Mr. Heldmann

Mr. Heldmann

Athletic Director, Economics & Drafting Teacher at Fenwick High School

Heldmann reminded me a lot of my grandfathers. Whenever I sat down with them to make paper airplanes, discuss Harold Washington and universal health care or listen to classical music my grandfathers were all vocal about the way they saw things. I never had to guess where they stood. I have always found that sort of honesty to be comforting whether or not I agree with it. It takes a lot of love to share your worldview with someone.

Fenwick didn't offer any art classes but I was able to take a drafting class with Heldmann. In it we practiced drawing relatively basic shapes from different views using a drawing board and T-square. The class was held in what seemed like a bomb shelter that was tucked away deep in the labyrinthine recesses of the east wing stairwell. I really enjoyed it.

I also had economics with Heldmann. He made that class interesting because he explained everything in a practical way. We read Robinson Crusoe in order to define scarcity and its effects. He would often ask us about current events to get our view and then he would share his own. This wasn't always objective but it helped to clarify our lessons. Occasionally he would get off track and offer us advice not relevant to class. He once informed us that we should always accelerate into a turn when driving to enhance and maintain traction. Whether or not this is true I still think about it every time I drive on a cloverleaf interchange.