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Posted by: Charlie (cjoseph@eagle1.eaglenet.com) on 11/13/1997@23:01hrs:
In Reply to: Great Teachers on Old Staten Island posted by: Bob Sheridan on 11/13/1997@11:18hrs:
Good category, Bob!
Having attended PS-8, PS-41 and NDHS (and Summer School at Curtis), I
had some good teachers, some bad and even some great or almost great.
But, there's two outstanding ones, I particularly remember and would
like to honor.
The first, from PS-8, Mrs. Mulligan. I had her for homeroom in the 6th
and 7th grades and several classes in the 8th grade. By 8th grade she
became Mrs. Moran. She was a fiesty little redhead, but she put her
heart and soul into teaching. Sometime in the 6th grade, she picked me
up by my ankles and shook me upside down. I wasn't real big then, but
neither was she. She got my attention. Imagine that happening in a school
today?
The other was from NDHS. Mr. Tomes. He always reminded us his name was
was the formal English word for books. He wore an orange tie on St. Patrick's
day. He said he liked to get the attention of our very Irish Principal.
One day he made the entire class stay after school for bustin' up too
much during class. He had us seated a row of boys, a row of girls, etc. He ranted
and raved about our conduct (he was right, it was bad) and somewhere
along the line he spun and threw a piece of chalk right over the heads
of the row of boys, I was in. I was in the last seat, sitting on the
edge of the turned up seat (I was cool ~ at least I thought I was back
then). The chalk grazed the top of my hair and left a dent in the wardrobe
door behind me. I sat down quickly!!
Another time at one of the dances for NDHS students only, he was monitoring
the entrance by checking program cards. My girlfriend was from Curtis.
I had borrowed a program card from a girl in my homeroom for her. Turns
out he must have known the girl. He looked at the program card and at
my girlfriend, back and forth several times. Then he grinned and waved
us in.
Kind of trite stories for examples of these great teachers. I just don't have any
"Win one for the gipper" tales or stories about a dramatic insight of
theirs that turned my life around. However their day to day dedication
to their profession was so evident to me, above and beyond even the good
teachers, I can't help but single them out in my memory. I'm sure their
influence played some part in whatever successes I've enjoyed.
Charlie