Robert Leider no longer wears the face of tragedy.
Dramatic Achievement!
Trauma didn't stand in
the way of Oakland County
High School Teacher of
the Year Robert Leider.
STEVEN M. HARTZ
Jewish News Intern
VW
est Bloomfield
High School dra-
ma teacher
Robert Leider
vividly remem-
bers the day he learned he
was going to receive the
WDIV/Newsweek Oakland
County High School Teacher
of the Year Award for 1989.
That day, February 23, was
a shining moment. But other
memories no longer exist for
Leider following a 1985
automobile accident.
"I spent one day at the
hospital and was discharged
with minor physical injuries,"
Leider said. "My closed-head
injury began to show up little
by little."
"I knew something was
wrong. I had no memory of
current events. I didn't know
I had a family and didn't even
know where I lived."
Leider would often report to
Pontiac Central High School,
where he spent his first seven
years teaching.
"I wasn't employed with
Pontiac Schools at the time,
but I would show up there
anyway, sometimes even half-
dressed," he said.
When doctors diagnosed
Leider's problem as a
"moderate to serious closed-
head injury," they told him he
should quit teaching and go
on permanent disability.
Leider chose instead to con-
tinue educating.
"I began a cognitive train-
ing program three years ago,"
Leider said. "I was there for
about 8-10 hours a week the
first year and taught three
days a week at West Bloom-
field."
Last year he taught four
days a week, and this year he
teaches full-time and spends
one hour a week at Beaumont
Hospital's cognitive training
program. Leider credits West
Bloomfield Principal Gary
Faber for his success in
beating the injury.
"Dr. Faber's attitude has
been so positive," Leider said.
"It was due to his encourage-
ment and the fact that he had
no intention of giving my job
away that gave me a reason to
get better. A lot of people in
the cognitive training pro-
gram who take disability and
just sit at home don't get bet-
ter as quickly. It makes a dif-
ference."
"Retaining Mr. Leider
while he fought to recover
from the closed-head injury
was the easiest decision I ever
had to make," Dr. Faber said.
"In fact, it really wasn't a
decision. I had no intention of
having him resign."
Dr. Faber's support of
Leider has led to major
benefits for the school. Over
the last five years, Leider has
increased faculty, community
and student involvement in
the theater program.
West Bloomfield senior Lisa
Kuppersmith really ap-
preciates having a teacher
like Leider.
"He has a lot of respect for
his students," she said. "He
talks to us like we are people,
not like we're little kids. It's
easiest to learn when people
talk to you on the same level.
He just has an understanding
of what it's like to be a kid.
Students here have a lot of
respect for Mr. Leiden"
"He is probably the teacher
who stuck out the most when
I think about high school,"
said former West Bloomfield
student Atom Kaiser, now at
Wayne State University. "If I
had a problem with anything,
I knew I could come and talk
to Mr. Leider about it. He was
always there and always will-
ing to lend an ear for his
students."
Before Leider arrived in the
fall of 1983, only a handful of
students participated in the
drama program.
"That year, I went to see the
fall play," Leider said. "There
were six students in the play
and about six students in the
audience."
Dr. Faber hired Leider to
"ignite a rebirth to our drama
department." Leider respond-
ed by initiating a student-
written, directed and produc-
ed vaudeville show. The first
production, in 1984, featured
24 students on stage, eight
students in the crew and "the
best house the school had
seen in a long time." This
years's sixth annual
vaudeville show featured 150
students on stage, 40 students
in the crew and three
standing-room-only
performances.
Leider began
When
teaching at West Bloomfield,
there were three sections of
drama offered. This year
there are 12.
Dr. Faber explained
Leider's successful
philosophy: "Mr. Leider
believes that educational
theater should be for students
by students — not for the
glory of the teacher or a set of
hand-picked students.
Students come to auditions
knowing they will be treated
with friendliness and fairness
and will be cast by the quali-
ty of their audition, not their
reputation of 'ins' with facul-
ty."
.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
91