Reflections from 2006 Campus Tour

STOP #3 University at Albany 1/24/2006
Our latest stop on the 2006 Campus tour took our team (three strong - Myself, John DeGuardi, and Mark Trazskos) to the SUNY Albany for the latest installment of the visiting writers series featuring Frank McCourt. Mr. McCourt was here to speak about the third installment of his memoirs - "Teacher Man." His book tour will be tasking him around the planet, including stops in New Zealand and Austrialia, so we were exicited to hear him speak at UAlbany. Mr. McCourt spoke for about 40 minutes to a standing room only crowd of teachers, students, teachers, professors, retirees and other interested townsfolk. He poked fun at his meteoric rise into the world of literary celebrity and how being on TV changes everything. After reading "Teacher Man" I found myself reflecting on my first decade as an educator. More on this in a later post.

During the Q and A, Mr. McCourt spun some humorous tales and passed on words of wisdom drawn from his time as a writing teacher in the NYC schools system. Stories about endless encounters with former students drew the loudest laughs, but his advice to teachers new to the profession is worth repeating. First and foremost, Mr. McCourt told the audience to "love what you do." We all know everyday is not going to be whistle while you work (no job is), but love and passion for your profession can pull you through many of the inevitable dark days. He also stated that high school teachers "are dead without a sense of humor." I couldn't agree more with that one. I try to surround myself with people who take their job seriously, but can laugh off some of the daily non-sense we inevitably encounter. I will leave you with a quote John DeGuardi, our Social Studies department chair, pulled out of the Albany Times Union in an article about Frank McCourt:

"Teaching isn't clear cut like being a doctor, where you operate and the patient gets better or worse. Or a lawyer, where you win or lose the case... As a teacher, you just do your best, keep poking away at it and hope."


STOP #2 Siena College 1/18/2006
We had fantastic opportunity to see a Civil Rights Icon when John Lewis spoke as part of Siena College's Martin Luther King, Jr Lecture series. I was joined for this adventure by social studies department members Dan Hornick, Ray Toohey, John DeGuardi, and Roger Bubel. Mr Lewis spoke of his early years in the Civil Rights movement, his relationship with Dr. King and how leaders combined the teachings of Christ and tools of Gandhi to usher in an era of sit-ins, freedom rides and protest marches. As he spoke I was constantly thinking that Mr. Lewis was center stage in the Civil Rights movement at 23!! Food for thought...a quote from a unknown source: "What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others is, and remains for eternity."


STOP #1 University at Albany 11/21/2005
Including our most recent visit with Mr. McCourt, our traveling road show heard Doris Kearns Goodwin speak about her latest book "Team of Rivals." As a teacher of 11th grade American history, the November 21st tour date was a must! I have always been a fan of Lincoln and can read just about anything about him, but Doris humanizes Lincoln while capturing his political instincts that led him to build his cabinet from his political rivals for the 1860 presidential nomination.