John Bligh
- Retired teacher
- Co-chair, UFT Players
- Instructor, Si Beagle Learning Center, Manhattan
Milton Polsky was a superlative English teacher with an exuberant passion for writing, theater, social justice and getting others involved in the most inclusive way possible. He brought that fervor not only to the classroom, but also to the Si Beagle Learning Center, where he was an instructor, and to the UFT Players, a professional committee within the union that he co-chaired.
“Milt,” as he was widely known, was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, but was a consummate New Yorker, living and reveling in his Greenwich Village neighborhood in Manhattan.
He died of cardiac arrest on Nov. 5, 2021, at age 86.
Milt was a UFT member and active retiree for 42 years, starting in 1980, when he taught English and speech at Washington Irving HS, near Union Square in Manhattan. There, he engaged students in creating their own theater pieces, which they performed alongside works by famous authors.
“It was a true collaborative learning experience for the students,” said his colleague Suzanne Lamberg. He also created a staff talent show at the school. “Along with the teachers, cafeteria workers sang, custodians juggled, the assistant principal and the dean did break dancing and even the safety officers performed. And the students loved it!” Lamberg recalled.
After his retirement in 1990, Milt didn’t stop working. He became a teacher mentor and staff developer at MS 183, the Paul Robeson School, in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx, from 1990–2003. Among his many published books was “Celebrating Your School’s Namesake,” with an introduction by Carl McCall, a former New York State comptroller and senator. The book introduced Robeson — the African-American bass baritone singer, actor, athlete and activist, most famous in the 1920s–1940s — to the school’s students.
In addition, Milt began teaching playwriting and improvisation at the Si Beagle Learning Center in Manhattan, where he developed a following of hundreds of retired educators who took his courses year after year. Among them was Allan Yashin, a retired teacher and school counselor.
“He was warm, witty and kind,” Yashin said. “It wasn’t just a classroom relationship. He would call people on the phone, work with them individually and took a personal interest in everyone in his class.” The two men formed a writing partnership and published a book of 14 plays, “Cry a Little, Laugh a Lot.”
In 1998, Milt co-founded the UFT Players. The group’s retired and in-service UFT members write and perform plays presented at UFT headquarters and sometimes at hospitals and senior centers. “How would you like to see your play on Broadway? 50 Broadway that is,” he would tell educators, said Warren Wyss, who taught with Milt at Washington Irving HS. Wyss was a co-chair of the UFT Players, and he and Milt co-authored a book, “Shadows on Bleecker Street.”
“He made an impact on so many people, and so many are heartbroken at his sudden passing,” Yashin said. “We all feel like he’s not really gone, he’s living within us.”
Milt received his Ph.D. from New York University, where he taught as an adjunct professor. Then he became a professor at Hunter College in the theater department from 1970-78, where he taught Creative Drama and Children’s Theater and headed the Gifted Youth Drama Program, prior to his public school teaching career.
He wrote more than 25 books, won a New York Public Library Best Book for Teenagers Award, titled, “You Can Write a Play,” and contributed hundreds of articles to Scholastic Magazine. Milt also wrote award-winning plays that were produced all over the country, was a Shubert Playwriting Fellow and won the New York State Theater Association Lifetime Achievement Award.
“Milt was a true Renaissance man,” said Minette Greenberg, who knew Milt from the UFT Players. “Aside from his passion as a writer (he wrote 1,000 words a day), wherever he alighted, he’d create a theater group: on summer vacations, in schools, at the UFT.” Milt also received a Teacher of the Year Award from the American Alliance for Theater & Education.
Milt is survived by his wife, Roberta; a son, Jonah, and daughter-in-law, Jenny; a daughter, Maddy Neely, and son-in-law, Dave Neely; and three grandchildren, Olivia Polsky, Spencer Polsky and Quinn Neely.
Condolences may be shared on the Public Theater website, where donations also may be made in Milt’s memory.
Milton E. Polsky: “Milt was a magician. His classes could turn retired teachers into real playwrights! He put his whole heart into teaching all of us….he always listened to our doubts and fears, and then encouraged us to find ways to get our written words onto the stage. He did that for me and a lot of others in his playwrighting group. He turned my hobby, writing plays, into pieces that were done on the stage at a number of venues.
Milt encouraged me to keep writing plays with great enthusiasm.
I will always remember how Milt encouraged me to write. He will never be forgotten.
Milt had a passionate commitment to imparting his wealth of knowledge about the theater, Improv and human relationships in general.
He did this through his own playwriting and by his devoted guiding, and greatly encouraging, all the many who passed through his classes,
He used his skills and leadership abilities to help guide the UFT Players to many rewarding presentations and activities, especially the UFT Players Short Play Festival staged each year in Rooms E and F of the Si Beagle Learning Center at 50 Broadway.
Milt was a shining light in the UFT players . Always encouraging, kind and full of energy. I am so grateful that I knew him and will always treasure his memory.
Milt was so special to me. He was my cheerleader, mentor, teacher and friend. I first met him when I was a student in his playwriting class, the first writing class I’ve taken since my undergraduate days. With his guidance, as well as the supportive students, I was able to complete two 15-20 minute plays, one of which was performed for the UFT Players Original Play series last spring. Milt sponsored me to become a member of the UFT Players Board and I’m so thankful to him for that. I’ve made so many good friends there as I have partaken in many creative projects.
He left us too soon and I frequently find myself in need to talk to him about my work and also my life. Though he wasn’t a family member, I truly loved him. Milt was one in a million. Never did he say an unkind word about anyone and I believe he cared about everyone he worked with or knew.
The world and the UFT has lost a special person in the passing of Milton Polsky. Thankfully, Milt’s spirit will not die with his passing. He will be forever alive in the memory of his colleagues, students, and friends. My heart goes out to his beautiful family: Roberta (his wife), Jonah (his son) and Maddy (his daughter).
Milt was the light of my life. I taught with him at the Paul Robeson School where he got all the staff to perform in variety show and built esprit de corps. The students couldn’t wait for him to bring their tedious classes alive. I then followed him to the UFT Players where I have belonged, thanks to him, for 25( ish) years. He made our Board of Directors into a family. I attended every class he taught at Si Beagle. It cannot be denied that I am the definition of a Polsky Groupie.My heart is bigger, stronger, braver, more whimsical, more generous, and expansive thanks to Milton Eugene Polsky, a Mensch for all seasons!
I feel so lucky to have known the incredible,,wonderful,kind and talented Milt Polsky He was my teacher and friend. He was truly a one in a million! A gem of person He touched so many lives in a positive way and will be missed
I know he will remain in my heart forever
I barely knew Milt when he came into my classroom one day and asked what the kids were studying. He used an eraser as microphone and went around the room interviewing the students. He then had the students interview other students. He set up a few scenarios and then had the students play them out. Only occasionally would he suggest a question. The entire class was alive and laughing.
Milt wrote the books on learning and thriving in the classroom. I later had the pleasure of running the UFT High School Workshops. Milt was a “front and center” instructor in the program for years. He came to my wedding and performed. He reeled me into the UFT Players Board. He led by example. He personified engagement and good classroom management. He assessed student learning every second. It was “The Milton Polsky-son Framework” way before it was “The Charlotte Danielson Framework”.
Milt leaves a wonderful family and a lasting legacy in our profession. Roberta, his wife, deserves all of our admiration. Milt was a genius and a prolific artist, but he spread that to all areas of the house. God bless Roberta Polsky. She was a great teacher, great mother, and a willing enabler for a friend who brought so much positivity to the world. Everywhere Milt went, he left a genius mess, but we know that he spread his disciples all over the world. Many of us have gone on to make our own messes. Milt was on the side of making education alive, exciting, and engaging. He was part of a revolution, he challenged the dogmatic, the uniform approach, and gave us courage to improvise. Education is not map that we follow, it is a world that we explore and then make a new map. The road can’t be easy because it so much more appreciated when we bring our minds and upset the applecart as we go along. Our greatest tribute to Milt would be to continue engaging in lively conversation that makes us think, even if the thinking makes a mess of what we thought.
How blessed I am to have worked with such a talent. Milton Polsky was was truly passionate about his work. You could really learn from him.
I have to smile as I remember Milt and his enthusiasm for his craft.
Thank you so much for this wonderful, accurate tribute of Milton Polsky. In remembering Milt in the UFT Players/Playwriting, and to keep his legacy: I feel it’s important to be true to one’s passion, on whatever level. And when passion may stray, – Please, may we, as best, haul it back.
Milty was a true friend from the very 1st day we met. He instilled confidence in me that I didn’t even know I had. Being a part of the UFT Players is an experience I will always treasure. Miss you so……and thank you Milty
Milt gave me my start with the UFT players when he accepted my monologue into one of the UFT Players One-Act Performances, which I performed myself. He was so kind and encouraging, so different from my experience in most of the New York theater venues. I went on to write and act with the UFT players after that; Milt made it a home. I’m sure there’s theater in Heaven, and Milt is writing, directing and producing a show there now as we speak…Break a wing, Milt!
I’m so glad to see this tribute! I went to a few of the UFT events where I did stand up comedy about being a teacher!
I am now in a senior center special on TV and think of Milt fondly!
Milton greeted me warmly, my first visit to The UFT Players.
What a talent. He will be missed.
Beautiful pix and great tribute. Am forever humbled that he would come to our Greenwich House Shakespeare class every Monday, front row center or live on Zoom. A brilliant, exuberant educator with the eternal curiosity and wonder of a lifelong student. Oh Milt, miss you so!
He was by far one of my favorite teachers and taught me to love the theatre. He ran a program that allowed students of Washington Irving HS to see broadway plays for free. We also were able to see movies before they hit the theaters. He brought literature alive! Rest well Dr. Polsky!
Milt had a great spirit. He always gave 100%.
I’m so glad to have known, been taught, and directed by him.
A wonderful tribute. I’ll always remember him. Eternal be his memory.
Milt was a special human being!
Milt LIVED HIS PASSION and he inspired others to do the same.
What a lovely well-deserved tribute!