Teacher lent hand to tough kids

Esther Sperling loved a challenge.

Not satisfied with teaching average high school students, she sought out the kids who had been pushed to the fringes, such as juvenile delinquents, unwed teenage mothers and those who struggled with traditional education. “She taught the tough kids,” said her daughter, Gerri Sperling, 61, of Squirrel Hill. “There were no [Advanced Placement] classes for her.”

Mrs. Sperling of Mt. Lebanon died Sunday of complications from a stroke, just a week after her 85th birthday.

The daughter of Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe, Mrs. Sperling grew up in East Liberty and graduated from Peabody High School in 1950 near the top of her class, her daughter said.

She went to the University of Pittsburgh, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1954. That was also where she met Mitchell Sperling, who was home on leave from the Air Force duringthe Korean War in 1952.

“Mutual friends fixed us up on a blind date when I was home on leave for the Jewish holidays,” recalled Mr. Sperling, 88, of Mt. Lebanon. “And Esther didn’t want to go out with me because she didn’t want to go out on a blind date.” But he was undeterred.

He set out on the Pitt campus, where he’d graduated from several years before, in search of people who might know Mrs. Sperling. Eventually, he found her in the campus bookstore. “I tapped her on the shoulder, and when she turned around, I said, ‘Hi, I’m Mickey Sperling. You’re my date for Saturday. It’s no longer a blind date, because you now know me.’”

The two married June 27, 1954, and Mr. Sperling counts himself lucky to have spent the next six decades with his soulmate.

“There’s so many things I will miss after 64 years of marriage,” he said. “We were inseparable; we went everywhere together .”

After graduating from Pitt, Mrs. Sperling taught first grade briefly before moving to Baltimore, where her husband was transferred.

“She became very active at a reform temple in Baltimore and started teaching at a religious school there,” Gerri Sperling said.

Several years later, the family settled in Mt. Lebanon, where Mrs. Sperling picked up her love of religious education at Temple Emanuel.

“It was the focal point of our lives,” recalled her daughter. “She taught religious school there for over 30 years.”

Mrs. Sperling was also an active member of the congregation, chairing its membership committee, serving as president of a women’s group and co-chairing the temple’s gift shop.

As her children grew older, Mrs. Sperling began work for the Allegheny Intermediate Unit, where she taught nontraditional learners.

“She wanted to teach the hard-to-reach kids,” her daughter said. “She got so much fulfillment from teaching kids that others had forgotten. That was her calling. Thatwas her passion.”

Even when she retired 20 years ago, Mrs. Sperling found she couldn’t stay away from students who needed her, Ms. Sperling said.

“Until she was 80 she taught GED classes twice a week,” her daughter said.

Reaching400 students who successfully completed their GEDs was a major milestone forher, Ms. Sperling said.

“It was one of her proudest accomplishments.”

His mother was his earliest teacher, said her son, Larry Sperling, 59, of McLean, Va., and it was her support and nurturing that fostered in him a love of learning.

“Because of her inspiration, I am a person who enjoys inquiry and continual learning, and I just want to learnmore,” he said.

It was the Hebrew principle of “tikkun olam” — to repair the world — that motivated Mrs. Sperling, family members said. “She imparted in me a lifelong drive to make a difference in the world and to help people,” her son said. “I attribute muchof that to my mom.”

Mrs. Sperling was preceded in death by a brother, Milton Slavkin. She is also survived by a granddaughter. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Rabbi William Sajowitz Endowment Fund at Temple Emanuel, 1250 Bower Hill Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15243, or to a favorite charity.