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2008 Distinguished Teaching Award - Adjunct Faculty

Jay Moskowitz

After his first year in college, Jay Moskowitz believed that the college track wasn’t for him. He left school in 1969, and over the next two decades worked in a variety of professions, including factory worker, bartender, paralegal, and private investigator. When a science teacher at a local middle school was called to duty during the Gulf War, Moskowitz—always eager to try something new—became a full-time substitute teacher. “I realized that I loved being in the classroom,” Moskowitz recalled. “After the teacher returned, I continued to substitute in both elementary and middle school, nearly every day.”

Inspired to go back to school to earn his teaching degree, Moskowitz enrolled at Plymouth State University. At age 45, he earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary education with certification to teach Kindergarten through 8th grade. Without missing a beat, Moskowitz enrolled in PSU’s graduate studies program. Through his graduate assistantship with Professor of Education Michael Fischler, Moskowitz learned that he also enjoyed teaching at the college level. After receiving his Master of Education degree with an integrated arts option, he made the transition from student to adjunct faculty member, teaching in the education department and interdisciplinary studies.

During a hiatus from teaching at PSU, Moskowitz furthered his education by training as an elementary-level Montessori teacher. In 1999, he helped found the Bodhi Tree Montessori School in Rumney, NH, where he served as director and taught 1st through 4th grades for five years. “I taught 11 students the first year, from Kindergarten through 2nd grade,” Moskowitz recalled. “When I left, we had 60 students in the school, preschool through 6th grade. It was a wonderful experience.”

After leaving the Bodhi Tree in 2004, Moskowitz returned to Plymouth State University to teach. Since then, he has taught a variety of courses in interdisciplinary studies, childhood studies, and art, as well as supervising student teachers. Among the courses he currently teaches are Creativity in the Visual World and First Year Seminar.

Regardless of the subject he is teaching, Moskowitz brings his Montessori background into the college classroom, where he strives to create a safe and nurturing environment in which students can learn and express themselves. “I strongly believe that education should be student-centered; the teacher is there to facilitate and support exploration,” he said. “The teacher is there not to give answers, but to provide an environment in which students can construct their own knowledge.”