Steve
| It's often been said that there are two kinds of teachers: the kind that serve themselves, and the kind that serve their art. Joe Mangravito is an all too rare example of the latter category, and it has been my privilege to have studied under his tutelage for over thirty years. What makes him a truly great teacher is not the amount of knowledge that he has passed on to me, which has been encyclopedic, but rather something much deeper. By inspiring me to be the best person that I can be, he has helped to give me a sense of self, a sense of dignity, and a sense of pride that I have never realized in any other aspect of my life. In his teachings, he has conveyed something much more important than mere information. He has taught me to be an honorable man. Having him as my teacher is the greatest honor of my life, and I only hope that in my teaching I can earn the right to even walk in his shadow. He has achieved a teacher's greatest possible accomplishment: he has made his students better people, and the world is a better place for it. Steve Rosenstein Freehold NJ |