Lifestyle/Community
Rose Cohen leaves an indelible impression
Rose Cohen, who died on April 17 at the age of 95, was a renowned and inspirational teacher of English and history. She taught at King David High School, Linksfield, for more than three decades. For many of those years, she was head of the English Department.
PROF DAVID MEDALIE
By PROF DAVID MEDALIE – a former student of Rose Cohen
Rose was a teacher par excellence. Her influence on the lives of generations of young people was incalculable. Her students sensed that she cared deeply for them and was finely attuned to their individual needs, whatever their abilities; and, as she led them in learning, they responded with appreciation, respect and, frequently, love.
She never found it necessary to be a disciplinarian and, in all the years I knew her, I never once heard her raise her voice.
Rose was frequently described as “wise”. The word says a great deal about the kind of person she was. Cleverness may sometimes be perceived as remote or theoretical, but Rose’s intelligence was intensely human: honed by experience and warmed by generosity of spirit.
Her knowledge of literature, history, art and classical music was vast; and she was an astute judge of literary and artistic merit.
Her memory was extraordinary. “Do you perhaps recall so-and-so?” people would ask, referring to one of her former students.
“Of course,” Rose would say of the former pupil. “She matriculated in 1978. She wrote an essay on The Great Gatsby in the June exam and one on The Crucible in November.”
Rose was also a most entertaining raconteur. She loved to tell of how, when Nelson Mandela visited King David, he made a beeline for her. “I’m so pleased to see someone of my own age here,” he said, while Rose beamed at him.
For me, as for many others, she embodied the human spirit at its most impressive: cultured, dignified and magnanimous.
Rose’s husband, Syd, to whom she was married for almost 60 years, died in 2004. She is survived by her daughter, Frances Schwartz (of Austin, Texas), her son, Alan Cohen (London), her son-in-law, daughter-in-law, eight grandchildren and a sister, Pearl Colman.
Moira Kessel
April 23, 2015 at 5:08 pm
‘Thanks Prof. David Medalie for a most moving tribute to my beloved Aunty Rose. She was my late father, Benny Kessel’s sister.’
Jane Starfield
April 24, 2015 at 5:59 pm
‘What a beatiful tributes by David Medalie. English teachers, more than most, can influence our development as creative individuals and, often, as concerned human beings. She taught so many of my King David friends! May she rest in peace.’
Judith Ancer
April 26, 2015 at 5:38 am
‘Thank you for this tribute David. She taught me and my memory is indeed of a wise, calm and thoughtful teacher. ‘
Barry Shmeizer
April 26, 2015 at 3:26 pm
‘I was privileged to have been taught by Rose in both Form 4 and Matric. She instilled a fantastic interest in literature and was inspirational. My condolences to her family.’
Elisa Galgut
April 28, 2015 at 7:39 am
‘Rose was a true ‘mensch’ and a wonderful teacher. She instilled in so many of her pupils a life-long love of learning and of literature. She had an indelible influence on our lives, and all those who were taught by her were extremely fortunate to have been the recipients of her erudition and her genuine love and care. Condolences to her family.’
jeremy coplan
May 1, 2015 at 2:52 pm
‘Rose Cohen was one of a very few teachers over the years that could permanently touch a student’s life. She had the capacity to connect with each student at a very personal level. Most importantly was her gift at teaching literature, a dying educational institution. I distinctly recall how we would dissect every single line (and word) of Macbeth, Julius Caesar, the Crucible and I believe her specialty, \”The Great Gatsby\”. Years later I see the plays (or movies) and appreciate the multiple layers of meaning Rose expected us to have mastered. What a teacher!! She will be sorely missed and her memory lives on forever.U4’
Paul Zwi
May 2, 2015 at 5:04 am
‘Rose Cohen tought me English during the last 3 years of high school in the late 1970s. Not only was she an exceptional teacher, but she managed to inspire many of our class with a lifelong love for literature. I recall asking Rose for her shortlist of the twenty five novels I should prioritise reading over the next year. She smiled and the following day gave me a carefully thought out and balanced list of twentieth century novels, which I subsequently read and cherished. A great teacher and a very lovely lady. Condolences to family and her many friends and former students. ‘
Morris Zwi
May 2, 2015 at 10:31 am
‘Rose Cohen was the most wonderful teacher. Her warmth, thoughtfulness and ability to get us to think critically (and politically) influenced my thinking enormously. She told us about Nelson Mandela and the awfulness of a state holding political prisoners at a time when almost nobody else would mention such things in SA classrooms. She also introduced us to the ideas of Tony Buzan on \”Creative Patterns\”, now called Mind Maps, which I still use today in my writing, note taking and problem solving. I was so lucky to have had her as a teacher. ‘
Daniel Cohen
June 12, 2015 at 3:47 pm
‘Rose Cohen was a dynamic educator without the bravado of showing us how erudite she was. She brought out the best in us, even though we sometimes showed tremendous ennui towards the syllabus at hand. She was mild mannnered, yet firm and set a wonderful example for how an educator should interact with a group of young students. The mark she left was indelible. I think of her classes often and we are all poorer for her passing
Daniel Cohen Class of 1967′