My instructor in the creative writing course, Ms. Vasquez, at El Paso Community College was hoping I could come up with a paper on children, so this is it!
I was in the public education system through 5th grade, up to age 10-11; and then transferred into private education for the rest of my education, right through the PhD and beyond. The difference between public and private education I found was that the teacher in public school was just that--a disseminator of knowledge and evaluator of my performance, but in a private system the teacher was more of a coach. I got knowledge from the texts and the computer programs, but I got the encouragement from a teacher who believed I could do well and succeed in the mastery of the material. Let's take instances.
1. Entering Private Education
We had moved to New York City--my mother, my sister Sheila and me. I entered public school at PS 189 and spent a year of hell there! I was placed in the most advanced grade 5 class (of 3 classes) and discovered that New York City's curriculum was more advanced than what I had been taught in Buffalo schools, PS 89 and PS 30 before that. In New York, they placed you in the classroom according to how well you were doing, which meant that most of the time I was last in the list or near to last in all my courses. Added to that, I sometimes failed to take a textbook home and so was unprepared the next day. More significant, I had to fight off the bullies in the class that regularly attacked me on my way home. What a horrible experience.
But what a great Mom I had. She saw that I could have been kept behind a grade the next year and decided to take me out of the public school system. She enrolled me in private school, National Bible Institute on West 55th Street downtown away from the public school I had been attending in our neighborhood. The Institute trained teachers for the missionary field; and so I had a teacher in training. We had to pay something, but it was essentially a token amount compared to the close attention I received. The school was of a "little red school house" variety, different grades altogether in one room. It was fun to journey downtown, eat in a White Tower Restaurant around the corner, and look around at the sights in the area before going home.
Did my grades ever improve! I had been a straight-A student in Buffalo and with the help and encouragement of my teacher each of the years I was there, I returned to that status. The difference in the teacher was she believed in me! She "knew I could master the material." I learned from the texts, but I re-gained the confidence in my abilities in a warm, loving environment. It was then I came to realize that the texts and the course material taught me, but it was the coaching that made the difference in my confidence and performance.
I went through the 9th grade at that school and enjoyed and ate the attention my teachers offered all up!
2. High School at McBurney High School
How she did it, I don't know, but my mother found a YMCA high school near Central Park West, 15 W. 63rd Street. With their help I was able to secure a scholarship, so again we paid less. The school had an excellent reputation; and when I was interviewed initially, the teacher felt my grades would lower markedly, but he was mistaken. I had a great history teacher, Mr. Bowman, for the interview; and he would follow my progress for the next three years I attended.
The school was fantastic. I could not attend most of the events given at the school--we just didn't have the money. Yet I became active on the school magazine, sent to alumni, and in other clubs. Also, during the summers, I was their school helper in the office, for which I was paid, while I received the additional benefit of getting to know the staff.
I took 3 years of Latin with Mr. Beck. The disadvantage I found afterwards is I began to think and write as a Roman. To this day, I use complex sentence structures--subordinate clauses a lot in my sentences, which doesn't come off as a contemporary writing style. But I think in these complex structures, too.
I very nearly didn't graduate, because I could not pass the swimming test. Every student was required to swim the pool in 2 laps. However, the administration, seeing how weak and underdeveloped my arms are, let me out of the requirement. Another facet of the coaching aspect of being a teacher in a private school, where the students are the center of attention in the teacher's eyes--not the curriculum!
3. At University College, New York University for the B.A. in history
I had an interesting experience in Dr. Freund's chemistry class. I was virtually running a "D" in the course. I went to him and explained I didn't have a background in science. As a result of our conversations, he counted only the exams, including the practicum, in assigning my grade. I achieved an "A" in the course's exams and earned "A" for the course. This professor showed unusual understanding of my predicament.
My philosophy professor, Raziel Abelson, influenced greatly what career path I was to embark upon. I took philosophy as my undergraduate minor, taking his courses exclusively, and I came to discern that the field was important in my thinking. He and I thought very much alike, reasoned to the same conclusions. As a result, when I determined that becoming a minister was something I was not suited for, I fell back on philosophy as a field I would like to teach (including theology).
I became convinced in college that the role of the teacher was indeed that of a coach. I would cull the information from the texts and hand-out sheets, which enabled me to interpret the course material as the professor did. I did not need the professor to impregnate me with the table rosa of facts and figures. He was to help me to understand what the course material meant. He was to be my guide to make it through the course in superior fashion, as an outstanding student.
4. At Union Theological Seminary, New York City
I secured a scholarship, including room and board at this great theological school. From it I took away the teachings and approach of Paul Tillich by studying under his most prominent student, who later went on to become a Dean of a College in Canada.
The training was intense, since I was there much more of the time than in any other educational institution.
5. The Ph.D. from New York University, Graduate School of Arts and Science
I did my M.A. on Tillich's theology. For the doctoral dissertation I choose the Neo-Realists who were at Harvard University at the turn of the 20th Century. I presented their discussions on the topic of the certainty of perceptual knowledge claims. The gist of their argument was that if there is no reason to raise serious and legitimate question of their certainty, the claims should be accepted at face value as true and certainly true.
When I defended my understanding of their position orally, the NYU professors wanted more. They said I needed to bring their argument up to date. Importantly, Sidney Hook, Chairman, gave me the chance to add to the dissertation the writings of more recent philosophers on the topic. He did not simply let me go somewhere else, despite the fact that I was both an undergraduate and graduate student at NYU--something that doesn't happen often to be continuing on one's education all the way through the Ph.D. He gave the chance to add to the discussion that had continued after Neo-Realism and I included the writings primarily of Shoemaker, but also of others. And, I got the Ph.D. and went on to teach philosophy for several years.
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The Point I Want to Make About the Teacher/Professor taken from the above experiences as a student
The teacher is really an advocate on the student's behalf. He is preparing the student as a coach exercises his team to get ready for the big event--the team's career on the field. He is not attempting to fail the student but to bring out the capabilities the student has to succeed in later life.
Yes, I believe that teachers have wrongly interpreted their role. They do not see that the texts teach what the teacher believes is important to know to do battle in a competitive environment. They do not see their evaluations of each student's performance is part of getting the student ready to do an outstanding job on the field of life that is part of the student's subsequent career and life's objectives.
Withal, the parents are a good sounding-board of how the student is measuring up to what's expected of him by the teacher/professor as coach. They ought to provide opinion as to how worthwhile is the student's learning to his career and life objectives. In this regard, my mother and my sister Sheila did a great job helping me put my learning into perspective.
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