Canny Cahn: English Teacher & Razor Adviser to Retire

Reprinted from the Spring 2019 issue of Views from the Hill

I will miss the kids of all ages (12–70+) who ramble this campus, injecting it with a mix of childlike enthusiasm and mature awareness unique to Hopkins. I truly believe that, if the Hopkins ethos could bedrock global education, our world populations would be happy, thriving, and peaceful.
—Canny Cahn

Canny Cahn, English faculty member and longtime adviser to The Razor, will retire in June, capping a forty-four-year teaching career, the last seventeen at Hopkins. Canny joined Hopkins in the fall of 2002. She began her career at Greenwich Public School. She taught at Stoneleigh-Burnham School for 25 years while also teaching summer school at nearby Northfield Mount Hermon.

Canny epitomizes the Hopkins ethos she writes of—childlike enthusiasm and mature awareness—by bringing a sense of wonder, curiosity, and determination to her classroom. It is no surprise that her favorite elective course to teach is “Dangerous Books,” where she recounts that “great minds and great books trigger intellectual explosions.”

When hearing of her retirement, former and current students describe a teacher with equal measures of exuberance and patience, who changed their life. “Canny transformed me into the student and writer that a Hopkins education demands,” wrote Jonathan Zarrilli ’16. “She guided us step-by-step through each element of a strong paper, and made the process fun. I remember being shocked at how marked-up each graded assignment was—especially early in the year, and it made me realize how much she cared about each student she taught.” Teddy Vlock ’16 shares that sentiment. “She was the best teacher I ever had. As a dyslexic person I always dreaded writing until I took her class. Her love and enthusiasm for the classes she taught and the students in them was infectious. She was the person who taught me to love Shakespeare and that will stay with me for the rest of my life.”

Students tell amusing tales of Canny’s disdain for tofu, love of bagels, and her unbridled energy. “I’ve had advisory group with Ms. Cahn for the past four years,” relates Eliot Carlson ’19. “Her ability to consistently bring energy into a room of teenagers early in the morning is an impressive talent.” Margie Lewis ’15 also cites Canny’s extraordinary skills as an adviser. “Her vibrant personality and soft heart was the greatest spirit to be around during the difficult growing years of high school. Now as a senior in college, I still keep in touch with Canny and her constant guidance and encouragement has stayed with me throughout these last few years.”

In addition to teaching and advising, Canny has steered the course of Hopkins’ student newspaper The Razor over the past 16 years through incredible growth and depth. She notes that “the staff now regularly numbers over two dozen on the masthead plus another twenty to thirty writers; and most students work with the paper for all four years of high school.” Yet that is only part of the story. Canny relates that “dynamic student leadership has taken the paper into contemporary reporting, digital formats, and savvy writing that reflects the sensibilities of the community. I’m incredibly proud of the many Razor alumni/ae working for professional newspapers, magazines, and online journalism outlets.”

When asked what she will miss most, Canny doesn’t hesitate to say “the people, the people, and the people. I will miss the singular beauty of this campus and I will especially miss watching my current students grow up while they are here at Hopkins. And I will miss the classroom. I can’t imagine the day that I read a good book and won’t be able to share and test what I’ve learned with my students.”

What will life look like for Canny come opening day of school in September? “My husband—a dean at Hamden Hall (yes, THAT school!)—is retiring, as well. We are moving to mid-coast Maine to start our next chapter as writers, kayakers, gardeners, volunteers, and small town eccentrics. The new house has lots of guest rooms, a chicken coop, and a greenhouse. I hope to keep them all filled.”

Having Canny Cahn by Your Side…
by Saira Munshani '20

I was having a hard time fitting in at Hopkins during my freshman year, and when I went to Canny with my dilemma, she showed me a different side of the school. Canny gave me a new perspective, and explained that being comfortable at Hopkins is finding your “team.” Whether it be sports, theater, or a club, she opened my eyes to the concept that while Hopkins is a warm community in itself, the best way to appreciate it was to open myself up to more activities. She taught me an important lesson in this moment—that the best way to feel “at home” would be to stretch myself and step out of my comfort zone. She assured me that I would eventually find my place, and that I had to trust I would.

The next week I signed up for Science Olympiad and wrote my first article for The Razor. Before I knew it, I was attending Sci-Oly competitions on Saturday, formatting the paper and sharing bagels with fellow writers on Sunday mornings, and eating lunch with people I never even knew existed.

A few months after my conversation with Canny, I stepped into her classroom with a book, a thank you note, and a new view of Hopkins.