Joan Bratkowsky:  

I went to kindergarten at Public School 158 Brooklyn for the latter part of the 1947-1948 school year. My teacher was Miss Mercurio. Then my family moved, and I went to elementary school grades 1-6 at Public School 182 Brooklyn from Sept. 1948 to June 1954. My teachers were Mrs. Sprung, Mrs. Sachs (who left after a short time) and Mrs Costanza (who replaced her), Miss Klintenberg, Mrs. Hoffner (2 years), and Miss Paret. I was a member of the Sewing Club, took eurythmics lessons, and played the parts of a fairy and a friend or relative of Abraham Lincoln's in class plays. I also wrote some poetry which was published in the School Bank News. I was a very quiet, shy, timid child; for example, in the Sewing Club, I once used up my thread and didn't have the nerve to ask for more, so I stopped sewing, and, since I wasn't sewing, the teacher made me sit in the corner. I graduated from the sixth grade in June 1954. I went to grades 7-9 S.P. at Junior High School 149 Brooklyn, also known as East New York Junior High School, from Sept. 1954 to June 1956. My class was S.P.2. My worst subjects were gym and typing. In the seventh/eighth grade, I belonged to the Hebrew Culture Club, and in the ninth grade, I was on the staff of the school newspaper. I also continued to write poetry for the School Bank News. I was elected girl class comic. I graduated from junior high school in June 1956. I spent my sophomore year of high school, from Sept. 1956 to June 1957, at Thomas Jefferson High School. Then my family moved to a different neighborhood, so I spent my junior and senior years of high school, from Sept. 1957 to June 1959, at Bayside High School. I took an academic course in high school; my high school courses included French, Hebrew, radio workshop, trigonometry, advanced algebra, biology, chemistry, and problems of American democracy. I did not take any typing courses, and I handwrote all my written assignments. My worst subject was gym; I was so bad at it that when it was my turn at bat in softball, my teammates cheered "Don't swing! Don't swing!" At Bayside High School, I belonged to the Junior Red Cross Club. When I was at Bayside, I kept in touch with my friends at Jefferson by writing letters. (Too bad there was no e-mail or Facebook in those days.) When I was sixteen, my sister, who had gotten married and moved back to our old neighborhood, made a party for me at her apartment, and many of my friends from Jefferson were there. Thanks for coming; it was great to see you again. I graduated from high school in June 1959. I was a Red Cross volunteer during the summers of 1958 and 1959. In the summer of 1958, I assisted at the Red Cross office. In the summer of 1959, I assisted with the kindergarten at a vacation playground and wore a uniform with a red cross on the sleeve. I went to Hunter College, where I majored in political science and minored in Russian, from Sept. 1959 to June 1963. My courses also included French, Hebrew, Spanish, American history, description and narration, astronomy, botany, physics, calculus, sociology, mythology, and child development, and an adult education course in guitar. I did not take any typing courses, and I handwrote all my papers. I belonged to the Political Science Club, the Student Zionist Organization, and the Student Union for Civil Liberties, ran for class office, and was an orientation assistant. In my freshman year, I participated in the Political Science Department's trip to Washington, D. C., and in my sophomore year, I participated in my class' winter vacation trip to upstate New York. I made Dean's List, Phi Beta Kappa, and Pi Sigma Alpha (the political science honor society), won the Hebrew Culture Council prize for Excellence in Intermedia...Expand for more