Jackson Heights Life

I thought it might be useful -- for so many of us -- to have a place in which we might record some of the hurts which came along with being 'educated' inside the NY Public School System of long, long ago; A sort of catharsis where we could relate -- perhaps for the first time in our lives -- what it was like to be 'taught' by some who should not have been teaching at all, but who wound up as 'teachers' in Jackson Heights. Whether you attended PS69, PS148, or any of the other public schools, here is a place where you can rid yourself of some very bad memories while sharing them with your fellow sufferers.

Please change their names in order to protect the innocent or, perhaps, the not-so-innocent.

OMG  so many bad memories of the beloved school system that existed in the 50's and 60's. 1st of all I am sure I had ADHD but rather than be helped and counciled I of course was punished. I was put in the "bad row" in 4th grade. Sent to do time with the kindergarten kids, not allowed to go on school trips, told to sit in a coat closet. I was told by a teacher "Not to try anything" so I didn't   I was virtually the "King of Detention"  In junior high I was a small puny kid so I was bullied alot. How I escaped from the NYC school system alive is beyond me.
Irony of irony most of my professional life was spent as a tech support person for a high school district in New Jersey (28 years )

My goodness, that Mrs. Katz sounds like a monster.  It amazes me what teachers used to get away with.  That woman should not have been allowed near children.  I'm glad you got out of her class.

I was lucky to attend a very good public school out on the east end of Long Island, but I did have an awful male 5th grade teacher that would hang boys by their ankles out of a 3rd floor window for punishment.  Oh, and a 3rd grade teacher tried to kiss me when I was in 7th grade (this was a small school so we were all in one building). I reported him and no one did anything.  I still can't believe how dumb I was - even though I reported him, I never told my parents because my dad was the police captain and I didn't want it to become a big thing.  That teacher later started a "relationship" with another young girl in my class and multiple people complained to the school administration and still nothing happened.  It was such an eye-opener for me that doing the right thing doesn't always help.

Wow, I had my share of horror stories as a kid in Jackson Heights schools too ...

I was on a free ride to Garden School for 1st thru 3rd grades, as I was almost two years younger than my classmates, but supposedly really bright.  My third grade teacher, Eluto I think her name was, would punish me for talking in class by taking away my multiplication stars (earned for each row of the table you memorized).  She was eventually sanctioned when teh Hofstra Gifted program, who funded my tuition, came in to get involved.  (Keep in mind, I was 6 at the start of 3rd grade.)  My 2nd grader teacher, I forget hername, but I recall finishing the ENTIRE SET of workbooks the first weekend we got them, and bringing them in to show her my 'surprise.'  Her response was 'that's not a good surprise."

Fourth grade and fifth I went to PS 69.  I was a bit of a behavior problem there too, mostly from a combination of boredom and undiagnosed hyperactivity, but my fourth grade teacher Ms Lutin really got me, and I spent Fridays in the office 'working' for Mr, Stienberg, the principal.  She was so cool!

However, my 5th grade teacher was a neurotic mess.  He would wing chalk at us, yell at kids (I recall a threat to my friend that there would be "one less black student in this class.), and generally had no patience.  He gave us all books for Christmas, biographies he said.  Mine was Captians Couragoes, not a biography.  Why is that a big deal?  Our homework over the break was to write a report on the biography he bought us.  I did my report, I bought it in.  He accused me of losing the book he bought for me.  Andf gave me an F.  I walked right out the room to the principal (who was on last days before becoming principal of my soon to be junior high IS 145), and told him.  The teacher followed me to say what he bought me, yadda yadda, and that I shouldn't walk out of class, etc.

I brought the book, complete with his "Merry Christmas Robert" insciption in the cover, into school the next day.  One of the coolest things I did as a kid, I opened it up in front of the teacher, and said do I ask for pass to go downstairs, or do I get my recess periods back (they were taken away for 'losing the book').  Let's just say punchball that day was great.

(At 145, being 9 going on 10 and a 6th grader, I was lucky that the assistant princiapl Ms Mayo connectedw ith me, andguided me through the world of junior high.  The only bad teacher I there was Franzoni, who somehow nearly failed me in math despite me being one of the stars of the math team.)

Sounds like an elementary school horror story, huh?  Happy ending ... graduated Bronx Sceince at 16, college at 20, and a 4.0 in my Masters in Special Ed soon after.  I've been teaching special education for the city for almost 20 years, my class is videoed for exemplary teaching practices almost every year (a national DVD that wasreleased by the DOE just last year features me teaching both within and as the credits) ...

I'll hopefully have a better 'old days story though' ... see my son, also on the spectrum, has his own horror stories to tell about neighbor schools.  A combination of great teachers, bad teachers, great support staff, horrible principal, superior assistant principal, threats from parents, and apology calls to my home from the superintendant ... I actually had a hand in creating a program for him by fighting the DOE to make it happen ... that is a tale that makes my own trials seem like nothing ... but as this is about memories, I'll let him post in 20 years ...

At IS 145, the worst memory was the day they informed us that a fellow student was stabbed to death when some thugs tried to steal his walkman. I don't know the student but it was quite tragic.

Yes, Jackson Heights and its school scene has changed a lot over the years. The crimes are much worse than before.

Am posting this account which relates to Rob's story of my father in laws NYC education. He was also considered bright
and not being challenged in class and was skipped in a number of grades including 9th and 11th. He was in the first
graduating class of Newtown High which had him finished with school at 15. He went to a conservatory for music about
20 hours from home and was so ill equipped to handle life in college he came back to Lubet Street and went in the
military after a year. He was married by 19 and had a house full of kids by age 25. He was a life long learner but
sadly, the times were not able to mesh with his academic abilities and emotional age. As Rob notes, it seems a lot
better now and hopefully will improve with every generation. Does anyone know of a talented/gifted program here
in Jackson Heights? Or do these kids have to travel far away?

He was in the first
graduating class of Newtown High which had him finished with school at 15.

What year was that?

He's gone a couple years so I can't ask.  But if I do the math that I know about it seems like he
would have been 15 in about 1943. This doesn't compute with the Newtown HS as I now checked
but wonder if there was some new aspect/building/program that he was referring to. First name
was Eugene and he was a jazz musician.