1956

Teachers are in surplus, report a number of articles over the past several months. As a class, we have produced over 50 teachers, an impressive contribution. What makes a teacher teach.' Before trying to deal with that one, it is interesting to note that the bulk of'56 teachers teach in colleges and universities. There are, however, ten according to "The Book," who teach in the primary and secondary schools of this country. Not a few of them have taught since leaving Dartmouth. Some of these have provided insight into the challenges and rewards of teaching.

Tony Carleton has the awesome responsibility of teaching reading at the third grade level in the Boston schools. He is also a single parent. Saying a lot in a very few words, he notes that he is "finding ever-increasing satisfaction and serenity in the life'processes of parenting and teaching."

In the elementary school of Wappinger Falls, N.Y., Jack Devine teaches 11- and 12-yearolds. Jack admits to having been " . . .ateacher for most of my working life. Although it is very satisfying work, it doesn't pay as much 25 being a rock star, for example." No doubt with 12-year-olds, it would be helpful at times to be rock star to sustain interest!

Lower Connecticut seems to have attracted a number of our teacher classmates. John Wetzel is assistant principal of Trumbull High School in the town of the same name. Ed Scovner combines teaching and coaching, a common requirement in many private schools. Ed teaches English and coaches basketball at St. Luke's School in New Canaan. Earle Lenker has developed a program of earth science and the environment at Wilton High School. He gives some idea of his enthusiasm by saying, . . the kids are great, and the teaching experience at this level is very challenging and rewarding, as well as exhausting."

A number of "our" teachers are also administrators. Gordon Lenci is headmaster of Roland Park Country School, an all-girls school in Baltimore. They proably have an excellent soccer team. Gordie has also taught at Pingry and in Kansas City. Frank Leavitt is director of admissions at Avon Old Farms School in Avon, Conn. Frank also teaches in the geology and earth science field. In the town of Churchville, N.Y., the principal of the elementary school is Ralph Maniscalco. He takes his work seriously: "... anyone of us who is in any way responsible for the development of a young person .. . must be acutely aware of how we choose to reinforce the negative and positive self-image which is continuously being built by every word and act directed toward this person."

Not all students pursue academic careers; special recognition, therefore, goes to Dean Sheldon at the Ehove Joint Vocational School in Milan, Ohio. The "Schmoo" is an instructor in conservation and natural resources.

Perhaps Sandy Heath speaks for all the teachers in our class, and indeed teachers everywhere. Sandy teaches social studies and coaches track at Moorsetown Friends in New Jersey. Our influence ... is always needed and we cannot shrink from our responsibilities towards the rest of mankind."

Teachers to be proud of and grateful for! A couple of recent news articles should be cited. Community ministry is a relatively recent addition to the world's jargon, although the concept has certainly been around for a while. The Montgomery County, Md., Sentinel carried a long article in January on Lon Dring, director of the Montgomery County Community Ministry. Sponsored by 40 churches in the area, Lon's job is simply to be everywhere at once and all things to all people. "He sees the man with no shoes walking on a snowy street, the evicted mother and her children, the young couple who cannot afford a place to live. . . . Misery is his daily diet." The concerns of Lon's ministry Housing, race, and the "interlocking uo of hunger and poverty. The approach? Direct service (meeting immediate and real needs) and influencing policy-making (per suading others to help on a broader scale). Lon talks about the gap between the haves and the have-nots: There is such a separation in our society between the leadership and the people 0 are disarmed, disarmed not only in the sense that they have no weapons. They say that when children are very young they draw pictures without arms as an expression of their helplessness. I mean disarmed in that sense." Food for thought.

The current focus on El Salvador brought the name of Ted Briggs into print in the New York Times. A recent article discussing the State Department team notes: "There are two deputy assistant secretaries of state who are deeply involved in El Salvador matters, Stephen W. Bosworth and Everett E. Briggs. Both speak Spanish fluently, have experience in Latin America, and are well respected even by critics of administration policy. . . . Air. Briggs is regarded as particularly well-informed." Dartmouth alumni always get the tough ones. Steve Bosworth is class of '61. Green hands, but experienced.

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