Reflection #65 (Only 1011 to go): Varia

Recently I had a chance to visit with Dr. Kristine Mackey, the parent of three Ignatius alumnae.   During our conversation, Kris was reminiscing about a group of the Ignatius faculty members who she thought of as pillars of this excellent staff.   Coincidentally, that was about the same time that I had read Maureen Lonergan’s response to a question I had posed to her.  Maureen was named Educator-of-the-Year this year, so I asked her what she thought was her secret.  What set her apart from others.

I have been on a quest to determine what special qualities those who are considered “iconic” might possess.   Maureen gave me a wonderful response, one that could be a whole article by itself, so I’ve tried to take the most salient points to present here.  She said, “My goal every year is to get students excited about something in science.  I want students to talk about science at the dinner table.  I want them to show their little sister their design for an animal behavior lab or ask their friends if they have heard of the crazy parasite that can live under your skin.  I want students to ask questions, bring in extra articles or ideas, and engage fully in science as a process.  I am still learning how to be a better teacher, and it's a daily challenge to figure out how to best reach and motivate students.“ 

Every time I ask another outstanding teacher his or her secret, it seems that I get a different answer.  I’m convinced that there is no finite set of qualities that each top individual possesses.  For every quality that I think of as necessary, I can think of some members of that group who don’t have that quality, but a host of different ones.

Of course Dr. Mackey’s list iconic teachers, which spans from the mid-90’s, would be somewhat different from mine which goes back to the early 60’s, or Frank Raispis’ which goes back to the early ‘40’s.  Frank’s list would include Father Grant, after whom the Educator-of-the-Year is named, and Dr. Ralph Mailiard, after whom the athletic field is named, along with too many others to list here.  It should also be mentioned that being named Educator-of-the-Year doesn’t, in itself, doesn’t automatically make one an “icon”.  After all, the award wasn’t in existence until the early ‘70’s, when Raispis was the first awardee.   

Switching gears to “news-letter” mode, as the school year ended, there were several changes at 1076.  From my vantage point, most dramatically, Anne Baker, the secretary to the Principal for many years, retired.  As I understand it, Anne stayed on one year longer than she had intended to help the new principal, Ms. Latka, settle in to her position.

Additionally, Jim Prunty, who had been Athletic Director for 14 years left and has been replaced by Paul Ickes.  Best wishes to both Jim and Paul. 

Finally, Don Hoffman, who has been the school’s archivist for several years, is giving up the reins to Dr. Ray Heisler, a long-time member of the classics department.

Reflection #64 (Only 1012 to go): Closing the Book on Another Year

           As the 2013-14 school year came to an end, I trundled on down to 1076  for the end of the year Mass.  I’ve been retired for 10 years now, but the warm and joyful feelings of that event still wash over me.  If you haven’t visited St. Ignatius lately, the music during Mass by both orchestra and chorus is worth the trip.   

            One difference, since my years in the early ‘60’s, is the special awards given to students of each class in recognition of their achievements.  Each of the awards is named after a person of significance to the school.  The Freshman-of-the-Year award is named after Fr. Florian Zimecki, S.J., a long-time Latin teacher. The Sophomore-of-the-Year is named for Ronald Jemiola, a student who was tragically killed while crossing Roosevelt Road on the last day of finals in 1962.  The Junior-of-the-Year award is named for Carmen Pintozzi, an alumnus and beloved history teacher and coach.

This year:     the Zimecki Award was earned by Mary Lynn Dekold.

                   the Jemiola Award went to Michael Levesque

                   and the Pintozzi Award went to Michael Adegoke.

         Congratulations to these students and all of those students who were nominated by the faculty.  There were many awards given to seniors at graduation…too many to list here…recognizing their outstanding achievements in the various academic disciplines, but two are unique because they are determined by the vote of the seniors.  They are the Ignatian-of-the-Year and the Educator-of-the-Year.  The 2014 Ignatian-of-the-Year was Jana Michaela Bruska.

         The Raymond T. Grant, SJ. Educator-of-the-Year Award went to Maureen Lonergan, a 2004 graduate of Ignatius and a science teacher.  I don’t think that I have ever met Maureen, but I emailed her to ask what was her secret to success.

I was going to finish this “Reminiscence” by quoting Maureen and describing what I have learned in my search to find what makes some teachers stand above the rest, but that will have to wait until next time.  I will tell you that Maureen credits several others for having given her the template to follow, but, since I tried copying the style of others early in my career, I know that’s there is more to it than that.

Reflection #63 (Only 1013 to go):  A Pleasant Surprise

While it is probably true that my knowledge of Saint Ignatius’ history is above average, based on my 53 year involvement, still my total experience is like a single thread in the tapestry of the entire history of the school, both in length and breadth.   I’m always interested in broadening  my knowledge, so I was very happy to receive an email from an Ignatius alumnus from the class of 1960.

                  In “Reminiscence #35”, I had invited the readers to help me complete a list of some Ignatius graduates who had made a name for themselves in theater or journalism.  Eric James, ’60, responded to tell me about his career.  For those of you from, or around, the class of ’60, Eric’s name when he was at Ignatius was Harry F. James.  Here, in Eric’s own words, is his story*:

                  “In 1959 St Ignatius entered the Chicago Theater Festival of one act plays. I had the lead role, playing a drug addict in Hatful of Rain. The play earned me a scholarship to Loyola.  At Loyola, I was an English major, because Iggy taught me to go for a heavyweight and not lightweight education. I then was recruited with a scholarship to the Goodman Theater at the Art Institute. By that time I was self supporting as a professional actor, performing in Chicago theaters with countless heavy weight stars. I never got my college degree because the William Morris Agency signed me and I moved to New York, where I appeared in a number of Broadway productions, including Boys in the Band, in which I had the lead role

            By this time I was married to Delia Sheen, a niece of Archbishop Fulton Sheen. While I was appearing on the road in my play in LA, Delia informed me the movers were on their way. In LA I did shows like Colombo, Name of the Game, and some others, including a soap opera with Dana Andrews, called Bright Promise, which Dana and I relabeled as Dimwit Hope. We both were fired for having a poor attitude, then NBC cancelled the program.

When my two sons were born I vacated my 16 years in show business, and traded for a 35 year career in international real estate brokerage. For a decade I was a weekly columnist for California's Daily "Law" Journal. Everyone thought I was a lawyer. I was just a smart, good actor.”

Most recently Eric has been busy writing a series of books about the history of the James Family which included Jesse and Frank James.  The first volume of the series earned the prestigious Milton F. Perry Award last year.  This award, which is named after the founder of the Harry S. Truman Library, recognizes his ground breaking historical research and reporting.

Eric ended his email by saying, “Not a bad resume for a disadvantaged kid from the projects of Bridgeport, I say. I don't believe it would have been half as successful had I not received my classical education at Ignatius, and especially for the experimental history course I was selected for in my junior year, which, together with my forensics training, truly taught me critical thinking and communication. I am forever grateful.

            I monitor Ignatius via Facebook and am thrilled by everything I see. I am so envious.  I would like to re-enroll for the new experience. St. Ignatius College Prep is a world class treasure.” 

*There’s more to it, but that’ll suffice for now.

VISIT Stray Leaves - Official Web Site for the family of Frank & Jesse James

www.ericjames.org

READ Jesse James Soul Liberty, by Eric F. James - Authorized Biographical History of the Jesse James family

Winner of the Milton F. Perry Award 2013

http://jessejamessoulliberty.ericjames.org/

Reflection #62 (Only 1014 to go): A Man of an Uncertain Age   Earlier this month, I celebrated my 75th birthday.   It’s not that big a deal; it is what it is.  I no longer can jump as high, or run fast, but those weren’t really my strengths when I was young anyway. This milestone did prompt me to become somewhat reflective.   Despite the advancements of modern medicine, it’s a pretty good bet that this will be my last “quarter century” celebration.  (No, I haven’t heard any dire report from my health-care provider.) This “reminiscence” is just about the years when I turned 25 and 50. When I turned 25 (Hmmm! It sounds like a missing verse from a Sinatra song.), I was fairly new at teaching and being at Ignatius.  I remember trying to copy the styles of other young teachers, like Carm Pintozzi and almost any Jesuit scholastic who was there.  They seemed to be on the same “wave length”…the terminology of the day …  with the students and had developed a rapport with them that I envied.  As a side note, around that time, Stan Wisniewski, SJ. (not yet a priest) encouraged me to join the Jesuits.  In retrospect, it was good for me…and probably for the Jesuits…that I didn’t. Of course, Mal and “Moos” were still going strong, but they were “gods”, whose mystique was unattainable.  Neither Pat O’Mara nor Bob Gabric had arrived yet, and ultimately, they would become not only my mentors, but my friends. By the time that I turned 50, O’Mara had passed away, and Gabric had moved on to greener pastures.   Many things had changed in those 25 years, both at Ignatius and in the world.  At Ignatius, 6 principals had come and gone, including Frank Raispis, the first lay-principal.  In the church, Vatican II had taken hold.  World events included men traveling to the moon, and the Vietnam war was an unpleasant, but distant memory…except to those who were in it, or had a relative who was. Personally, I continued to perfect my skills both as a teacher and a tennis coach.  I have often said that I learned 90% about how to teach in my first year, but over the next 50+ years, I didn’t fully learn the last 10%.  I realize now that a part of the problem was that things change.   In 1961, there were no hand-held calculators.  When girls entered the scene, our approach had to be “tweeked”.    No more hitting, for example.  Now textbooks are being phased out, and replaced by laptops. Finally, I am now in a place where I think about the best, and safest, way to carry out the next task.  Trust me when I say, “safest”.  In the last 3 years, 4 close friends and contemporaries have fallen, and their lives have, to varying degrees, been altered.  Using my coaching experience, I have instructed my friends to walk “with their feet apart and their knees bent”.  Many already do that out of necessity, but it’s fun to watch whole groups of 70- and 80-year-olds walking that way.   Reply Forward Click here to Reply or Forward 0% full Using 0.01 GB of your 30 GB ©2014 Google - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy - Program Policies Powered by Last account activity: 3 minutes ago Details

Reflection #61 (Only 1015 to go): Jim Serpe

 

All teachers shed some light in a darkened room.  Most of us are like a birthday-cake candle.  With some teachers, it is as if the shades of the room are raised and the sunlight streams in.  It is about this latter group that I have often mused.  In previous reflections, I have described these teachers as having charisma…that indefinable quality that can only be seen by the impact that they have on their students.  Such was the case with Jim Serpe

On February 16, Jim passed away.  He was not only a great math teacher but a truly great man as well.  “Great” can be attributed to anyone who does great things.  A “truly great” man not only does great things, but he creates a template for others to copy.

I didn’t know Jim very well because he had spent most of his 65 years of teaching at Loyola Academy, but he did have a special connection to Saint Ignatius.  He was raised in the Little Italy neighborhood that borders Ignatius, he was an Ignatius graduate from the class of ’34, and he taught at St. Ignatius from 1942 to 1954, where he started as a Latin and Greek teacher, but fairly quickly moved to teaching math.

I first heard of Jim’s passing on one of my visits to see Joan Terracina, who was a contemporary of his.  (For those of you who were around Ignatius before 1990, she was the secretary to the treasurer from 1939 to 1989.)  She knew Jim before he met Anita to whom he was married for 70 years.  Joan told me what wonderful and kind a man he was.  Then I visited Frank Raispis, who was a student of Jim’s at Ignatius, and he echoed Joan’s feelings.

I’m not a big fan of characterizing a person’s career by their awards and acknowledgements, but, in Jim Serpe’s case, I’ll make an exception.  After all, how many high school math teachers are invited to appear on both Jay Leno and Ellen DeGeneres’ television shows...which he declined, by the way.  In 1980, he was awarded an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Georgetown University, and in the early ‘90’s, he received a lifetime teaching award from the Mathematics Teachers’ Association of Chicago.

The Rev. Jim Arimond, S.J., who was head master of Loyola for many years, said, “He was what everyone hopes for in a teacher.  Someone who has made such a wonderful impression on you that years later, you look back and remember in vivid detail how that person changed your life.”

Pat O’Mara often said that Jim was one of the best math teachers that he had ever had…high praise indeed coming from Pat.  Pat also ruefully said that Ignatius lost Jim because, as Jim’s family grew, he needed a higher paying position.   I don’t know if that’s true, but, since Jim and Anita raised 8 children, it makes sense that money could have been an issue.

In 1955, Jim went to Sacred Heart Seminary in Melrose Park, then joined the Loyola faculty in 1963 until he retired at the age of 92 in 2007.

 

One thing that I’ve noticed about the iconic teachers is that they were always “themselves”.  They didn’t try to copy others and they didn’t seem to concern themselves about what others thought of them.  They had a clear focus on what they were trying to accomplish.  Such seemed to be the case with Jim Serpe.  More than one remembrance of him referred to his garish ties and sports coats and how he would open the windows on the classroom in mid-winter to “to get his students’ brains going.”  For most other teachers, the outrageous clothing would have been met with derision. Opening windows would have caused parents to call the school with complaints, but not so with Jim Serpe.   According to Kevin Mistrik, a former colleague of Jim’s at Loyola, “the bottom line was that Jim loved his students and they loved him.  He was everybody’s favorite teacher.” 

Reflection #60: (Only 1016 to go): A Rare Opportunity revisited

 

            Last summer, I decided to take advantage of a rare opportunity.  Jim Luzzi is the first and, to date, the only head-coach for the varsity soccer team, so I posed a series of questions to him regarding his coaching experience, then posted a blog with all but his response to the question of what were his most memorable teams and seasons.. 

Since I knew that he was considering stepping down as head coach, it seemed reasonable to hold off on how he answered that question.   Good thing, too.  His 2013 team, which was his last year at the helm, achieved something that none of the previous 43 teams had.  They came in 2^nd in the state.  Needless to say, that moved this year’s team to among the top of that list.

In Jim’s original response to the question, he listed:

-the first  game of his first season (1970) in which we were ranked 4^th in the region after defeating Quigley South, but that only lasted for a week.

-In 1973, we had our first All-State player, Pat Velarde. 

-1981 brought our first of 7 state regional championships .

-1982-team posted 19 wins, … the most single season wins until 2012…

-in 1998, we won the Super-Sectional to advance to the “Elite-eight”

-2012 team’s record of 20 victories.

At the end of the 2013 season, I asked Jim to “up-date” his list, to wit he wrote, “How could I not include the 2013 team?  At the end of the 2012 season, I decided to coach one more year.   I thought that the 2013 team could win a regional, and possibly, a sectional title. To advance to the State Tournament Championship game was my coaching dream.”  At the end of his career as head-coach, Jim had posted a record of 484 wins, 410 losses and 94 ties.  As a former coach myself, I can attest to the fact that just coaching 988 games is a daunting accomplishment.

 

Jim was careful to point out that “memorable” should not be misinterpreted to mean “favorite”…maybe yes; maybe no…and teams who were not mentioned should NOT interpreted that as a lack of respect, admiration or appreciation on his part.  Of course, victories and championships are a sign of validation of a program, but there are other elements, such as cooperation, leadership and “coach-ability” that come into play when a coach recalls each season and team.

In his final remarks regarding his career, Jim said, ”In going through the Awards Night programs, I’ve been lucky to have outstanding young men on my teams.  I’ve maintained for a long time that I would continue to coach as long as the players made it enjoyable, and that has been true for 44 years.  I’m also lucky to have had assistants like John Chandler, Kevin Rigney, and in the past few years, Ryan Kearns and Rob Stassen.”

 

Coach Luzzi added that his leaving coaching now has nothing to do with it not being “enjoyable”.  It’s just time.   THANK YOU AND BLESS YOU, JIM!

Reflection #59 (Only 1017 to go): The Submarine Room

 

                        I open this reminiscence on a sad note.  I recently found out that Ron Sipowich has passed away.  Ron was a Latin teacher at Saint Ignatius from 1968 to 1974.  He was a good guy…funny, enthusiastic and inspiring.   Those who were around in those days will recall that, for Open House, he and a group of his students would build gigantic structures related to the Roman times.  One year, in the hallway on the second floor, they constructed a galleon made up of chicken wire and tissue paper.  Another year, he supervised the construction of a catapult that took up about half of a classroom.  

                        Please keep Ron and his family in your prayers.

 

            Since I’m retired, I don’t get to school very often these days, but when I do, I thoroughly enjoy visiting with …some might refer to it as “pestering”…the teachers who are around.  I suspect that it’s an occupational hazard of getting old that everything reminds me of something from my past.  I’m OK with that; there is some comfort in rooting through the attic of my memory, and recalling events and the changes that have occurred since I was a young teacher and coach.

            One such reminiscence occurred recently as I walked past the windows that look out over the small yard which lies between the school building and Holy Family Church.  Back in 1961, when I started, that yard was the parking lot for the lay teachers.  In ’61, there were only 15 laymen, and not all of them drove to school.  The rooms on the ground floor adjacent to that yard, now the art classrooms, were where lunches were served and the students ate.  Because of the paintings of ships that hung in that room, it was called the “Marine Room”.

In the early ‘60’s, Fr. Koch, the president of Ignatius at the time, had a Quonset hut      built in the afore-mentioned  yard so that the boys would have more room to eat.  Since its floor was slightly lower than the floor of the Marine Room, it was named the Sub-marine Room.  (If you remember the “Submarine Room”, you might want to make sure that your retirement paperwork is in order.)   That room continued to serve its purpose until the “new” gym was completed in the fall of ‘67, with the “Commons” which has served as the lunch room ever since, although now it’s called Tully Hall.

Once the Commons was built, the Quonset hut was converted to a theater, and finally a storage area for construction equipment.  Eventually it was torn down and made into a garden. Father Rowe expressed the wish that it would be used by the students to study and/or visit in a comfortable and serene setting.  To this day, this area remains a beautiful part of the campus, nestled within the confines of the school grounds.  It’s formal name is “The Daniel F. and Ada L Rice Garden.”

            As I muse about the changes that have occurred to the land around Ignatius since ’61,  I’m inclined to write about so many other changes that have occurred.  If you haven’t been back since the ‘80’s, it might be a worthwhile visit.