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Teachers had it hard in old days

The Daily Gazette is reprinting excerpts of the late Larry Hart’s long-running column, “Tales of Old Dorp.” Students and teachers re-open their books this week. And if kids are complaining about homework and hard math problems, they should consider how tough life used to be for their teachers. This column excerpt originally was published May 15, 1979.

    Al Saulwater, a bowling pal of ours, came up with an interesting treatise on “School Days Gone By,” printed on a place mat in an out-of-state restaurant. It may bring back some memories for our readers.
    “Teachers were poorly paid and traditionally ‘boarded around.’ Each family had the teacher as a house guest for
    a while to help pay for their child’s schooling. Female teachers were also expected to obey rules like this:
    You will not marry during the term of your contract.
    You are not to keep company with men.
    You must be home between the hours of 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. You may not loiter downtown in ice cream stores. You may not travel beyond the city limits, unless you have permission of the chairman of the school board. You may not ride in a carriage or automobile with any man, unless he is your father or brother. You may not smoke cigarettes. You may not dress in bright colors. You may under no circumstances dye your hair. You must wear at least two petticoats. Your dresses must not be any shorter than two inches above the ankle. To keep the school room neat and clean you must: sweep the floor at least once daily; scrub the floor at least once a week with hot soapy water; clean the blackboards at least once a day; and start the fire at 7 a.m. so the room will be warm by 8 a.m.

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Kids need their shots, officials say
Measles and whooping cough are still a threat to unvaccinated children

BY KATHY BOWEN Gazette Reporter



    Health officials are reminding parents to keep up with children’s immunizations, warning that measles and whooping cough are causing new threats.
    State Health Commissioner Richard Daines issued a reminder that, with school set to resume next week, children will need up-to-date immunizations to attend classes.
    He said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that, since January, there have been more measles cases reported in the United States than in the same period for any year since 1996.
    Pertussis, or whooping cough, is another highly contagious disease, that occurs often but could be prevented.
    Terry Stortz, director of preventive health services for Saratoga County, said her office was notified of several cases of whooping cough this summer.
    She said the illness might appear to be a sinus infection or bad cold at first but the symptoms continue for weeks.
    “We’ve had sporadic problems with pertussis,” she said. “Adults should know they can get it, and when they receive tetanus boosters, they should also be vaccinated against pertussis to avoid spreading it to children.”
    Cindy Christman, a registered nurse with the Montgomery County Public Health Department, said often measles and other diseases that are no longer common in the United States are carried by people from other countries.
    “We had an outbreak of pertussis here in Montgomery County a few years ago and we feel it was because antibodies wane as a child grows,” she said. “We encourage booster shots before sixth grade.”
    State law requires that all children enrolled in schools, day care and prekindergarten programs be immunized against measles. The state immunization schedule recommends measles vaccination be administered as part of a measles, mumps, rubella combination at ages 12 to 15 months and again at ages 4 to 6 years.
    Christman said if parents keep up a routine of recommended immunizations, the child will have had 80 percent of his or her shots by their second birthday.
    “Some kids are not getting regular vaccinations. We run health clinics here at the county for patients that don’t have health insurance, but some children are still slipping through the cracks,” Christman said.
    While state law regulates which immunizations children are to have for school attendance, Christman said some parents of home-schooled children choose not to have vaccinations kept up to regulations.
    “Home-schooled children are not required to have the immunizations,” she said. “But if the parents decide to have their children attend school in later years, the children have to be caught up on the shots.”
    Stuart Williams, spokesman for the Ballston Spa Central School District, said there are rare occasions when children come to the first day of school without immunizations.
    He said a notice is sent home giving parents a reminder and several weeks to comply with the state requirement or explain why they have not.
Christman said when the chick enpox vaccine was added to the list of immunizations for young children, some parents declined the shot because they said their child had already had the disease.
“If a parent tells the school district that their child had the chickenpox, they must show proof, from a doctor, that it is true,” she said.

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Soccer referee allegedly sought sex act with boy
    ALBANY — A 53-year-old Clifton Park soccer referee was arrested and charged with attempting to induce a 14-year-old soccer referee into a sex act, authorities said.
    Thomas Gorsin was arrested Tuesday at a Colonie McDonald’s, where he allegedly expected to meet the boy. Instead, authorities were there to meet him, according to papers filed in federal court.
    Gorsin allegedly contacted the boy by e-mail in early July, saying he was a fellow referee. The e-mail went to an account controlled by the boy’s parents. Concerned about its content, they contacted police.
    Authorities then stepped in. Gorsin allegedly e-mailed repeatedly, often with sexual comments.
    Gorsin also allegedly said he met the boy at the North Colonie Empire Cup tournament in June. The tournament was prior to the beginning of the e-mails.
    Authorities said Gorsin was arrested just before 1 p.m. at the McDonald’s.

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SCHENECTADY
Loss of aid forces cut in adult education
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    A reduction in financial aid is forcing the Washington Irving Adult Education Center to lay off two teachers and drop its computer program.
    Sheila Tebbano, the school district’s director of adult and continuing education, said the center will no longer offer a computer training class and a Microsoft Office certification course unless it obtains other money. It is also not offering GED programs at the Family Investment Center at Steinmetz Homes and Yates Village, but will continue to offer these courses at the Washington Irving Center.
    The program receives funding from the state through an Employment Preparation Education (EPE) grant that supports programs for students at least age 21. Schools receive a per-hour payment based on the number of students.
    “The governor made a huge cut in EPE funding this year,” Tebbano said.
    Last year, the district was approved for more than $1 million in adult education aid. However, this year, it will receive no more than $572,000, depending on enrollment.
    She said fewer than six people were attending these programs at Steinmetz and Yates, so they were cut. The GED classes average about 10 to 15 students. The maximum size is 20, per the teacher contract. The district seeks to keep its enrollment at a certain level.
    “We need to have at least 10 students in a class all the time in order for it to be cost effective and for us to be able to continue,” she said.
    Another problem is the district did not receive a federal Workforce Investment Act grant. Tebbano said the computer teacher was mostly funded out of that money.
    “You can’t cut $240,000 from a program without touching salary and people. There wasn’t that much supply money or conference money or anything like that. We’ve had to scale back our offerings,” she said.
    Another person reduced her hours to part-time to leave the center with eight full-time and five part-time positions.
    The district is also continuing its English as a foreign language classes at the Schenectady Job Training Agency and the night classes at the Schenectady County Public Library. Also, the GED program at the Schenectady County jail will stay in place.
    Tebbano said they will try to maintain business as usual at the center, which serves about 700 students annually, not including the program at the jail, which accounts for another 200.
    “I don’t want folks to think were shutting down because there are other programs that are out there. These are free to everyone,” she said.
    Tebbano said she did not anticipate the center would have to put people interested in participating in the GED program on a waiting list. The center has always had open enrollment. It will continue to monitor how many students are using the program to determine whether the district will receive enough aid.
    She said she was told that the reason why the center did not receive the workforce grant was because Washington Irving is a program “in need of improvement,” under federal guidelines. If at least 50 percent of the students in each of the categories do not make progress, it affects the program’s report card.
    The center is working with the state Education Department to improve its program. It is going to give new GED students a multi-hour orientation program, including mandatory testing. It will also review their learning styles and give them a heads up on exercises they will be doing in class, as well as work to practice at home.
    Superintendent Eric Ely said it was unfortunate that cuts had to be made. He hoped that the district could supplement it with other grants. “We’ve done the best we can in terms of shifting money,” he said.

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Marching bands get in step at camp
At Mohonasen, students savor long hours of play

By DAVID FILKINS, Staff writer
First published: Monday, August 25, 2008


Color Guard memeber Cherry Chahal carries her flag in a recent Mohonasen High School marching band practice. (Michael P. Farrell / Times Union)

ROTTERDAM -- More than 100 students at Mohonasen High went back to school last week -- two weeks early. The days were long, beginning 9 a.m. and ending at 8:30 p.m. And most of the lessons were held outside, in the hot August sunshine.
They were delighted.

     
The students -- all 105 of them -- ended summer vacation early for -- band camp.

At many high schools throughout the Capital Region, getting an early start for band camp has become the norm. That means mornings, nights and sometimes weekends.

At Mohonasen, for example, band members begin at 9 a.m. and practice until noon. They return to the field at 1:15 p.m. and stop again at 4:30. After dinner, they head back to practice from 6 to 8:30.

"It's not like it used to be," Mohonasen musical director Keith Bushey said. "When I was in high school, everyone would have been amazed if the band could get into the shape of an 'M' on the football field. The stuff these kids are doing now, I tell you, it's amazing."

They do it to become reacquainted with friends. For the love of the music. And because almost nothing compares to the feeling that comes from putting together the perfect show.

"I look forward to band camp all summer," senior snare drummer Kristina Collins said. "If you went through the whole thing, made it to the first show and told me it wasn't rewarding, I wouldn't believe you."

These days, the band has more on its plate than keeping the crowd enthused at halftime of a football game. The Mohonasen band will perform at one or two games this year, but the hours and hours of practice are aimed mostly at marching band competitions.

All the hard work has paid off. The Mohonasen band consistently places among the best in the state in competitions.

This year, the Mohonasen band will put on a seven-minute show called "ABSTRACT IMPULSE" featuring uniforms, colored flags and 45 different formations, or, sets.

Preparing for the show means memorizing the footwork first, then adding the music. It can be tedious work, considering playing an instrument while standing or seated is hard enough.

Senior trumpeter Michael Cheikowski said putting it all together comes down to remembering a few basic concepts:

"Roll your feet ... so your instrument doesn't bounce."

"Always watch the drum major."

"Move your feet to the music."

Forgetting one of the three, Cheikowski said, would be a "disaster."

Bushey, the musical director, said all the practice during the summer helps band members in two ways. First, it gets them more prepared for competitions than they'd be if they waited until school started to begin practicing. Second, it gets them ready for regular classes.

"When the kids get back to school," Bushey said, "their days are much, much shorter." Filkins can be reached at 454-5456 or by e-mail at dfilkins@timesunion.com