Quirky and cerebral, Michael Teller stood out over more than two decades at Kenwood Academy as an educator who urged his students to express their views — but back them up with facts.
“Dr. Teller respected our ability to think for ourselves,” said former student Peter Archer, who is now an author, historian and teacher. “We learned from him that it’s important to back up your opinions and have a factual basis for your assertions.”
With a Ph.D. in history from the University of Chicago, Teller was deeply committed to preparing his students for the rigors of higher education and impressed upon them the importance of independent thinking.
“I remember arguing with him in class, and he was never less than respectful and open to thoughts that were different from those he expressed,” Archer said. “He was deeply influential in my decision to study history and be trained as a historian.”
Teller, 81, who retired from teaching at Kenwood in 1994, died of cardiac arrest on Nov. 3 in Brookdale Lakeview, a North Side senior living facility, family members said.
Teller pioneered the “Law in American Society” program at Kenwood, introducing students to careers in criminal justice, government and consumer advocacy.
Every March, he took students to Springfield for Mock Legislature and Supreme Court Sessions that included presentations by elected officials, attorneys and judges in question and answer formats. At the end of the program, Teller sought feedback from students to help improve the curriculum.
“Michael was a very unique individual,” said Bonnie Tarta, a fellow history teacher at Kenwood Academy, now retired. “He took the time to think things through, because he truly wanted to understand viewpoints other than his own. For me, he was the voice of knowledge and reason.”
Born and raised in the South Shore neighborhood, Teller graduated from Hyde Park High School and earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Chicago, where he went on to receive a master’s degree and a Ph.D.
In 1961, he married Joan Wagner, with whom he had a son and daughter. The couple was married for 13 years before divorcing, but the two remained friends.
“He had such a love of books, certain ones in particular,” Wagner said. “We’d explore bookstores and he’d make a beeline for the history section.”
While pursuing a doctorate in history from the University of Chicago, Teller worked as a substitute teacher for Chicago Public Schools.
From 1961 to 1967, he taught history at DuSable High School on the South Side, prior to joining the faculty at Kenwood.
“He taught during the day and then helped us with our homework at night, before working on his Ph.D.,” said his son, Martin. “We had stacks and stacks of his books and notebooks all over our home.”
Teller wrote his dissertation on the American tuberculosis movement, which he turned into a 180-page book, “The Tuberculosis Movement: A Public Health Campaign in the Progressive Era,” published in 1988.
“He was fascinated with the topic and loved doing the research,” his son said. “He enjoyed breaking it all down and explaining it in detail.”
In retirement, Teller lived on the North Side and volunteered for years as an election judge and census taker.
“I remember driving him to the West Side so he could spend the whole day knocking on doors to do his census work,” said his longtime companion, Helen E. Baker. “When it came to civic-mindedness, no task was ever too small or beneath him.”
Teller was an avid birder and volunteered at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum in Lincoln Park. For years, he was also a volunteer at Illinois Masonic Hospital, where he manned the book cart and delighted in matching up the right book with the right patient.
“He was just a very sweet man with an infinite amount of curiosity for just about everything there is in life,” his son said.
Teller’s daughter, Rachel, died of a brain aneurysm in 1995.
Other survivors include a brother, Stephen.
Services were private.
Giangrasse Kates is a freelance reporter.
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