“I truly believe life is good and fun. You should look forward to having a little fun each day, as I intend to.”
by Asia Dorsey
photo by Manny Perez
Many of us have had the opportunity to come in contact with what some would call the “Smitty Experience.” Those who have had this incredible encounter report feelings of euphoria, enlightenment, the giggles, and most of all bewilderment. Who, they ask, is this Smitty person, really? And how in the world did he end up at TJ?
TJ Social Studies Teacher Mark Smith was the first born to a large athletic family in a small town in Cincinnati, Ohio in the year of 1956. Few people know the exact date, but a reliable source has confirmed the 11th of February. A little known fact is that Smith’s father, John Smith, played hockey for the Cincinnati Mohawks, and his uncle played a few games for the Boston Bruins. One of six children (three boys and three girls) Smith was the oldest. He had fun kicking up dust and getting into trouble with his buddies as a youth. “We never had curfews. . . what’s a curfew?” Smith recalls. “Society has changed a lot since I was a kid; they are not so tolerant of the mistakes that youth make.”
It would appear that when he was a youngster in the 50’s and 60’s, when a kid got into trouble everyone in the town knew about it, and the police would just take the juvenile delinquent home. This might help to explain why Smith isn’t a pillar of punishment in the classroom setting. “As many of you know, I’m pretty much a softie. My bark is much worse than my bite; but I’d like to think I set expectations pretty high,” says Smith.
As a philosophy Smith believes,”All students should be given the opportunity to learn and because they are capable of learning; they just need to be motivated the right way. “
"I like to set the bar high enough to be challenging, but when worst comes to worst just (figuratively) kick the student in the . . .,” joked Smith.
Smith “the student” was surprisingly a middle-of-the-road sort of guy. What he should have been labeled was Smith,"the active" because what he excelled in was athletics. He played soccer, baseball and tennis in a normal school year. One year, though, Smith tried his hand (and feet) at track. Naturally he excelled. Some old associates report that he even qualified for state his first year for the high jump and in the 330 hurdles. How’d Smith finish? “Not well, but we got there,” reports Smith. “Their starting height was my best at 6”6’.”
Records from New Jersey show that Smith spent his first two years of college at Rowan University. He then enrolled at Westchester University in Pennsylvania to major not in history, but in physical education. That’s right, he wanted to be a gym teacher; but he soon found, “ I wasn’t cut out for physical education. I didn’t totally fit with that whole scene.”
Smith was restless, so he left Westchester after a semester and again enrolled at Rowan for another year and a half . . . that was until he fell in love. Her name was Cathy (Catherine, but a childhood friend reports she didn’t like to be called that). After five years of jumping from college to college, Smith and Cathy decided to hit the road. “We had a little Datson 210 packed to the hilt with our belongings and we were just traveling around.” And travel they did. They went from up state New York to Niagara Falls, all throughout the “Canada scene” and on through the Great Lakes. “Eventually, we wound up here (Colorado) with a little bit of money left,” explained Smith. “We were at the Golden Gate State Park and decided Colorado’s nice. I think we’ll stay here.”
That was 25 years ago. Now fast forward 17 years. Mark Smith is happily married with children and a teaching degree from Metropolitan State College (after spending a semester at CU). Back then, he was working for a chemical company from Philadelphia selling chemical goods. Some of his former associates tell us the he also worked retail. “I managed many shoe stores and many outlets through Broadway Southwest,” explained Smith, who also recalled working for Wohl’s shoes, which now has connections with Famous Footwear branches.
After retail, Smith was in the market for something different. He spent his first long term assignment teaching at Henry Middle School. He then went on to teach for seven years at Lake Middle School until the principal there, Ann Hall Bailey, was offered a position to be the principal at Thomas Jefferson High School. Smith saw this as a great opportunity to switch to TJ and go along with her since she was the principal at his current school. Sources say he was very eager to teach at Thomas Jefferson. “I had always intended to be a high school teacher, and TJ was my top choice. It was the best in the district,” explained Smith.
When Smith heard there was a position at TJ open for geography, he was quick on the draw and took the job. It was five years ago that Smith took on the brand new AP World History class. After settling and getting comfortable, he took on the job of being a coach. He was the JV soccer coach for three years, and then. . . golf (not as extreme as high jumping, but a Smitty sort of thing to do all the same). “The golf position became open, and knowing that that was one of my passions, I quickly jumped on board with Mr. Fornstorm to coach the boys team.” Smith currently coaches the girls’ team in the spring, as well.
Now that one knows how Smith got to TJ, one thinks, "Yeah, that was chill…now tell me some more about him."
Smith likes all kinds of music. He has a special taste for progressive rock and Jazz. Right now he has Tom Petty playing on his car stereo. Smith doesn’t go to the movies much, but he does enjoy a good movie now and then. His favorites include Field of Dreams, Citizen Kane, and anything by the Marx Brothers. Currently Smith is reading some history books, but he does like mysteries, thrillers and a lot of fantasy. “I just wrapped up Terry Goodkind’s last book and the Tolkien series is still one of my favorites,” said Smith.
If Smith was not a teacher, “I would probably still be in sales . . . or a bum,” joked Smith.
Besides being irked by “…students who don’t make an effort, those who are rude and inconsiderate to others, and those so discourteous to the rest of us who trash the building,” Smith is really a lighthearted, even-tempered sort of person. He goes on to say, “I truly believe life is good and fun. You should look forward to having a little fun each day, as I intend to.”
With age comes a new perspective. Anyone can see that Thomas Jefferson High School in Denver, Colorado is the perfect fit for Mark Smith. The person, the seeker of knowledge, and the enlighten-er.
