Southern Connecticut State University Alumni

It's called The H.E.L.P. Institute, and the very name of the summer graduate course Joyce Saltman will teach this year for the 20th time says it all. "H.E.L.P." stands for "Healing, Education, Laughter, Play," and throughout her 40-plus years of teaching, Saltman has made it her mission to bring these elements into the classroom and into the world around her.

Saltman, a professor of special education known for her humorous approach to life, retired from the university as of July 1, and is directing her summer institute possibly for the last time. The course, SED 575-01, a special education elective that counts toward a master's degree or a sixth year certificate, will take place August 3-7 at the Jewish Community Center in Woodbridge, from 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. each day. Saltman brings several outside speakers into the institute to communicate the H.E.L.P. message.

She describes the institute as "a week of learning and laughing and finding out about yourself and how to interact with other people and how to teach with creativity." Nonteachers also take the course, although the evaluations Saltman receives at the conclusion of the course often say that every teacher should be required to take this course before working with children.

In addition to Saltman herself, among the 15 presenters at this year's institute will be Lucie Arnaz, daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz; comedian Kathy Buckley; storyteller Len Cabral; Special Olympics athlete Loretta Claiborne; singer/songwriter Greg Cooney; children's author and illustrator Steven Kellogg, and singer/songwriter David Roth. Educational consultants, professors of education, learning specialists, and inspirational speakers will also make presentations.

"A real camaraderie develops among the participants and the speakers," Saltman says. "We have a lot of fun -- it's a full emotional roller coaster week. And everyone tells me they learn more in this week than in any other course they've taken."

Saltman encourages anyone interested in attending the institute to register now. The cost of the three-credit institute is $1,400, which includes lunch and lab fees. Saltman points out that anyone who comes to the institute once is entitled to come back to future institutes at no additional charge.

The "helping" spirit of the institute has been a hallmark of Saltman's career. She knew from the time she was a little girl that she wanted to teach. Her older sister was a dental hygienist, and Saltman would accompany her to schools in low-income neighborhoods, where her sister would care for the children's teeth. Saltman would read to the children while her sister worked, and she knew then that she wanted to work with kids.

She has been teaching since 1965, and although she has retired, she will continue to teach a couple of courses next fall as an adjunct instructor. "I'm going to be here until I die," she jokes.

In demand as a public speaker, often on the topic of the therapeutic value of laughter, Saltman donates all of her speaking fees to charities. Among those she contributes to are a cancer research unit in Florida; Hadassah, a Jewish women's organization that supports hospitals and medical research in Israel, and the Hole in the Wall Gang camps.

In addition, 100 percent of the earnings from her recently published book "I'm Changing the Locks and Cementing the Windows" goes to the Hole in the Wall Gang camps, founded by Paul Newman in 1988 for children coping with cancer, sickle cell anemia and other life-threatening illnesses. Saltman wrote the book with her best friend, Ronnie Greenspan, who died in 2007.

Saltman has given much to her students and the community over the years, and her gifts of laughter, education and support come back to her -- the walls of her Davis Hall office are plastered with posters, cards, photos, and notes from grateful students. Looking around at all of the mementos from her long, fruitful teaching career, she says, "This is my life. My students are the greatest."