Ric Klass

Below are some of the comments sent to me (redacted to maintain their privacy). I hope you find them interesting. I do answer my emails.
Regards, Ric Klass

From Kristy-Ann Murphy’s blog:

http:/​/​web.mac.com/​trini5501/​iWeb/​My%20Rant/​Me,%20Myself%20and%20I/​Me,%20Myself%20and%20I.html

Wednesday, October 10, 2007 Ok as you may or may not know, I am in the throws of trying to get into an Alternative Certification Program, so that I can teach High/​Middle School Math. I am not quite sure as yet which grades I am most interested in teaching, but I am sure I will figure it out (I always do).

One thing that keeps playing through my mind is something author Ric Klass said in his book Man Overboard, Confessions of a Novice Math Teacher in the Bronx.

“The deal is this: I get my temporary license to teach in NYC because a college evidently has struck a Faustian bargain to educate novitiates in the arcane and black art of teaching. NYC, therefore, will allow (!) me to teach and earn a living doing so while I’m in the college program. I’m in a catch-22. I already have two master’s degrees and plenty of math credits to be eligible for a license... Except, and this is a bigee, I don’t have one year’s teaching experience in a secondary school. Entendido? I can’t teach school unless I’ve already taught school. This is true, believe me.”

Anyway, I don’t have two masters degrees (just one) and I could probably do with more math credits, but his situation is much like mine and I am sure tens of thousands of other ‘soon to be’ teachers.

So I have been brushing up on all of my high school math and it is amazing what one remembers when one has to!

Anyhoo I am off... I have some practice tests to complete!

Dear Ric,

We met at the National Press Club Book Fair and Authors' Night in Washington, D.C. My 26-year-old daughter has been accepted as a NYC Teaching Fellow to teach math — and my heart is in my mouth for her. Right now, she's thinking that she could get her Masters in Education through the program while making what for her would be good money. (She already has one Masters degree from the University of - and a B.A. from -.)

Do you think it would be suicidal for her to go into the teaching program? I'm wondering if I should give her your book or let her remain hopeful and eager. I would greatly appreciate your advice. Best, T.K

(my reply)

Dear T-,

Teaching is a labor of love at any school and far more so where your daughter will be teaching. Teaching math in particular tries one’s soul because it is the bête noire for most students anyway and, again, more so in the inner city. New teachers (I’m referring to high school now) will almost certainly teach freshmen who are challenging at any school but are particularly angry, recalcitrant, and defiant in areas such as the Bronx. As such the issues of classroom management are far more important than math skills. The teachers who remain in the system like or at least tolerate the social worker aspect of their job. Should your daughter undertake the program? I feel that it is more of calling than a career decision. I can’t say that others shouldn’t teach there or not be ministers or nuns. Society needs these people. She should know what’s in store, however. I feel my discomfort would have been lessened if I had known in advance the nature of the challenge.

Should she read my book? I used to teach entrepreneurship at Georgetown and I told my students that I would try to discourage them from becoming entrepreneurs. In my opinion, the ones that survived and ignored my warning were more likely to succeed.

All the best, Ric

Dear Mr. Klass:
I loved your book very much. When I first bought it, I started reading and couldn't put it down. You are a great writer as well as a math teacher… One of my hobbies is Bronx history and I'm a member of the Bronx County Historical Society. I'm one of those people who reminisce about the good old days which in fact really were. Medical costs were much lower, crime almost non existent, rents were reasonable, and education highly valued.

I went to Central Bronx High School from 1972-1975, graduated in '75. I remember that being a freshman, I went from periods 6-12 from 12:30 to 5. Later on, I went from periods 1-8, or from 7:45 to 1:00. One year, the principal instituted Wednesdays as free club day. We had a half day on Wednesdays and got to choose which club we could join. Every classroom was turned into a clubroom. I joined the chess club and the photography club. Guess what all the other students did? They joined the "Go Home After School Club" so the whole program was scrapped. It started in April, just as the weather got nice, so I believe it should have been done in November.
Also, in 1973, Nixon brought daylight savings time to the winter during the oil crisis. So my speech class began before sunrise!
Most of the students stayed to themselves. There were no fights, nor riots, no violence of any kind. There were no metal detectors what so ever. All the students were required to enter by the side doors, not the front, but later on after I graduated, they were allowed in any entrance.
I had done very well in math class, mostly in algebra and geometry. It was the first time ever that math didn't involve numbers when doing geometry. What I mean is, proving that an angle is obtuse, or acute or a right angle, and prove theories. At first, I thought it would be simple because we were going to learn to how prove a three sided object was a triangle. I said, "What's to prove? Look! I knew this in first grade!" But it wasn't so simple. I remember the math teacher's names, Mr. F. and Mr. G. They taught very well. I wasn't in the "smart" math class, but the slower ones. Anyway, I wound up with A minuses and close to it. It was when we got to logarithms and trigonometry those threw me off. (By the way, when I got to Lehman College, calculus was so difficult for me that I went to the social sciences instead. They had a great program called "Math in Everyday Life". We were taught how to shop smart, gamble the lottery etc.. via probability and statistics. I don't think they offer that course any longer).
So getting back to Central. It was a much better school than my middle school, which was #…. Most of the kids were brought in from tougher neighborhoods and I considered them thugs. None of them went to Central. I believe they finally built the high schools in Co-op City so they went there instead. But Central was truly one of the best years of my life. I'm so sorry it had to go downhill like this. When I'm on the bus going to City Island, I see the characters getting off at … Avenue. How could society allow such a decline? Who benefits from it?
Anyway, I'm sorry you had to go through such trouble from my alma mater. I live only a few blocks from there and can see it from my bedroom window. It looks exactly the same from when I remembered it. If only society can somehow get their act together once again. In the meantime, I enjoyed your book very much. I hope you can one day return to a different Central and teach there again to a new enthusiastic group of students. Keep up the good work. Thank you! G.

(the following email was forwarded to me by a reader)
Hi,
I meant to thank you and Paula for recommending this book. I finished it a while ago and forgot to let you know. This book deserves a thorough discussion. It was so painful to read! I respect his candor and political incorrectness, of course, the people who should read it have no interest in the reality of education today... where do we go from here?
I.T.

i am about 1/​3 to 1/​2 through it.... you are a terrific writer...very intelligent, funny and interesting...when i finish, i will email you further...
C.E.

Hi Ric:

I just returned from a gathering of 20 teachers (mostly math dept.) from - High School. at the home of (a friend). I gave her a copy of your book as a holiday gift, and it was a key topic of conversation around the dinner table. Surprisingly, though most of the attendees had heard about the book, few actually had any idea what the book was about. I promised to give copies to 2 of the teachers and gave the school librarian my speech about believing the book would be required reading for city H.S. teachers in the future.
Those of my personal friends and acquaintances who know something about teaching uniformly believe the book is humorous and hard-hitting. I have given out about 25 copies of the book so far.
Meanwhile, Happy New Year !! R.S.

Hi Ric! Recently finished your book and was most impressed with the quality of the writing, not to mention the fact that you attempted such a project at all. I found your experiences (sadly) illuminating re: the state of education in the US today. I've been recommending it and will gift it to several teachers for the holidays. Congrats on a job well-done!
J.G.

Hi Ric,
I received your book in the mail after work the other day and started reading it right away. I couldn't stop reading until my eyes wouldn't stay open any longer. The next morning I was sure I had been in the Bronx the day before. It all seemed so real to me.
You did a wonderful job of transporting this reader into your classroom and feeling for you and for the students. Having worked in the school system in San Diego since 1984, I have some understanding of what it must be like. I don't know our exact numbers but my guess would be that the student body make- up here would be about: Hispanic 60%, Black 15%, Asian and Pacific Islander 15%, and White 10%.
Most of my friends think school is just the way it was when we attended and are surprised when told the truth. I hope your book is widely read and that the people who can make a difference will help repair this broken system.
We do have some programs in S.D. to teach parents English, which I think is a good step to take. I also think we must teach every child that lives here, to read.
My grandson started kindergarten 3 weeks ago. My daughter waved good-bye to him as he got on the bus to go to school and said, "Have a good day." He called back, "I always do." Wouldn't it be nice if all the students could feel that way going off to school?
Congratulations on a well written book that has some socially redeeming value to it. Best of luck to you.
J.L.

Hi Ric,
I just finished reading your book, and it was indeed fascinating, also humorous and sad at the same time. I’ll pass it on to my daughter; I know she’ll enjoy it. I’d tell her to buy it, but she is still teaching in the New York City schools. She is in a different school this year, one of those “small schools” you talked about in your book. It’s called the ______ School and is actually in the same building as her old school. She’s working mostly with ESL students and finds them, on the whole, much more responsive than her former students. And she teaches in 90 minute segments so has 90 students rather than the 150 plus she had in the past. These students show up though.
H.D.

Hi,
I'm going to order your book now. I changed careers, went to the Bronx to teach, became a principal there and helped turnaround a school, adopted a former student who 15 years later is achieving his life's dream and consider the decade I spent in the Bronx as time well spent as it has forever altered my political and social consciousness, in what in my mind is a good way. Now, I'm living in Virginia, finishing a Ph.D. degree at --- in counseling, volunteering at an adolescent substance abuse treatment center and working (for pay for a change) as an intensive in-home family therapist. It's all part of what I hope will be my last career change. Anyway to get back to the Bronx, I'm the only person I know who goes to vacation there. Well, I look forward to reading your book and learning of your experience. I've long meant to write my own, but have never made it priority. All the best to you.
Be well,
K.H.

Ric, I already feel a connection. I too left the financial realm of corporate America. And I too am wondering what am I doing here, teaching math to 7th and 8th graders in Hartford, CT. What was believed to be my passion, after finishing my first year in Hartford, I can hardly find the passion or zeal with which I started in my new teaching career. I am anxiously looking forward to reading your book. Thank God for your vision. I hope in my reading, my spirit for wanting to teach will be renewed and I can return in September refreshed and charged!!
Regards,
L.J.

Your write up on the nonfiction narrative is riveting. I am looking foward to hearing about your escapades at Bronx high school. I am amazed that you slept at night awaiting the next round in the morning. You might think of cross marketing Kevlar vests on your web site. They are known to be superb protection against paper wads...
A.A.

Hi Ric,
I'm MIT '78. We have something else in common. I work in Westchester, live in Westport, CT. In Westport, I'm President of an organization called ---. We have a house in Westport where eight minority students from disadvantaged backgrounds live and attend our public high school. Currently, two are from the Bronx. My involvement started as a tutor for math and science.
--- is a national organization, with programs like ours at many private and public schools. Their only support to the local programs is supplying a pool of applicants. Finding qualified applicants is our most difficult task. When we started this five years ago, we thought it would be easy to find highly motivated, intelligent applicants looking for a better school. We've found good kids, but we've been shocked at how hard it is to find a small number of qualified students. Almost all of them struggle when they start at our high school, usually because of the poor preparation in their prior schools.
We recruit out of middle schools, and I see you teach high school, but if you ever come across kids who might be interested in our program, please put them in contact with me. Also, any ideas on how we can find students would be appreciated. By the way, I bought your book.
H.K.