Cheer, cheer, for old Revere High

 

Camille asks: High School? You're kidding, right?

Who thought this topic was a good idea? Probably one of the LadyKillers was Prom King. Or Head Cheerleader. Not me. but there were some good things about my time at RHS in Revere Mass.

1. Miss Wiley. A math teacher who singled me out, with 7 or 8 boys, for a special after school class in solid geometry. No one even bothers with that anymore; freshmen are too busy learning calculus already. But at the time, a century ago, solid geometry was considered "advanced math." I often think of Miss Wiley, who must have had her own math education in the 1940s, without much feminine company. No wonder she decided to include a girl in the group. Lucky me.

2. Miss Mafera. Our Italian teacher who stayed with us for 4 years, guiding us through L'Inferno of La Commedia in our senior year. We were oblivious to the fact that not every 16-year-old in a public school in a poor neighborhood read Dante in the original. Later, in college, I had to read a translation. What?  Miss Mafera, who died a few years ago at 99, told us she took a class every summer in something she knew little or nothing about, so she'd know what her students would be going through in the fall.

 

3. Uncool Kids. Can you say CLIQUES? At the time, I thought I wasn't in one—the Cool Kids didn't talk to me, let alone invite to join them for lunch. Later, I realized I was simply in another clique—the Uncool Kids Clique. There were enough of us, so I can't say I was sorry being left out of the beer parties on the beach. (We went bowling. How Uncool can you get?)

I'm still amazed at the quality of education I got in a school populated at least 50% by first generation Americans. Science labs, extra classes after hours, a great Shakespeare teacher with a PhD (or else he was a retired physician, moonlighting, still using his title), and all the teacher attention you could stand, no matter which end of the academic spectrum you were on.

I wish the same for every kid.

Comments

[Jean]

We should all have been so lucky! My high school art teacher was the best. My math teacher's wig would slip every time she bent over to open a desk drawer!

[Camille Minichino]

Poor lady! I can imagine how much "sympathy" she got!

No surprise that your art teacher was good -- so much of our future interests depends on those first teachers.

[Susan Shea]

The photo reminded me of the East High School I started in (it was replaced by a modern education factory) when I lived in Rochester. East High was about 45% Italian, 45% African American and 10% Other, a potent mix with great football (Italian) and basketball (Black) teams but not much else. I was a cheerleader (Other) and in the honor society (Very Other). Thanks for bringing back memories....

[Camille Minichino]

It was a beautiful building, Susan. It was replaced by something streamlined years ago.

[Mysti]

Wow, we still got geometry in Nevada in the 1970s.

My mom had to argue with the school to get me into algebra in 7th grade. Still not sure what that was all about :)

[Camille Minichino]

Geometry is still a staple, Mysti, but no one spends a whole year on solid geometry any more, as far as I know; they might give it a week in the semester.

[Priscilla]

I belonged to the Uncools too, Camille.

[Ann]

Another Uncool over here! :-) I had a math teacher from Hell (speaking of Dante!), a physics teacher who was cool, funny, and trucked in a laser for us all to see (ooooooh, aaaaaaah! I still remember that bright red spot at the end of the long school hall), and some pretty good English Lit teachers. Oh! And a funny little public speaking teacher (can you believe I actually took public speaking in high school? Didn't cure me of my shyness one whit, but I had had high hopes.).
Enough of the good, the bad, and the ugly of those days.
Love the Revere HS building, Camille! I bet it had wood floors and wainscotting, yes?

[Camille Minichino]

It seems the Uncool group had some great talent -- Ann, Priscilla . . .

The old building had creaking wood floors in the classrooms, MARBLE hallways and stairs.