Gerald Dackerman:
CLASS OF 1952
Roy Wilkins Public School 136Class of 1952
St. albans, NY
Sewanhaka High SchoolClass of 1993
Floral park, NY
Alva T. Stanforth Junior High SchoolClass of 1986
Elmont, NY
St. Johns PreparatoryClass of 1956
Astoria, NY
Andrew Jackson High SchoolClass of 1956
Cambria heights, NY
Gerald's Story
Life
(2009 - This year I will be retired 16 years from Sewanhaka School District and I'm looking for my old students who remember me to drop a note and tell me what they're doing and have done. I will not check your message for spelling or grammar I promise. Please read on.)
I'm going backwards. I retired from Sewanhaka High School in June 1993 after teaching English for 30 years. I spent the majority of those years in Alva T. Stanforth Jr. HS, now demolished, teaching 7th and 8th grade English. The only thing I miss about teaching is the interaction with the kids and some of the other teachers like Ms. Philbin, Mr. Greenberg, Ms. Sohl.
Every once in a while, I run into a former student whom I barely recognise because they've grown up. Seeing them again makes my day. A few years ago I was coming home on the LIRR. I was lost in a book when I heard the conductor say, "Mr. Dackerman, can I please have your ticket?" He was a former SHS student working for the railroad. If any of you are out there, let me know. I would love to hear from you. Just this month (12/08) I tried a new dentist. He had had me for English in 8th grade in ATS in 1966. Between drillings, he teld me things he remembered about my class. Good thing for me that he thought I was a good teacher.
College
I first went to St. John's at night as a business major stuying to be an accountant. During the day I work...Expand for more
ed in the city at Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. After two years I was bored to death so I quit both and went to Albany State to become an English teacher. Because I was older I lived in an apartment off campus. Life was much cheaper then. The rent was $12 a week and I could eat out in an Italian restaurant for $1.25.
The summer before my senior year I married Rose who I had met at the Met 4 years before. Before I graduated Rose was pregnant with Susan. Less then two years later John was born. (He died in 2007 at age 41.)
It took 10 years for me to get my Master's Degree from Hofstra because I kept changing majors and we had two kids, and I was teaching at ATS that whole time.
Most of the years that I taught I had extra jobs because teaching didn't pay that well. When I started in 1963 I earned $100 a week. During the summer, I worked as an elevator operator in the city and made $98 a week as a union memeber. My other extra jobs included working in department stores and banks. I always taught summer school as well.
When I retired in '93 I went to work for Borders Bookstores in Westbury. My next job lasted 7 years. I was the office manager for sales rep who sold to book stores and museum gift shops. Both Rose and I retired in Jan '03, But I started to volunteer at the American Museum of Natural History where you can find me every Wednesday afternoon with the other fossils.
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