After retiring from a teaching career spanning over three decades, Barbara Blaisdell shows no interest in slowing down. Since 2010, she’s been working with the Museum’s Director of Community Outreach, Leah Oppenheimer, to create and teach programming for Spanish-speaking families in the area. What started as a small early literacy class has blossomed into an after school science program that now requires a wait list. We recently spoke with Barbara about her “retirement,” how she came to the Museum, and why she finds the work so rewarding.
How did you end up in the East End of Long Island?
I went to school at SUNY Cortland where I studied education. Immediately after getting my degree, I came to the East End. A family member lived here and I fell in love with the place after I visited her for an Easter break. I got a job in Sag Harbor and taught there for 34 years. Ten of those years, I was the art teacher at the elementary school. When I retired in 2012, that’s when my new life began. Unlike a lot of people who are afraid of retirement, I never felt that. Every single day is glorious. I’ve taken up a lot of hobbies. My biggest passion is birding. I also started scuba diving. I also decided I wanted to learn how to speak Italian. I travel quite a bit. I’m also on the Board of Directors at the South Fork Natural History Museum right across the street!
When did you start teaching Cantemos and Ciencia at the Children’s Museum?
I actually ended up at the Museum through Leah. She started it all. A few years ago she was teaching Music Together and got this idea to have another baby class for the local Hispanic families. She wanted to add a literacy program…that’s why she asked me to come on board. I said, “That sounds like fun” and that’s how Cantemos launched. The program’s been growing ever since.
Kids were aging out and their parents asked, “What if we did an after school science program?” That’s how Ciencia started. That program has also grown and been incredibly successful. While it’s based in science, there’s another overlay to it. We’re trying to assist these families with their everyday interactions with school…all this has grown from one little baby group that was a spin off of Music Together!
What do you think makes these two program so special?
I have never seen parents so attentive to their children and attentive to the task at hand. Everything they do is completely to their best effort and they insist on that for their kids as well. They’re amazing that way. It’s a very strong sense of pride and commitment and it’s an amazing thing to watch. It’s very, very rewarding to have a group of mothers and children who are so receptive and eager about what you have to offer. They embrace it and run with it. It’s a spirit of tenacity and genuineness. That’s what makes it fun. When you’re working with people and they’re enthusiastic it catches and just makes things better and better and better.