They went to the head of the class
By ANNA-MARIA GOOSSENS, Staff Writer
NORTHAMPTON (NOV. 21) - Majority Leader William Nagle had Larry Roberts' social studies class riveted Thursday by the dark side of President John F. Kennedy - his school years, that is. Nagle passed around copies of a report card showing that Kennedy's grades as a young student were the equivalent of today's Cs and Ds. "So there's hope for all of us," said Nagle, encouraging students at JFK Middle School to apply themselves, as Kennedy eventually did. Nagle usually does not make his speeches from the front of a classroom, but Thursday was a special occasion - "Teacher for a Day."
In 23 classrooms throughout the Northampton public schools, business owners, city officials and state legislators - Nagle and state Sen. Stanley Rosenberg, D-Amherst, replaced the regular teachers in an exercise designed to raise awareness of teachers' difficult tasks.
"I think it was an eye-opening experience as to what education really is," said JFK Middle School teacher and Northampton Teachers Association president Gail Glazier. "Our day is full."
Judging from comments made at the reception that closed out the day, the experiment seemed successful.
Linda Desmond, who got up at 4:30 a.m. to prepare for the philosophy classes she taught at Northampton High School, said the day was grueling.
"You achieved, I think, what you wanted to achieve with me," she told Glazier."My hat's off to them," Fire Chief Ed Passa said after a day of teaching third and fourth graders at Bridge Street Elementary School. "Education is priceless."
"I think they're underpaid," said WHMP's senior account executive Dave Musante Jr., who taught at JFK.
Aim is awareness
Although this is the pilot year for the program, organized by the Northampton Teachers Association, it is not new statewide.
Andy Linebauch, director of Communications for the Massachusetts Teachers Association, said the day was first created during National Education Week about 20 years ago by the state organization to raise awareness of teachers' work.
Musante said the big realization for him was how much energy teachers need. You get through one class, he said, and it's a relief.
"Then, three minutes later, the next group of kids walks in," he said.
Each group of students is different, too, as Victoria White, owner of the Internet Connection in Northampton, found out.
A computer programming class went well. She interested students by showing how she used theory learned in such classes to create a website of bus schedules for Peter Pan Buslines.
On the other hand, one of the two math classes she taught during the day showed her that high school students don't have adults' ability to leave the outside world behind during class.
"In one class, it was clear that problems outside of the classes were more important to deal with (to the students)," she said.
Mayor Mary Ford enlivened a world history class by showing off a thumb piano and a metal-embossed box from Africa.
City Council President Patrick Goggins had rebelled when told he would be teaching math for a day.
"I've done some (teaching) before, but mostly business and civics classes. With math, I was scratching my head, especially when I learned (I'd be teaching) calculus," he admitted.
He struck a deal with business teacher Mark Baldwin to sit in on an entrepreneurship class, explaining the intricacies of the Northampton housing market to students.
Nagle, a former teacher, hinted that disciplining his fellow lawmakers was easier than controlling a roomful of middle school students.
"It's easier with a gavel. You can beat 'em into submission," he joked.
Originally printed in the Daily Hampshire Gazette on November 21, 1997.
Back to News
| 
