Really one of the best at PVPA. I can only hope something will get through to the administration to allow Lewis to continue on with this career at PVPA. He is great at what he does and had certainly made an impression on me and many others!
I am an alum of the class of 2007.
D
Dustin Bragga
9 years ago
I've only had Lewis for one class and in passing during my time at PVPA. But in that short time, Lewis was a pure force of knowledge, joy, and inspiration. Firing Lewis would be like losing another large part of what makes this school so unique. I would hate to see that happen.
R
Raymond DeMeo
9 years ago
Featured
This teacher was an inspirational one for our son, Jack. What is happening to the heart and soul of this school? I urge everyone to write to the newspaper, protest, and do what needs to be done to save this teacher's job.
K
Katie Neill
9 years ago
Lewis is a wonderful teacher and it would be a great loss to the students at PVPA if he was not there.
M
Meg Reuter
9 years ago
If PVPA let's go of Lewis I will no longer be proud to be an Alumni
J
Julianne merino
9 years ago
Without a doubt in my mind, Lewis Goff is the eductator that has made the largest impression throughout the entirety of my education. His teaching has surpassed curriculum, grades, and general lessons- he has made a lasting impression on how I carry myself day to day, the way I analyze and communicate. I don't usually pick up a pen without thinking about something I learned through his lessons. Lewis Goff has tought be how to be a better person. If you lose Lewis Goff, you lose the spirit of PVPA.
R
Rebeccah Szczygiel
9 years ago
I'm an alum of the Class of 2012 and I want to express how much Lewis has done for this school and its' students. He taught me to think differently, to love books, and to write essays. Without Lewis' help, I probably would not be the writer I am today. Lewis has been a staple in the PVPA staff and it breaks my heart to see the school potentially losing such a fantastic man.
S
Steven Richards
9 years ago
My daughter is currently in one of Lewis' classes. In my meetings with him, I have found him to be one of the most impressive, thoughtful and engaging teachers I have met at this or any school.
B
Beth Gassnola
9 years ago
He's a great teacher....this should not be happening!
O
October Bedore
9 years ago
I was going to drop out before I had Lewis.
J
Jessica Lister
9 years ago
I have known Lewis for 9 years, his teaching has brought a dyslexic student from simply passing to actually testing into honors level in college!!! He is approachable and fair in grading. I am shocked to hear of this!! Unfortunately this administration has not been fair to many of PVPA's BEST teachers over the past several years.
L
Lisa G
9 years ago
Featured
As a parent, I am compelled to share with you that Lewis has had an incredible impact on my child's development academically and as a person. We are crushed and as a parent, the impact of firing him in this way does not bode well for our students -
C
Cody Edgerly
9 years ago
Featured
Lewis exposed me to fascinating texts and ideas and pushed me to think about the things we were learning in a critical way. Without Lewis, I would not have developed the tools necessary to be a successful college student.
A
Alyssa Frey
9 years ago
Lewis has taught me the most amazing life advice and how to see the world in a different way. He is not only a teacher he is someone that you can go up to him and ask for help about anything. He is truly the best teacher I've ever had.
E
Erik R Muise
9 years ago
Lewis was a fantastic teacher that fostered my growth as a writer and a student. Skills he taught me have allowed me to be successful since graduation.
E
Ellie Weiner
9 years ago
Lewis' classes changed the way I approached literature. They were the first place I learned to do close reading and analysis, and now I am graduating college with a degree in English. His passion, his dedication to students doing their best work, and his ability to have fun made him an incredible teacher and by far one of the best academic experiences of my six years at PVPA.
A
Anthony Wells
9 years ago
His class was definitely life changing for me. I love you Lewis
R
Rafael Horowitz Friedman
9 years ago
My name is Rafael Natan (You may remember me from 10th grade biology class as Rafael Horowitz Friedman) and I am a PVPA class of 2011 alum. One of the best things about my PVPA experience was the constant emphasis on the relationships between race, class, gender, and capitalism. In the current times, it feels increasingly necessary to address these subjects daily, and there is nobody in my mind who's showed a greater willingness and ability to talk about them than Lewis Goff.
In Lewis' class, I read extremely important works of literature such as Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. During discussions of these texts, Lewis regularly demonstrated the importance of checking one's own privilege by acknowledging his own privilege as a white, straight, cis-man. He was the first and possibly only teacher I've had who has done this so regularly, and it has inspired me to do so whenever I engage in a discussion in which my perspective might be warped because of my own level of privilege.
He also showed a documentary about Stephen Foster's life as a composer for Black-Face minstrel shows and used it as a consistent example of the struggle between ethics and paying the bills, a struggle that most Americans and especially artists engage with on a daily basis. Because of my experience watching this documentary, I was able to educate my extremely socially-conscious boyfriend on the incredibly racist history of Foster's music when I caught him singing "Camptown Races."
I last had a class with Lewis seven years ago, and these experiences are still fresh in my mind and relevent to my day-to-day life as a musician, songwriter, and activist. It gives me hope to know that he is still facilitating these difficult conversations with students at PVPA, and I am dismayed to learn that his position at PVPA might be in danger.
I ask today that you please reconsider any decisions to terminate his contract. His value on the school
M
Mike Benoit
9 years ago
To adequalty describe the impact Lewis has had on my life is difficult, if not impossible.
If there were even A FEW more teachers out there who cared as much as he did, who respected and listened with as much warmth and understanding, and who challenged us the way he could, I am doubtless we would be living in a brighter world. Getting rid of Lewis would be PVPA shooting itself in the foot... but then again throwing the baby out with the bathwater seems to be the order of the day recently, eh?
M
Meghan Pipp
9 years ago
I graduated from PVPA in 2010 and am about a month away from receiving two masters degrees. While I am not familiar with the specific details of this situation, I feel strongly that terminating Lewis Goff's position at PVPA would be a disservice to the school. I only took one class with Lewis, African American Literature, but it was enough to leave a lasting impact. He challenged and inspired myself and the other students to reach a level of discussion and critical thinking that some of my college courses fall short of. He is an engaging and caring teacher and I implore the PVPA administration to find an alternative solution to this situation.
Really one of the best at PVPA. I can only hope something will get through to the administration to allow Lewis to continue on with this career at PVPA. He is great at what he does and had certainly made an impression on me and many others! I am an alum of the class of 2007.
I've only had Lewis for one class and in passing during my time at PVPA. But in that short time, Lewis was a pure force of knowledge, joy, and inspiration. Firing Lewis would be like losing another large part of what makes this school so unique. I would hate to see that happen.
This teacher was an inspirational one for our son, Jack. What is happening to the heart and soul of this school? I urge everyone to write to the newspaper, protest, and do what needs to be done to save this teacher's job.
Lewis is a wonderful teacher and it would be a great loss to the students at PVPA if he was not there.
If PVPA let's go of Lewis I will no longer be proud to be an Alumni
Without a doubt in my mind, Lewis Goff is the eductator that has made the largest impression throughout the entirety of my education. His teaching has surpassed curriculum, grades, and general lessons- he has made a lasting impression on how I carry myself day to day, the way I analyze and communicate. I don't usually pick up a pen without thinking about something I learned through his lessons. Lewis Goff has tought be how to be a better person. If you lose Lewis Goff, you lose the spirit of PVPA.
I'm an alum of the Class of 2012 and I want to express how much Lewis has done for this school and its' students. He taught me to think differently, to love books, and to write essays. Without Lewis' help, I probably would not be the writer I am today. Lewis has been a staple in the PVPA staff and it breaks my heart to see the school potentially losing such a fantastic man.
My daughter is currently in one of Lewis' classes. In my meetings with him, I have found him to be one of the most impressive, thoughtful and engaging teachers I have met at this or any school.
He's a great teacher....this should not be happening!
I was going to drop out before I had Lewis.
I have known Lewis for 9 years, his teaching has brought a dyslexic student from simply passing to actually testing into honors level in college!!! He is approachable and fair in grading. I am shocked to hear of this!! Unfortunately this administration has not been fair to many of PVPA's BEST teachers over the past several years.
As a parent, I am compelled to share with you that Lewis has had an incredible impact on my child's development academically and as a person. We are crushed and as a parent, the impact of firing him in this way does not bode well for our students -
Lewis exposed me to fascinating texts and ideas and pushed me to think about the things we were learning in a critical way. Without Lewis, I would not have developed the tools necessary to be a successful college student.
Lewis has taught me the most amazing life advice and how to see the world in a different way. He is not only a teacher he is someone that you can go up to him and ask for help about anything. He is truly the best teacher I've ever had.
Lewis was a fantastic teacher that fostered my growth as a writer and a student. Skills he taught me have allowed me to be successful since graduation.
Lewis' classes changed the way I approached literature. They were the first place I learned to do close reading and analysis, and now I am graduating college with a degree in English. His passion, his dedication to students doing their best work, and his ability to have fun made him an incredible teacher and by far one of the best academic experiences of my six years at PVPA.
His class was definitely life changing for me. I love you Lewis
My name is Rafael Natan (You may remember me from 10th grade biology class as Rafael Horowitz Friedman) and I am a PVPA class of 2011 alum. One of the best things about my PVPA experience was the constant emphasis on the relationships between race, class, gender, and capitalism. In the current times, it feels increasingly necessary to address these subjects daily, and there is nobody in my mind who's showed a greater willingness and ability to talk about them than Lewis Goff. In Lewis' class, I read extremely important works of literature such as Zora Neale Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God and Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. During discussions of these texts, Lewis regularly demonstrated the importance of checking one's own privilege by acknowledging his own privilege as a white, straight, cis-man. He was the first and possibly only teacher I've had who has done this so regularly, and it has inspired me to do so whenever I engage in a discussion in which my perspective might be warped because of my own level of privilege. He also showed a documentary about Stephen Foster's life as a composer for Black-Face minstrel shows and used it as a consistent example of the struggle between ethics and paying the bills, a struggle that most Americans and especially artists engage with on a daily basis. Because of my experience watching this documentary, I was able to educate my extremely socially-conscious boyfriend on the incredibly racist history of Foster's music when I caught him singing "Camptown Races." I last had a class with Lewis seven years ago, and these experiences are still fresh in my mind and relevent to my day-to-day life as a musician, songwriter, and activist. It gives me hope to know that he is still facilitating these difficult conversations with students at PVPA, and I am dismayed to learn that his position at PVPA might be in danger. I ask today that you please reconsider any decisions to terminate his contract. His value on the school
To adequalty describe the impact Lewis has had on my life is difficult, if not impossible. If there were even A FEW more teachers out there who cared as much as he did, who respected and listened with as much warmth and understanding, and who challenged us the way he could, I am doubtless we would be living in a brighter world. Getting rid of Lewis would be PVPA shooting itself in the foot... but then again throwing the baby out with the bathwater seems to be the order of the day recently, eh?
I graduated from PVPA in 2010 and am about a month away from receiving two masters degrees. While I am not familiar with the specific details of this situation, I feel strongly that terminating Lewis Goff's position at PVPA would be a disservice to the school. I only took one class with Lewis, African American Literature, but it was enough to leave a lasting impact. He challenged and inspired myself and the other students to reach a level of discussion and critical thinking that some of my college courses fall short of. He is an engaging and caring teacher and I implore the PVPA administration to find an alternative solution to this situation.