IMPORTANT DATES

IN MEMORIAM

     Her sister enrolled in Queens College and Harriet remembers admiring her for her choices and academic achievement. Her mother’s brother was good to their family and Harriet remembers him as being a kind and sweet uncle. Her husband Lenny was her inspiration. He used to tell her how she would make an excellent teacher.
  They moved to Brentwood in 1957. While living in Great Neck the family had raised Scotties. Relocating to Flushing they moved near a park that had a pond where she did a lot of ice skating. Once again she recalled the snowfall of 1946-47. She was her mother’s helper until she got a job. She worked in Andy’s Specialties and at Bloomingdale’s as a wrapper. She worked in the tube room. Cashiers sat at desks to make change and send it back up to counter girls through pneumatic tubes that were positioned overhead.  Her first real job was at 16. She next worked at B. Altman’s.
     While hers was not a religious family they did celebrate Rosh Hashanah every year. As a teen she loved to read, to play games and go to the theatre in Manhattan even if was only for standing room $3.00. She didn’t begin wearing slacks or long pants until the mid seventies when it was fashionably acceptable to do so. Ballet lessons in the city were affordable. It was something she enjoyed.
     Harriet was an early riser, a day person as opposed to being a night person, she loved the Spring but especially appreciated Fall colors. Her first school experience was in Brooklyn and she remembers her teachers as being nice people. She remembers 8A and 8B, her Brooklyn summer school which was a play school. She attended Flushing High School and Queens College where she got her BA and then earned her Master’s Degree from Hofstra. She matriculated to C.W. Post where she added Special Education to her list of certifications and accomplishments
   She lived through the years of the polio scare and remembers several teachers: Mr. Golda, the French Teacher she admired, and several Math teachers that were especially kind and helpful.
     She began teaching in 1970 when Tom Hastings interviewed her for a Kindergarten position in Pine Park. She was there for about 4 months before she moved to 1^st grade and then on to 2^nd grade. Herb Black became her Principal. After having spent so much time and gained so many years of experience in the Private School, she was surprised when she came to Brentwood and discovered the high caliber of teachers that taught there. She had a problem finding another school but ultimately ended up at Northeast when it was at full capacity. There was little in the way of supplies but she accumulated small amounts each year as supplies accumulated over the years.  Yes, she said, Graduate School could have provided more training to teachers to help them be prepared for the teaching of reading. No matter what approach they used 1/3 of the class would do well, a middle group would eventually catch on and one group always seemed to lack the phonics background necessary to read no matter what approach was used. “Too many of our kids”, Harriet said, “lacked exposure to books, writing and reading and didn’t spend sufficient time reading”. Computers may or may not help introduce kids to the magic of books.
     She was a Building Delegate and represented the BTA for one year during her tenure. She remembered the strike vote taken at Colony Hill those many years ago.  She retired in 1991 after 21 years of service to the district. There did come a time when she felt her energy level ebbing and in fairness to herself and her students decided it was time to leave. She had always given her best and chose not to do any less. Her last building assignment was Northeast Elementary.
     Since retirement she has been traveling mostly to see family but also to visit countries like Turkey, and France, Spain in Europe – where she always felt safe and learned lots of history. Travel opened up a whole new world to her where she didn’t know what to expect, she had a wonderful guide and lots of fun. Since then she’s studied Bridge, learned to use a computer and volunteered to teach literacy as a volunteer for Suffolk County. One of her students has been a 42 year old young man whose goal is to get a commercial driving license.
     She also served as ROBS Treasurer from 1991 – 1998 and enjoyed a special friendship with Dorothy Zuckerman and Ruth McCalla for as long as they both were active with the organization and afterward. She spoke highly of ROBS as a cohesive group filling a real need. In the community. “Retirement” she said, “is marvelous”.
     When she was much younger Harriet remembers reading Nancy Drew, and the Bobbsy Twins. She confesses to still loving comedies At the time of the interview she was still enjoying mysteries like those of Patricia Cornwall.
      She misses the children and their enthusiasm.   She misses the teachers with whom she worked. She doesn’t miss all the preparation, the worries and the responsibilities. The classroom was her domain and she always did the best she could while accepting limitations over which she had no control. At the beginning of the year or after a vacation students would arrive unstructured and it took time and patience to get them back into the routine of the classroom. When looking into the future Harriet said she only expects the stress on teachers to increase. Acknowledging that teaching is an art she said all the stress on kids and teachers exacts a terrible toll. All undue pressure on teachers and on kids over recertification and meeting academic standards effects the optimum performance of them both.