Richard Parris: More Than a Math Teacher
Joshua Lehman MA
461 Biography 11/8/13
Richard (Rick)
Parris has touched
innumerable lives. Words can never
express the impact
that someone has on another
person’s life, especially if it is your own. Though
I had never heard of Rick Parris
before the fall of 2013, I
now feel like I knew the man.
It is not in a way that is tangible,
but through a conglomeration of educators, coaches,
and community members that touches my heart. Everyone
needs that special
someone to look to for leadership, guidance, and friendship, and Rick Parris
was that special
someone for many people.
Born August
18, 1945,
in Boston, Richard
Parris graduated summa cum laude
from
Tufts University in 1967 before
receiving his M.A. (1970) and Ph.D. (1978)
from Princeton University (Richard
L. Parris 2013). While
he was working on his graduate degrees
at Princeton University, he taught at Rutgers University, Stonehill College, and Suffolk University (Richard
L. Parris obituary 2012).
After completing his doctoral degree,
Rick took a position with Phillips
Exeter Academy, where
he stayed until
his death in 2012
(Richard L. Parris obituary 2012).
He also held the title of Wentworth Professor of Mathematics at
Exeter (Richard L. Parris 2013).
In 1991, he was awarded the Presidential
Award for excellence in teaching
science and mathematics by the National
Science Foundation (Richard L. Parris 2013).
Exeter also acknowledged his superior teaching abilities and excellence with the Ryberg
Award in 1987,
the Radford Award in 1988,
and the Brown Family Faculty
Fund award in 1993
(Richard L. Parris
obituary 2012). Rick was instrumental in the formation
of the Anja S. Greer Conference, and he taught
courses and Conference-‐Within-‐a-‐Conference
sessions for many years (Parris,
math instructor 2008). Richard
lost his battle with cancer on Oct. 23, 2012.
In Ricks’ very first year at
Exeter, he organized and oversaw the very first
girls varsity cross country
program (Pamela Parris
2013). Rick coached girls cross country
for decades, instilling motivation and passion in hundreds of young women’s
lives through his coaching and mentoring (McEvoy 2012). Exeter’s principal, Tom Hassan, said “Young
athletes were always made better
players with Rick’s
coaching (Richard L. Parris 2013).” This is nowhere more evident than in the memorial video that Christine McEvoy made
following Rick’s death.
Most of the student stories
came from graduates of Exeter that took
math courses and were involved in extra-‐curricular
activities with him. Quite
a few students said that they
hated math when they came to Exeter, but Mr.
Parris was able to
show them how math could be interesting and fun (McEvoy
2012). Exeter’s principal, Tom Hassan, also wrote that Rick “was the consummate math teacher; he was certainly the definition of someone
who lived and loved numbers,
and who woke each day energized to teach
someone new the joys of mathematics (Richard
L. Parris 2013).”
It takes passion and
dedication to teach at one school for over thirty
years, and Rick Parris certainly had a penchant for teaching math.
Back in 1984,
Rick had this to say about his ambition as well as his students:
“My interest
in such problems
is due in part to the pleasure
I get from working them myself, but it
also stems from my belief
that the only students
who really learn mathematics well are the ones who develop the staying
power and imagination that it takes to be problem-‐solvers. Such students will have thus learned that being accomplished in mathematics is not simply
a matter of learning
enough formulas to pass tests;
that creative, original
thought requires living
with some questions for extended periods
of time,
and that academic adventure can be found
in the pursuit and discovery of patterns, more so than in the mere mastery of known formulas." (Pamela Parris 2013)
It is because
of this dedication and imagination that Rick Parris
created a curriculum for Exeter.
He helped take a problem-‐based
curriculum to a whole new level, creating
problem books instead of textbooks. From creating the problems to the formatting and printing, Rick put his
heart and soul into what he saw as a more
effective teaching tool for
students at Exeter. His dedication and teamwork can be seen by his colleagues kind words:
”What still impresses me most is his manner
of working with others to help them see and believe that they can do difficult mathematics. We always
work together and develop
exciting ways of looking at problems as a team.” It is because of this dedication that he was named the “Influential Teacher”
for numerous MIT grads. In fact,
he received a special
letter
from MIT to commend him for his remarkable work. In
order to get that letter,
five students had to honor a particular teacher; Rick received
more than one of these letters.
(Pamela Parris 2013)
Richard Parris had four articles published in the College Mathematics Journal
from
2003 to 2011,
and contributed to nineteen published articles in total (Peanut
software
2012). His topics covered
the root-‐finding route
to chaos, the accumulation of random
numbers, commensurable triangles, and lattice cubes (Peanut software 2012). He is also the
author of Peanut
Software, a series of shareware math programs used worldwide by educators, students and mathematicians (Parris, math instructor 2008). The software allows students to interact with math and teachers to have tools to more effectively teach math with. Many of the users of Peanut
Software are teachers in developing countries who
received computers but no
software (Maurer 2013). They saw the software
as a blessing and worked with Rick
from around the world. From Brazil and Russia to Korea and the
Czech Republic, Rick Parris’s name is known (Pamela Parris
2013).
Rick served
closer to home in a variety of ways, including
in the American
Mathematics Competitions (AMC) organization. As AMC chair,
Steve Maurer got to appoint
members to the
advisor panel, who could move on to exam committees and later leadership
roles if they did really
well. In 1984, he made what
he considered his best appointment: Rick. He figured that Rick would show his worth soon enough. Rick soon moved
to an exam committee and was appointed Chair of the AIME
in 1994, the 2nd highest exam in the pyramid of AMC exams.
This was the first time a
school person was appointed to an
AMC leadership role, according to Maurer. (Maurer 2013)
Rick’s enthusiasm for teaching did not depend
on the success of his students in
purely mathematical endeavors, but on the overall being of the student. In fact,
many of the people that graduated from Exeter and went on to success
in other careers
attributed their success to Rick
Parris. Said one former student
who became a clergyman:
"I was always lousy at math.
I spent many evenings
in your apartment, trying mightily to learn probability and statistics with your husband's deep patience keeping me steady. I've never worked
so hard for a C+ in my life.
But it was part of his particular genius that he was able to make me proud of it, and when
I went ahead in Exeter fashion
and asked him for a college recommendation, he accepted. I got to go forth into a
life without much math in it, but with a whole lot of appreciation for patience, kindness,
and the power of humor. I'm confident he's jawing with Fermat and Einstein and having a grand old time." (Pamela Parris 2013)
Rick wanted
nothing more than for
his students to see
their own strengths, whatever they were. Rick Parris’s impact on this world is embodied by two
statements from former Exeter students. “I became one of Rick’s
students only after coming through that trial, and he gave me something that I needed after emerging. Hope. Not hope of
passing, not hope of getting
an A-‐ but hope that math could again become
something I did well at because I loved it, and because it made sense to me (McEvoy 2012).”
Any teacher can test students
on their knowledge
of material, but only
the best teachers
can instill hope and passion in their students.
Laura Lasley,
an Exeter alum and mother
of students who also attended
Exeter, had this to say
about Mr. Parris: “Rick’s
intelligence, integrity, kindness, and dry sense of humor were evident in any conversation. He was giving
of his time to every member of the Exeter community that was in need. He inspired countless
young men and women with his
teaching, coaching, and mentoring. Rick was a class
act, a real gentleman, and a wonderful
teacher. We loved him dearly
and will miss him greatly
(McEvoy 2012).” I think Laura summed it up
pretty well: Rick Parris is a
special man, and the world is a
better place because of him.
A man who had his candle
snuffed out too soon has left a mark
on those he touched.
Through
Exeter, deserving youth will remember
Rick Parris through
the scholarship fund
in his name (Pamela
Parris 2013). Rick’s
software and learning
resources are just two more tangible gifts that will continue to be the gift that keeps on giving. Finally, the Exeter faculty put together remarks
for the memorial
of Rick. Pam shared with me this testimony to Rick’s
impact on Exeter and the world. “An interesting thing about some giant stars
is that when they die, they become millions
of pieces that travel in all
directions all across the universe.
The extraordinary energy
contained in that giant star allows the pieces to travel
away with new chemical
elements that form when smaller
elements are combined.
How lucky we
were to have him as one of our “giant stars”
for more than thirty years.”
(Pamela Parris
2013) As an
educator, it is beyond my wildest hopes and dreams
that I could have the
lasting impact of Richard Parris.
There will only ever be one Rick Parris, and the world
is a better place because of his contributions to mathematics, education, and humanity.
Bibliography
Maurer,
S. (2013,). Email Interview.
McEvoy,
C. (2012). A celebration of the life of rick parris. YouTube.
Retrieved October 4,
Parris, math instructor, publishes
articles in college
mathematics journal. (2008).
Phillips Exeter Academy. Retrieved
October 4, 2013,
from
http://www.exeter.edu/news_and_events/news_events_829.aspx
Parris,
P. (2013). Email
Interview.
Parris,
R. (2011). Lattice Cubes.
College Mathematics Journal, 42(2), 118-‐125.
Peanut software. (2012).
Exeter math department. Retrieved October 4, 2013, from http://math.exeter.edu/rparris/
Richard L. Parris. (2013).
Princeton Alumni Weekly.
Retrieved October 4, 2013, from http://paw.princeton.edu/issues/2013/05/15/sections/memorials/
4649/index.xml
Richard L. Parris obituary. (2012). The MetroWest Daily News. Retrieved
October 4, 2013, from
www.legacy.com/obituaries/metrowestdailynews/
obituary.aspx
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