairperson Sue Chaput.
Former students are asked to bring a current photo of themselves and an original poem from her class or to write a new one. Everyone is invited to bring hearty hors d' oeuvres to share and a beverage of choice.
