Reflection #26 (Only 1050 to go!): ...And Then There Were Women

     First of all, a shout out to the alumni from the classes of '66, '71, '76 and '81 who came to the reunion on Saturday (Oct. 15). I hope that you all had a good time. I know from my own experience, and episodes of "Everybody loves Raymond" and "Frazer", reunions can be scary events. Regarding these reunions: first, when the class of '66 graduated, they were only 2/3 my age; now they are 7/8 my age. They're catching up. Zeno's Paradox tells us that they will never catch up. (once a math teacher,...) 
     Secondly, the class of '81 was the only class at this reunion that had "GIRLS" that were alums. That actually prompted my next "Reminiscence".
     In 1978, Father Joe Bowen was dealing with the question of whether Ignatius should go "co-ed". In retrospect, it wasn't the adventure (or in some minds, the "misadventure") that we thought that it might be at that time. Since then, Loyola Academy, Marist, Fenwick, Mother Guerin and De La Salle have all gone co-ed, or, in some cases, a variation thereof. The only school that I'm aware of that went coed before Ignatius was Nazareth Academy in Lagrange Park.
     While Fr. Bowen appointed an advisory committee to debate the issue, he was the one that made the final decision. My concern was that we might announce that we were accepting girls, only to have no girls show up. As it turned out that was not the case. In fact, what surprised me was that several alumni, who expressed their opposition to the move, sent their daughters to SICP when the decision was finalized.
     I wasn't sure what adjustments I might have to make with girls present. While I had attended a coed Chicago Public High School, Senn, my high school teaching experience was 19 years in an all-boys school.  It turned out not to be difficult at all. I think that one advantage was that I had three daughters, two of whom were close to entering high school.
     Within the faculty, there was a large increase in women teachers...5 in 1978, 14 in 1979. This change occurred in the midst of the "women's rights" movement, and I found myself in uncomfortable conversations with some female teachers. Things like why the Ladies' washrooms should say, "Women", because "Ladys was "condescending" and "pejorative", or that boys were more aggressive than girls because our culture demanded that boys be given toy guns and girls be given dolls. I won’t even mention the “dust up” over the fact that the Lords’ Prayer starts, “Our Father...”.
     Honestly, I felt good about the change, and now it's not even an issue. I did have to slightly adjust my methods of discipline. Boys will react differently to certain disciplinary methods when in the presence of female peers than when in the presence of only boys. I don’t know what disciplinary approach was in an all-girls schools, but I learned to adjust when girls/women/ladies arrived. (For the record, by 1979 “hitting” or any form of physical contact, boys or girls, was no longer acceptable, and I know, as a father, I would not have wanted my girls touched as a form of punishment...especially by a man.)
     There were other changes as a result of going coed. Washrooms had to be added and modified, and the gym locker room had to be divided.
     One all-girls school, which closed soon after 1979, blamed their closure on Ignatius going coed, but that doesn’t explain why girls schools like Regina and Trinity have flourished after their so-called brother schools accepted girls. Did going coed save Ignatius?  My assessment is, “No!”  I think Ignatius was well on its way to recovery following the difficulties of the mid-70's, but there's no denying that it speeded the recovery.
     More on this subject later.

Reflection #25 (Only 1051 to go!): Odds and Ends

     First, I'd like to thank those of you who extended their congratulations regarding my 50th anniversary. I received several on Facebook, which I read through the courtesy of my daughter, JoAnn. I'm not a member (or whatever people on Facebook are called), but I thank you. Besides alumni, that group included one of my wife's cousins...one of the O'Malley girls, don'cha know. (That sounds better if you read it with a brogue from County Mayo.)
     Additionally, I received congrats from Chris McNamara and Tony D'Sousa. I mention them separately because they were both from the class of '92, and they were the inspiration for my blog regarding Mr. K*. Again, thank you. (*Mr. K = Ray Kizelevicus. One of these days, Ray is going to write one of these blogs. He says it'll be about "THE WALK for IGNATIUS".)

     Secondly (or B), earlier this week, my wife and I spent a most enjoyable day visiting with a couple of great and dear old friends...Bob Gabric and his wife, Pat. Most alumni who can find my blog are likely to be too young to have known Bob; he left Ignatius and coaching in 1979. But he was the varsity basketball coach at St. Ignatius from 1968 to 1979. I was his assistant and the sophomore coach for the first nine years of that stint.
     I think that it's safe to say Bob was a mentor and inspiration to Ron Cygan, Jim Luzzi and me. I have mentioned my admiration for him in previous blogs. Judging from the number of his former players who stay in contact with him, or ask about him, I dare say that Ronny, Jim and I are not alone in our admiration.
     Anyway Bob and Pat have been retired for quite a few years and enjoying the good life in Arizona. They are both in great shape and very active in their community and parish. Bob is still active in athletic activities, mostly golf. I should probably also add that Bob gave me permission to pass along his email address to whoever is interested. I will only do that on a one-by-one basis. If anyone wants to contact him via email, you can contact me at james.spalding@ignatius.org, and I'll send it to you by "reply".
     What we both found interesting was that, though we've only seen each other a half-dozen times since he and Pat left the Chicago area, we picked up our conversation/friendship as if we where chatting following basketball practice in the '70's. I think that is the sign of true friendship. I also was fascinated by how similar our views of life are after all that time apart. Surely, we must both be right!!!
     Also, for those of you that might be interested, Bob highly recommended the book Me and Red, or it might be Red and Me, written by Bill Russell. Bob said it was well worth the read.