Door Project - Schools

I spent the last two days gathering more photos of doors around New York City that were a part of my life.

Today's blog entry will be about my schools -- English and Chinese. I guess it would make sense to put them in chronological order from elementary school all the way up to law school.

PS 4 - Manhattan

Schooling started in the Lower East Side, at P.S. 4, until we moved to Queens. 

In first grade we had to have a handkerchief pinned to our blouse and the teacher checked our fingernails to make sure they were clean.  Those were the days!

I also remember doing a class performance to the song "Everyday People" by Sly and the Family Stone.

I don't know which doorway of the building I entered but I liked the look of this one. 

PS 13 Q - Elmhurst

When we moved to Queens, I went to P.S. 13Q for a few years. My favorite year was third grade when I was in an "open classroom" with a fabulous teacher. We had learning centers, not rows of seats. We got to choose where we wanted to spend our time. It was so progressive.  I remember it fondly. 

JHS 73Q - Maspeth

After that, it was a daily bus ride on the 58 (except when there were none) to and from JHS 73Q in Maspeth.  There were many happy times there. Mrs. Selma S. Seid taught me how to play the viola and even loaned me an instrument so that I could continue playing when I went to high school.  I helped Mr. Mifsud as a monitor. Many hours were spent in the library helping Mrs. Stalworth.  Mr. Sosis and his law class were special. Then there was Math Team. Yes, I was a nerd.  Mr. McCabe and Mr. Lewensohn coached us and took us out to celebrate the victories.  Mrs. Bonano was the Senior Advisor and allowed us to hangout in her office. I tried to learn French from Mr. Jones, but to no avail.  I met some of my closest friends there. 

Former Stuyvesant High School - 15th Street

Stuyvesant High School.  I made it in but didn't want to commute an hour each way on the subway.  In the end, I was glad my parents insisted. If not, I would not have received a great education and would not have met some of the best people in my life.  I'll never forget some teachers like Mr. Ritterman, Mrs. Abramson, Mr. Mechanick, Mr. Todras, and Mr. McCourt.  Some teachers I forgot right after the semester was over. 

Stuyvesant High School - 16th Street

I went to my 25th reunion but didn't go to the 30th. The friends who want to stay in touch, do. That's good enough for me.





So, that was my time with the New York City public school system.  I made the best of it and can't really complain about the free education.

 

Next came college.  I decide to go to New York University (my safety school) because I was able to pay my own way after all the scholarships and grants were deducted from the tuition. I worked a lot of hours but I did it with some student loans.  I spent the majority of my time in the buildings photographed.  Unfortunately, Loeb Student Center was torn down to make way for a bigger and better building.  That is where I ate many meals, hung out in the lounge and at the offices of the Asian Cultural Union (ACU), saw movies, attended parties, and even modeled in a fashion show.

NYU - Tisch Hall

NYU - Weaver Hall, Courant Institute

NYU- Coles Sports Center

NYU - Bobst Library

   

NYU - Main Building, Waverly Place

NYU- Main Building, Washington Place

NYU School of Law

At last, my final place of education in English -- New York University School of Law.  This was my dream school. 

This was also the only school where I felt like a minority.  In all my years in New York, I never felt like an outsider.  We had sit-in protests and meeting with Dean Sexton about getting a more diverse faculty.  In the end, I think we did make a difference. 

This is the place where I went to school pregnant with my first child.  I vowed that I would graduate with my class and I did!

NY Chinese School in Chinatown

Now: Chinese School. 

During my lifetime, learning Chinese has always been a great challenge.  In my younger years, I was forced to go to Chinatown's Chinese school. So what if Cantonese was the only dialect they taught and I didn't understand them!  Later on, they began offering Mandarin.  I still didn't do too well. 

I would regret this later in life and ended up enrolling in the Chinese school where I sent my children, Ming Yuan Chinese School.  Believe it or not, it is housed in P.S. 13Q on Sundays.  Here I was, an adult going to Chinese school in my elementary school building -- is there a message in that?



That's it for today's installment of my "Doors Project" covering the schools where I went for formal education.  Stay tuned for another entry which will include the places I went to in order to learn fun things like ceramics, quilting, and painting.