The good, the bad, the ugly and the sublime in my educational experience.

Narrative accounts of personal experiences as a student and as a teacher, from pre-school through graduate school and beyond, significant to your formation as a subject of education.

Grade School
     I remember being excited about starting school.  I was the oldest child in my family, so I had no subling experience to hand this onto, but I do remember being excited.  My birthday is August 14, and I remember my mother making a cake that had a school house depicted in the icing with a licorice bell on the roof.  But my initial experience in school in the Fall of 1969 had ups and downs.  My initial experience was interest in that old school building that looked like a palace:  tall, imposing, stone accents, fancy lights, long corridors.  I was at first rather intimidated.  The teacher was nice at first, but she was definitely close to retirement age and rather rough at times.  I remember her saying once, when someone had stepped on a piece of construction paper that was on the floor:  "I am going to check whose shoe print that is and then I am going to step on his neck!"  This made a bad impression on me, and filled me with fear.  I did not expect my teacher to say something like that.
     I remember being impressed by the displays in the classroom that changed as the year went by:  Halloween, Fall time, Christmas, President's Day, etc.  I actually tried to imitate some of these artistic things at home, and the teacher was nice enough to share some of the decorative patterns with my mother so I could do so (with Mom's help, of course).
     We moved to the suburbs in March of my kindergarten year and the change was dramatic.  The school building was not as palatial as in Cleveland, it was newer and brighter, and my teacher was much younger and of a different demeanor than my previous teacher in Cleveland.  I enjoyed the change and found myself fascinated with building blocks, artistic renditions of letters in the spelling books, and the wider, open spaces that the school property had.
     My best educational experiences in grade school involved teachers that challenged me to be creative.  They shared books and materials with me beyond those in the classroom curriculum, and I ate these things up.  We did not have much money for a lot of extra things at home, but the school was a storehouse of plenty materials to satisfy my curiosity.  I particularly remember the shared experiences with my first, third, fifth, sixth, and eighth grade teachers.  And I would have to say that these were my best years in grade school.  It was through these experiences that I developed a love for history and social studies.  This was also developed at home with a deep love for my ethnic heritage through my parents--especially my father--who instilled in me a great desire to learn about and be proud of my heritage.
     My educational experience was greatly heightened by summer reading assignments that necessitated use of the local public library.  What a world opened up for me!!  Apart from it being air-conditioned (our house was not), I just ate up every book I could get my hands on.  I would spend hours of days in that building just browsing through books and developing a love that is still very mush with me. 
     The worst experiences that I had in the classroom centered around problematic students and teacher reactions to them.  The most horrid experience I ever had in the classroom was in fourth grade, when one of my teachers called a classmate out in anger and proceeded to push him down the center aisle of the classroom and into the chalkboard at least 5 times, all the while heaping verbal abuse at him.  I was terrified.  My father was a strict disciplinarian at home, but I never experienced anything like this.
Some of the older sisters that I had (I am a product of Catholic Schools) also believed in "physical intimidation" from time to time and I got my share of having my hair, ears, and cheeks pulled.  I don't remember these events detracting from my ability to learn, but I believe they changed the motivation from education to fear.  I didn't want those problems happening to me.
     One of my best educational experiences in grade school was the 8th grade field trip to Washington DC.  I have always liked field trips and their value for education is great.  This trip began a life-long interest in our nation's capital that continues to this day.  It also promoted the value of traveling the country to see the sites of our historical interest:  Something I could see and touch and make part of my own experience.  This was coupled with our family vacations during the summers, where we visited and camped at many historical and natural sites up and down the eastern US.
     Another negative from my experience was bullying that did occur from time to time.  This was largely the result of being a boy who didn't appreciate sports very much.  I never saw myself as an athlete and I never saw myself as physically strong enough to compete in this area.  This, coupled with bullies that did play sports, soured my appreciation for school sports and I wanted little or nothing to so with them.  This negatively impacted by view in that I could see no value in gym classes or sports in education and I developed a prejudice against those that did.

High School
     As I entered high school, I felt a huge breath of fresh air.  Here was a challenging environment where you didn't have to line up for the bathroom and where people trusted you more.  I loved the atmosphere and the opportunities to participate in so many things.  I have to say that I loved listening to my teachers talk.  Lecture was the most common method used in the classroom and I had no problem with it.  I felt like a sponge and I soaked up everything I could.  It was in high school that I felt the calling to be a teacher myself, and I saw myself in the classroom in this role as comforting and satisfying.
     My most challenging teachers in high school were also my best.  Math was not easy for me, but my teachers were patient and never yelled or showed impatience.  I also enjoyed working in smaller groups with fellow students and friends that could help me out by explaining things.  This became more valuable by the time senior year arrived, as the difficulty of my honors math and science courses necessitated work with my teachers and fellow students to aid in comprehension and application.
     As a musician, I was constantly in the band room every free moment.  There were practice rooms here and I spent hours there preparing for concerts and recitals.  I enjoyed the satisfaction of doing something that I definitely had the facility for and hanging out with teachers and fellow students who shared the same competence and interests.
     It was in high school that I experienced the desire to research a number of topics and then present them as projects in the classroom--either alone or with a partner or two.  I immensely enjoyed this experience and recognized what a great way this was to learn and to solidify my knowledge about a subject.   
     I also remember a number of films and videos especially in history classes that contained live footage and my interest in seeing and studying these images.  I have always loved documentaries, and this was solidified in the home, due to my father's interest in these as well.

College:
     The freedom I experienced in high school was only heightened on the college campus.  I always commuted during my undergraduate experience, but still a greater freedom was felt.  My English and History profs taught me to become the best writer I could.  It was painful at times, but this skill was probably the most developed during my undergraduate years.  
     Another important development during college was the experience of diversity on a much deeper level.  I had been surrounded with suburban values until college, now there were many people from greatly different backgrounds socially, religiously, economically than ever I experienced before.  I was challenged to evaluate my beliefs and foundational perceptions in many ways.  Sometimes I feel I made a fool of myself, but this was part of the process of growing and learning on a deeper level.  College taught me how to debate, challenge, synthesize, evaluate, and discover on different plane.  These lessons continued to be experienced in my graduate courses, especially when I studied for four years in Minnesota--so far away from home.
     In graduate work, my educational experience seems to be more a wedding of theory to practice.  In theology for the priesthood and my monastic studies, as well as the MEd program now, the work of others in the field help to value the experiences of others and I can now evaluate this in light of my own experiences.  This I have found very helpful, especially in light of rapid technological change that has affected the educational environment.   These classes and the experience of my profs and classmates have definitely made me a better teacher, administrator, and overall person.
     Although negative feelings with regard to athletics continue to creep into my experience, I have had to realize the great value competitive sports can have for the development of the person.  I came to the realization of my own need for integration of the physical dimension in my life and I discovered a love for hiking, biking, and running.  While not competitive, in my teaching, I began to realize that some of my best students were also the most competitive on the athletic field.  I was challenged to change a personal prejudice and now realize alot more the discipline needed for these competitions.  I now have a great respect for people who can integrate all of these aspects into their lives and balance them appropriately.  The value of sport in developing the whole person in now a positive part of my consciousness.