Armless teacher inspires pupils

He said he doesn’t think of himself as a role model.

HAMILTON, Ohio (AP) — Abraham Harris’ pupils learn much more than just how to draw from the elementary school art teacher — they also learn valuable life lessons from a man who has refused to let a lack of arms limit his life.

“He is the most inspirational teacher I’ve ever had,” Jefferson Elementary School pupil Lisa Williams, 12, said.

Harris, who was born with appendages only six inches long in place of arms, refers to them jokingly as his “nubs,” but also as his “wings.”

The “wings” term refers to a quote from English poet William Blake that has inspired Harris and is the caption underneath a giant poster of NBA great Michael Jordan that Harris received as a gift when he was 8 years old.

The quote — “No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings” — appears under a large photo that shows Jordan with his arms stretched wide and palming a basketball with one hand.

Harris displays the poster every year in his classroom at Jefferson Elementary, where he has taught for seven years in this city about 20 miles north of Cincinnati.

Doctors never gave Harris a medical reason why he was born with the shortened limbs that he has learned to deftly manipulate.

No limitations

The 29-year-old man from Trenton is able to drive a large SUV with no special equipment and likes to play golf, shooting about 46 for nine holes. He also developed his talents for art and teaching into a career as an art instructor.

“Art is something I like, but teaching is something I love,” said Harris, who draws by strapping a pencil to one of his appendages and steadying it with his cheek.

“When we are born, we are all given our own canvas to work with, and it is all up to you what sort of picture you paint with your life,” he tells each art class.

Harris, who played varsity soccer at Edgewood High School, coaches boys soccer at Hamilton Junior High and last year coached the Jefferson girls basketball team to a citywide sixth-grade championship.

Harris has learned to expect questions from pupils about how he manages to do the many things that most people take for granted — things like driving and even brushing his teeth.

“But they get used to me quick,” he said. “I don’t think of myself as some sort of role model, but if I can help people in any way by doing what I do, then that’s good.”

Jefferson Principal Mary Anne Hughes said Harris has made a very big impression on her and others.

“Professionally he is up there with any other teacher, and with his very presence he is a walking lesson for the kids,” Hughes said. “He is a constant reminder that there are no challenges that are too big.”