Jun
30
Great Teachers
June 30, 2006 | | Leave a Comment
I thought the days of learning from a great teacher were in my past. After all, it has been over 25 years since I have had a teacher who inspired me.
All that changed during the last ten days.
This summer I enrolled in a course I thought would teach me how I could make my classes exciting by adding technology to my lessons. I learned that stuff, but that “stuff” is not what is important. Pat Sine has challenged me in ways I have not been challenged in a long time. She has helped examine my philosophy about teaching. Actually, she has helped me rediscover my true thoughts about teaching. These thoughts have been buried under layers of old beliefs about the teacher being the dispenser of knowledge and the students being a simple vessle. I always wanted to be that teacher who asked quextions and let the students uncover their own understandings. I was not sure how to accomplish this task. This summer, I began to get glimpse of what I can to reach kids. Technology is just another tool I can use to help students help themselves.
Since I mention great teachers in the title, let me pay homage to my predecessors:
During my college years, Ms. Sanchez and Drs. Frye and Sweeten were excellent instructors who helped me appreciate scholarship. The late Dr. Roland Mushat Frye cemented my love and appreciation for everything associated with Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Ms. Sonia Sanchéz pushed me beyond my comfort zone. The late Dr. Nancy Rafetto Sweeten encouraged me to share my experiences thinking critically about the cannon of American literature taught in the 70s with my non-African American classmates. These wonderful people were not the only influences during my undergrad experience, but they are the ones I remember best.
In high school I enjoyed learning under teachers who did not talk down to me as they introduced me to the wonderful world of literature. Several people come to mind who influenced my decision to become an English teacher:
The late Rev. John Browning, S.J, – Introduced me to the H.A.P. program and hired me for my first teaching job.
The late Jack Casey – Native New Yorker who introdcued me to Mark Twain, David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. As the drama director, he gave me my first part in a stage drama.
Ms. Ana Garcia – I actually began to understand all the grammar I had been learning in English and Latin classes when I took her Spanish I class. Ana treated her students as equals, while maintaining excellent classroom management.
The late Vince Kennedy – exposed me to Shakespeare through “Sonnet 114″ and Henry IV, Part I. He made Shakespeare accessible because he used technology in the lesson; we listened to a phonographic recording of actors performing the play.
Dr. Richard “Doc” Kennedy – Another native New Yorker whose easy going manner helped me get through Eugene O’Neill’s Long Day’s Journey into Night. I enjoyed reading Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
James Horan – introduced me to journalism. More importantly, he showed me that when you can connect with students, they will do their best to help themselves learn.
Al Romano – I earned an “A” when I produced an “old style” radio program for an English project. He wanted students to be creative and express themselves in a mode that fit our learning styles.
The list could actually be longer because there were others like Bob Galiastro, Jim Mulvihill, and Rev. Harry Oppido who also provided strong influnces.
I salute them all.
