Robert Crown Center Educator Celebrates 20 Years

Phyllis Gorman remembers her first day of work at the Robert Crown Center (RCC) for Health Education 20 years ago. “There were no computers in our offices or classrooms back then. Staff didn’t even have phones at their desks. There were two phones in the building and we all shared them.”

“The staff began every day with a meeting to run through the teaching schedule and discuss details. At my very first meeting, on my very first day, one of the veteran educators said, ‘Something’s wrong with my uterus. I’m going to need a better uterus.’” He was referring to the hand-held model used to teach reproductive health, but Gorman just thought: so that’s how it’s going to be around here!

Gorman was hired in 1995 to teach classes to the pre-school students. “There was a huge audience for preschool programs at that time and it was especially satisfying to be able to teach necessary programs to kids in low income neighborhoods. They really needed those basic lessons in nutrition, safety and hygiene.”

Gorman has seen a lot of change over the years. Flapping reels of film gave way to trays of slides, which were replaced by laptops and power point presentations. The names of programs have also changed, but they meet the same needs. Healthy students are productive students. Healthy kids are happy kids.

Gorman began to teach, and kept teaching, because she liked the children and enjoyed the company of her fellow educators. She said, “It’s fun to be around kids. They keep you up to date on how the world is changing; and they say the funniest things! One time, when I was teaching a substance abuse prevention class and we were talking about cigarette smoking, a third grader said, ‘My mom quit smoking by eating raw chicken.’ The student was very proud of his mother’s healthy choice! It took me a while to realize that he meant she had quit ‘cold turkey’.”

Reflecting on her 20 years as an RCC educator she said, “When you get a great class, they’re excited about learning and everything just clicks. And when they say ‘thank you’, it makes you want to do it forever!’”

Gorman’s dedication to healthy children and to the Robert Crown Center for Health Education will be celebrated at a private party hosted by RCC on March 25th.

RCC is the largest provider of health education for school-age children and young adults in the Chicago metropolitan area. Since the Center began serving the community in 1958, RCC has prepared more than 5 million children for an ever-changing mix of health challenges. Last year, RCC reached more than 90,000 youth from over 600 schools in eight counties, teaching in their communities and at the campuses in Hinsdale and Chicago. The RCC staff educates students, parents, teachers and caregivers of children in three important subject areas: puberty and sexual health, addiction prevention and general health prevention including obesity prevention.

To learn more visit www.robertcrown.org