I had been a student at the Lexington School for the Deaf for seven years, starting in January 1967 and ending in June 1973 (I still have those yearbooks – a sentimental and valuable part of my personal library). Afterwards, I was mainstreamed into the New York City Public School System.
At that time, the Lexington School was an oral school for the deaf, meaning that American Sign Language (ASL) was not permitted anywhere within the school premises. If a student was caught signing, he or she would be severely punished. At the worst, he or she would be expelled from school. That’s why I wasn’t fluent in ASL until after college.
When I was at Lexington, I had at least one speech therapy session per week. I also had private speech therapy twice or thrice a week. As I reached high school age, I had speech therapy once a week at school as well as private speech therapy once a week. I’m getting off the point – I wanted to discuss further about Lexington.
My speech skills were OK but not great at Lexington. My parents wanted me to attend public school, but many teachers and other professionals opposed my going there. They said I did not speak well. My parents believed that I not only was really bright but also could improve my speech skills by going to school with students with typical hearing. There, I would have continued my speech therapy, and I would have spoken more often (and hence improved my speech skills).
I had my favorite teacher and I had another teacher I initially didn’t like very much at Lexington. Originally, Mrs. Sxxx was my favorite teacher – she was easygoing with a sweet smile. On the other hand, Mrs. Holland was a tough teacher, not just on me but on everyone else in my class. With a wooden ruler, she once whacked the hand palms of two classmates of mine, John and Greg, because one of them copied the homework of the other. We certainly paid attention to that lesson!
I had both teachers twice, Mrs. Sxxx in the second and third grades and Mrs. Holland in the first and fourth grades. Guess what? While Mrs. Sxxx was strongly opposed to my being mainstreamed after teaching me for the second year, Mrs. Holland was all for my going to public school, because she felt that I was smarter than any other student in the class or even the whole school. I don’t mean to be boasting, but could you explain how I got my Ivy League education and my doctorate in Neuroscience? Do you think I would have been able to go to Harvard or UPenn if I had graduated from Lexington, not Bronx High School of Science? Naah, I don’t think so.
As the fourth grade progressed, Mrs. Holland had become warmer and more personal towards her students. One time, she told us about her scar in her abdomen and even showed us a picture of her lying on a hospital bed, next to her husband. Maybe that’s why she couldn’t produce children, and she already had adopted a young boy. Before the Winter Holiday break, Lexington allowed its teachers to receive gifts from their students. My parents had me give a small lightweight box to Mrs. Holland. When she opened the box, she saw a gift certificate at Gimbels, her favorite department store. She happily swooped me up and circled me around the room. Whoa, she was a strong person, especially since I was an overweight 9-year old kid! Another time, she invited her students to her residence for a burger meal (I’m not sure if it was lunch or dinner) and told me and my classmates to say grace before the meal. It was quite an interesting experience for me because I had never said grace before.
In the early 1980s, when I was at Harvard, my mother and I visited Lexington. Though I wasn’t yet fluent in ASL, I enjoyed reminiscing a bit with several old classmates of mine, but I couldn’t see Mrs. Holland – I later learned that she moved to Texas. Before we left Lexington, my mother and I met Dr. Leo E. Connor, the Executive Director of the school (he was against my going to public school). He was revered by many former students at Lexington because he permitted it to change from an oral school for the Deaf to a school for the Deaf that completely welcomes and even mandates ASL. But he still found it difficult to realize the fact that I would succeed in mainstreaming, much less attend Harvard.
By the time I was done with college, I reminisced with my parents about Mrs. Sxxx and Mrs. Holland. I knew Mrs. Holland supported my mainstreaming into the NYC public school system, but I wasn’t sure about Mrs. Sxxx. I asked my parents, and they told me she was against me going to public school. The word ‘favorite’ went out the window -BIG TIME- because I felt so betrayed by her. Also, my parents added that Mrs. Holland was probably the only teacher in the entire school who supported my parents’ and my goal of my going to public school. I have always been pretty sure that her reputation was riding on my success. I also have always been both impressed and grateful that this black Christian lady risked so much to help a middle class white Jewish boy like me. Now I understand Dr. Connor was a really fine man and had been an outstanding Executive Director at Lexington for many years, but…WTF is the matter with you, Lexington (and Dr. Connor and Mrs. Sxxx and others who were initially against me)?
I have been thinking a great deal about my most important schoolteacher, and I have been trying to find her (via Facebook and LinkedIn) so that I could thank her for all she had done for my personal and professional development.
This blog is dedicated to Mrs. Lois Holland.