Mrs. Kulfan, a teacher for special education at West Morris Central, has always wanted to do something in her life that would help others. She said that she was brought to teaching for this reason, and she added, “I innately enjoy helping others learn and understand new things.”
Mrs. Kulfan’s teaching philosophy has been the same throughout her years at Central, and she still teaches by it: “I believe ALL students can learn and find success in school. Some students just need help in discovering who they are as a learner and what supports they need to be successful.”
Mrs. Kulfan was an English teacher before she taught special education. She taught a book called Hidden Gold that was written by a friend of hers. Mrs. Kulfan taught this book to her students, who were also able to Zoom with the author, on multiple occasions to ask questions and discuss different parts of the novel. One year, she and her students met the author at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in Manhattan. “As a teacher, I was able to observe my students develop a love for reading, in addition to personally connecting to real life historical events. I also observed Ella’s sense of pride and enthusiasm as she spoke to my students about her novel and the horrific time in our history,” Mrs. Kulfan said. She knows her students will always remember this experience.
Mrs. Kulfan has enjoyed all of the classes she has taught over her 28 years of teaching, but one sticks out. “The class that stands out the most is Learning Strategies. In this class, I was able to help students discover themselves as learners and provide them with strategies to help them find success in school.” Mrs. Kulfan still gets comments from former students how helpful this class was and how much it helped them in college. She also said how some of her students have taken the skills from that class with them the rest of their lives.
When Mrs. Kulfan was asked what she would name her boat if she had one, she said would name it “’No Struggle, No Progress,’ Frederick Douglass’ famous quote that has helped me navigate through life, which I have eagerly passed on to my own children and all of my students throughout my career.”
“I am lucky to have been a Special Education teacher, as I have been able to work with students in all subject areas,” Mrs. Kulfan said. “I would not have enjoyed teaching as much if I was a teacher of just one content area.” In addition to teaching all the subjects to her students, she has thoroughly enjoyed supporting her students in all ways: academically, socially and emotionally. This has helped them become the best students they can be.
Mrs. Kulfan leaves WMC with some parting words of wisdom:
“To all the graduating seniors and underclassmen, I leave you with the quote, ’Without Struggle, There Is No Progress’ by Frederick Douglass. Always remember that there is always a solution, so never give up! You got this! To my colleagues, it’s been an absolute pleasure working beside such amazing educators. I am forever grateful! Let’s get together for ‘cawfee’ sometime and ‘tawk!’ Hey, you can take the girl out of Long Island, but you can’t take Long Island out of the girl! I will truly miss being part of the Wolfpack, but my sense of PRIDE will be long lasting!”
