Westfield – After 49 years in education, 47 in Westfield, Henry Bannish is retiring at the end of this school year. Bannish, who began in Westfield as an English teacher at South Middle School after teaching at Cathedral High in Springfield for one year, spent most of his career as a school adjustment counselor for the Westfield Technical Academy. He said on Wednesday that he could have kept going for another 20 years.
“What will I miss most -the students and the faculty. They have given me more than I have given them. They kept me young. I had to keep up with them,” Bannish said.
Westfield Technical Academy School Adjustment Counselor Henry Bannish with school’s mascot. (Photo by Amy Porter)
Talking about his role as an adjustment counselor, Bannish said students come to him with social and emotional struggles. His approach with the students is straight on. “They come here for four years. Their job is to grow up, take responsibility, and get their name(s) on a diploma.” He would let them know, if they want this, they really have to work on it.
“Look in the mirror, it’s you,” he would say, asking them how they would like to be treated, as an adult or a child. He said their response was always, as an adult. He would tell them you need a license to drive a car, and you need to practice for four years to be a responsible adult. He would also tell them, “I don’t want to speak to a child. Surprisingly, they like that,” Bannish said.
Bannish would use the example of his grandmother who came to this country from Poland at the age of 14 by herself. She got married at 15, and the family moved from Hatfield to Westfield, buying a farm near the Southampton border. She had 18 children, 14 of whom survived.
In his family, Henry is the oldest of 10 children. After graduating from St. Mary’s High School, he was the first to go to college, at St. Xavier in Nova Scotia. He also had two brothers graduate from Harvard. His brother Mitch served as an assistant principal at Westfield High School for a long time, and his sister is married to federal judge Mark Mastroianni.
Bannish said when his grandmother died in 1993, she had 100 descendants.
“I think about this all the time,” he said, about how she had the strength to come here at 14 alone, and never went back to see her family. “I share that story with students I talk to. I just don’t like the childish behavior of high school students. Childhood is over when they come here,” Bannish said.
He said he has a similar message for parents who come in to speak to him. He said parents come in and try to put the blame on teachers and administrators for their student’s struggles. “I tell them it’s their job to send them to school ready to learn. I want them to take it seriously,” Bannish said.
At one time he even had his own bus, and went around Westfield picking up kids who weren’t in school. He said after a while, the kids would have coffee ready for him when he got to their homes.
“When they get older, and I meet them at 35 or 40, they tell me, now I know what you were talking about,” he said. Parents also come up to him, saying if it weren’t for him helping their child, they don’t know if they would have gotten through school.
Westfield Technical Academy principal Joseph Langone said Bannish also helped him during his first year. “In the short period of time I have worked with him, I have learned tons. I’ve learned an awful lot about Westfield,” Langone said. “The minute we met each other, we had a bond. He sees the world in a way that’s very familiar to me.”
Langone said Bannish, who was born in 1943 and his father are the same age. He said he felt as a son of 50 years old spending time with his dad. “It feels like I get to see my dad every day. He’s been a great support to me,” he added.
“He’s a good man. He should be in a position like this. He’s very articulate,” Bannish said in return about Langone.
Their bond is evident in a cartoon created for them by the graphic arts students in the Tiger Cub Chronicle, a newspaper started this year.
A few years ago, Bannish started to come to school with jokes to share with the students. At first, he thought about bringing a dog, but settled on jokes. He gets his material from a 6-year-old he knows, whose father works for the Pentagon. When he needs a joke, he just calls him up, and his friend always has one ready.
After the first couple of issues, the jokes made their way into the newspaper. The students didn’t know how the cartoon would be received. When Langone first saw it, they asked if they should keep doing it. He said, “You have to!”
Bannish is also known for wearing a suit every day to school, and for not using a computer. “He is iconically old school,” Langone said.
“I find that technology is controlling a lot of the behavior of students. They can’t be without it in their hands. Always calling someone, or getting a call. It takes precedence over everything, and takes them away from the seriousness of school,” Bannish said.
Langone, who was answering a message from his boss on his smart phone during the conversation, said, “A variety of communication is offered through this,” pointing to his phone. However, he said, “When kids are in difficulty, they interface with him,” nodding at Bannish.
Mayor Brian P. Sullivan reads a proclamation of Henry Bannish’s service to the city at a reception at the school in his honor last Friday. (Photo by Rob Ollari)
Although he is retiring, Bannish will not be leaving the school. He will be returning as a mentor next year. Langone said the school currently has a group of ten mentors, who are assigned a variety of students. Several mentors are former educators, like Bannish and City Councilor Ralph Figy. The mentors meet with individual students weekly. The relationship covers the gamut of social/emotional, academic needs and goal-setting.
“Who has a better frame of reference than Henry does?” Langone said.
“We teach in so many different ways. Cooks are teaching, custodians are teaching. We are teaching in so many different ways as adults so they can become responsible,” Bannish said.
Last Friday, Westfield Mayor Brian P. Sullivan presented an official proclamation to Henry Bannish in honor of his years of service to the city. In part, it read: Henry will be missed by both the faculty and staff at Westfield Tech Academy, and the students that he has crossed paths with during his years as a counselor (for) his compassion, sense of humor, and willingness to always be available when someone is in need.
