Academy Magazine - May 1999

CADEMY M

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MORGAN PARK ACADEMY - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60643

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E MAY 1999

ACADEMY MAGAZINE MORGAN PARK ACADEMY - CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60643

STORIES

MAY 1999

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Something new: fall convocation .............................. ..... 1

PHOTO CREDITS: Cover photo by Rakalla

Michelle Toscas: Some advice and a few stories ...................................... 1 The true heroes of the 20th century .............................. 4 Angela Izzo: Curious George is, well, everywhere! ............................. 5 The bells were ringing, calling her to dance ................... 6 Rangapravesham: The long and short of preparation ...... 7 Daniel Baltierra: 18th Street, in Pilsen, didn't seem like Chicago ............ 8 David Jones: Some words of advice from someone who has seen 41 consecutive MPA graduations .................... 9

PHOTOGRAPHER

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Barry Kritzberg ............................................... 4, back page Rakalla ............................................................................ 7 Are you a parent who thinks too much? ...................•.•. 12 Carrie Beth Correll: "My heart hasn't failed me yet!" ................................. 14

Governor George Ryan's press office .............................. 25 ART CREDITS

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Naomi O' Dowd-Ryan ......................................................... 6 Jacqueline Crnkovich: Jumping off the fence .................................................. 16

James B. Draper, Jr., 1925-1998 .................................. 19

Dell Publishing Co .......................................................... 12

CONTRIBUTORS: William Adams, Michael Bello, Peggy Gatsinos, Sherry Grutzius, David Hibbs, Ben Kalafut, Thomas Malcolm, Sandy Williams.

Barry Kritzberg: Loring rings down the curtain ............. 20 The Academy Magazine is published by the Office of Development and Alumni Affairs.

A man of his word: Mike Rose wins one title and then another .................. 23

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All news items should be addressed to: Academy Magazine 2153 W. 111th Street Chicago, IL 60643 Printed for Morgan Park Academy by PrintSource Plus 12128 S. Western Ave. Blue Island, IL 60406 Editor: Barry Kritzberg

Something new:

The first annual fall convocation Lt. Col. Martin, reflecting on his military career, said, "in looking back at my experiences, "nothing contributed more to my life than those years at MPMA." He was inducted into the MPMA Hall of Fame.

Second Lieut. Goss, killed in action during World War II, was inducted into the MPMA/MPA Memorial Hall of Fame. (See the November 1998 Academy Magazine for biographical sketches of both men.)

The key-note speaker was Michelle Toscas [85] who, with a charming blend of humor and common sense, told students how MPA's smallness (thought to be a disadvantage by many) allowed her to overcome her shyness and find herself. She encouraged students to open their eyes and take advantage of the unusual opportunites MPA has to offer.

The 1998-99 school year began with something new: the first (of what will be annual) Fall Convocation.

The faculty marched in wearing academic robes - seen hitherto only at graduation - and mathematics department chair John Torrez opened the ceremonies with brief remarks - part benediction and part pep-talk - wishing everyone a successful year.

Headmaster Adams then addressed the assembled K-12 students, faculty and staff, and explained that "the purpose of this event is to celebrate the beginning of the school year with a focus both upon the tradition of academic excellence that abounds here at Morgan Park Academy, and to recognize the very special accomplishments of two of our graduates."

The two honored graduates were Lt. Col. H. Irwin Martin [40] and Robert Frank Goss [42].

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SOftie advice and a .e"" sto.ies by Michelle Toscas

Good morning, and thanks so much for inviting me to join you as you begin your new school year! I feel excited for all of you - and just a bit envious. I'm excited for the happy and memorable times that await you, filled with learning and new friendships. And I'm envious - for the same reasons!

I'll begin by telling you a little story...

Once upon a time, long, long ago ... (for isn't that hawaII good stories begin?) ... when large, gas-guzzling vehicles roamed the city streets ...before ATMs or HBO ... before lap tops or Starbucks' lattes ... and before many of you were born .. .! was a student at MPA. Actually, it was 14 years ago, back in the 80s. What a wonderful experience it was, my life as an MPA student! To appreciate just how much the school shaped my life, you must first understand what I was like when I arrived.

I was shy. Really, really shy. So shy at first that I barely spoke in class - and only when called upon and then coerced by a teacher. So shy that I spent my first days of high school sitting alone during free periods. But that soon changed. Just ask my freshman teachers - Mr. Hibbs and Mr. Kowalski - - who are here today. They witnessed a real metamorphosis!

So, how did a quiet caterpillar like me emerge as a chatty butterfly?

Simple: MPA. With just 150 kids in the whole upper school, MPA was more like a warm, extended family than an impersonal institution. After my first week, I knew the names of all of my fellow freshmen, plus those of several kids from other grades. And our classrooms were so small, with at most 15 students, that I was forced to join discussions and found myself speaking as part of a group throughout my classes. In other words, the intimate environment of a small, private school afforded me the comfort level I needed to come out of my shell. MPA also gave me the confidence to express my ideas, join clubs, and even become co-captain of the tennis team!

Could I have accomplished all of this at a large high school? It would have been considerably harder to do so!

(For one, more kids means more competition - just being selected to join a sports team would have been tough!)

And I made so many great friends - and I'm still close with many of them to this day. My good friend, Dan Ablan [85], spent most of his high school days either taking pictures for the school's camera club, or developing them in

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the school's dark room. And thanks to his early "exposure" to photography, he now runs his own company, developing 3-D animations for TV ads and corporations!

Another friend, Philip Junker [85], headed student council, and was a sport's MVP and a star journalist. Today, he's leading a communications team at Sprint as a regional vice-president!

One of myoid pals, in fact, is with us today. She's Ms. Concannon to all of you, but I knew her as Claire, a smart, nice and funny classmate - and one who always raised her hand in class - and did her homework on time!

Sure, there were times when my friends and I wished we were at a larger school - one with a modern sports complex, running track, pool, etc., with a football team known statewide and mentioned on an occasional evening news segment. And one where, on some days when we were tired or unmotivated, we could slip into the back of a large classroom unnoticed, and, like a Calvin Klein commercial, "just be."

But many of us realized that the size of our school was what made it so special. After all, while my public school pals were reading "Kramer vs. Kramer," we were engaging in lively discussions about the meaning of Plato's ideal state.

While they remained anonymous in a class of fifty-or-more dozing/drooling students (I keep thinking of that scene from the movie, "Ferris Beuller's Day Off"), we were sitting in our usual half circle of nine or ten students, actively listening.

Talking. And learning. This "discussion-style" prepared me for the break-out discussion groups required for some of my college classes; while many of my counterparts from large high schools froze like deer in headlights when faced with a small, interactive group, I felt right at home!

I found, however, that my attention quickly wandered in the giant college lecture halls of 300-400 students, and I never really got used to learning en masse.

The big school/small school debate reminds me of a little story about the writer, Oliver Wendell Holmes.

Once, at a party where he was the shortest man in the room, some friends approached. One said, "Holmes, how does it feel to be so small among us big fellows?"

And Holmes replied, "I feel like a dime among a lot of pennies."

The lesson?

Never underestimate your value! Bigger isn't always better.

Since there is much for us to learn from Oliver Wendell Holmes, I'll share another brief, but inspirational story: When Holmes was hospitalized for a serious illness at age 92, a friend came to visit and found him reading a Greek primer.

The friend asked him why he was up and reading, and Holmes replied, "Because I'm trying to learn something." At 92, he was still trying to learn.

That story brings me to my next topic. Why are you all here, anyway? Because school will make you smart, right?

WRONG. School will not make you smart. Only YOU can make you smart. MPA and other quality schools can, however, provide you with the materials you need to get there: -Outstanding, committed teachers -Challenging classes -Intelligent, inquisitive, inspiring classmates -The best books, computers and other tools/resources And above all, MPA can teach you how to learn, through challenging assignments, tough math problems, complicated literature, and memorization of equations, formulas and foreign languages. For these things will expand your mind.

Think about it. Your brain is made up of cells. When you have ideas or thoughts, these cells connect with each other. These connections are called synapses. The more you think and experience, the more synapses you create. Can anyone guess how many synaptic connections are possible in the human brain?

Believe it or not, it's more than the number of atoms in the universe, according to Dr. R. Restak's The Brain.

So each time you work through a physics problem, explicate seemingly nonsensical poems (like Milton's intimidating L'Allegro and II Penseroso), or work through a challenging test, you're expanding your brain. Isn't it great to know that your potential for knowledge is virtually infinite? Oust thinking about this concept has made you a bit smarter.)

If you wanted to run a marathon, you'd train for it, right? You'd run each day, lift weights, and build endurance, all to prepare for your big race. You don't ask why you have to need to do these things - because you know these activities will help you to get in shape for your big run. Your brain

A real metamorphosis: Michelle Toscas, the quiet caterpillar on the left (with Maxine Karavites and Tina MaHera} ...

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might, in some obscure way, serve you in your life's journey...

- The power to succeed in life is in your hands. That means you and you alone will determine the course of your life. (Next time a classmate does much better than you on a test, don't shrug it off by saying he or she is simply smarter.

Aside from rare cases of genius, someone who gets better grades than you is simply studying harder. You want an A? Hit the books! You can achieve anything through patience, perseverance and hard work.

- Do your best - always. Your work is your signature, it reflects who you are.

- Read. And read everything you can get your hands on.

From Shakespeare to Mad magazine, and from medical books to science fiction. Reading shapes you, offers insight into the minds of others, and broadens your thinking.

- Ask questions. The three most important words you can utter (that are even more important than "I love you" and "lend me money") are "I don't know." Asking questions is how you learn.

- Always stand up for what you believe in. Objectivist philosopher Ayn Rand said integrity is one's ability to stand by an idea. Your integrity, like your intelligence, is essential to who you are. It is at the core of your person. If you possess these qualities, you can lose your last dime, and you'll still be rich.

We are at the threshold of a new millennium. The 21st century will be your time to shine! I have every confidence that anyone of you may discover a cure for cancer, become president, win a Nobel Prize, or put the first footprints on Mars.

Your trainers await you.

Reflecting, again, upon the words of Oliver Wendell Holmes, the best advice I can give you is ...try and learn something. Thank you!

works in a similar fashion. By training yourself to think (through tests, reading, discussion - even plotting a soccer strategy), you're "working out" your brain, and developing a tool that will serve you throughout your life .. .long after your running shoes have been retired to the back of your closet!

The bottom line: think of homework, classes and learning as a workout, and your teachers as your personal trainers!

And next time you're sitting in geometry, wondering why you have to memorize the circumference of some stupid circle, or arguing that you will NEVER need to know side-angle-side in your career as a flamenco dancer...keep in mind that you're training your brain. By memorizing and understanding those seemingly useless theorems, you're making synaptic connections that will serve you for a lifetime. (I admit it - I hated geometry.) And today, while my very existence is not dependent upon my knowledge of proofs, planes, and right triangles - Thank God! - I do depend upon logic, a skill I learned in part through thought processes I was forced to employ in class.

By exercising your mind and pushing its limits, you're preparing yourself for the future - one that, by virtue of your intelligence, you can be whatever you wish.

So, what did MPA do for me?

It provided me with a solid foundation for my future. It gave me the tools I needed to graduate from a great university and to embark upon a successful career. MPA taught me about chemistry, algebra, French, and other subjects. But above all, it taught me how to think.

In closing, I'd like to leave you with some advice that

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... blossoms into the social butterfly (with Tina Mattera) ...

and in 1996 with her teen idol, Mickey Dolenz of liThe Monkees"

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Veteran's Day Observance:

The true heroes of the 20th century "The true heroes of the 20th century," Allen Andreasen [47] told the students and faculty at the second annual Veteran's Day Observance at Morgan Park Academy on November 11, 1998, "are those who have served their country."

Andreasen, a retired marine officer, also gave a brief account of how Armistice Day - instituted to commemorate the end of World War I - was gradually transformed into a day to honor all veterans.

He also spoke of his days at MPMA, recalling that each morning at 8 a.m. the school assembled in four companies (two of boarding and two of day students) for inspection

before marching to classes. At noon, he added, all of the cadets marched to the dining hall.

"Everyone participated in extra-curricular activities," he said, "and Saturday mornings were given over to military training. Saturday afternoons were reserved for sports and Sunday afternoons we paraded on Abells Field, north of 111th Street, where those town houses are now."

A marine color guard marched in to begin the observance - giving today's students, perhaps, a fleeting glimpse of the majesty of those MPMA parades of yesteryear - and solemnly marched out as "Taps" sounded.

Allen Andreasen and Headmaster J. William Adams chat after the Veteran's Day Observance as students look on thoughtfully.

The marine color guard solemnly marched out...

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frfPArb Cupious Geopge is, ""ell, every""hepe! by Angela Izzo

A curious thing is happening at Morgan Park Academy.

A little brown monkey, George (a.k.a. Curious George), has been adopted by Ms. Izzo's first grade students - even though they have never seen him.

Curious George has sparked creativity in each of the first graders, even though their imaginations are sometimes running just a little wild.

They have seen George's ' paw prints in the snow, and if there is a story of a food fight in the dining hall, they know whom to blame George. And if a desk is messy, or a book has been misplaced, George did it!

Why, no one even uses the old stand-by limy dog-ate-my-homework" excuse.

Now, it's "Ms. lzzo, I think George ate it."

George has worked his way into the curriculum, too.

He becomes the subject of many writing activities, whether it is creating a short story or just writing a letter. His name figures prominently, too, in word

problems in mathematics.

George's skills, alas, are not of the highest, and many students tutor George, hoping to correct his errant spelling, showing him how to make his letters more accurately, and even helping him be a little less messy in his art work.

So, beware, George is everywhere and into everything.

If you happen to slip on a banana peel in Barker Hall, you'll know whom to blame.

We'll understand, too, if you tell us that you've seen that little monkey swinging from the trees in Jones Bowl.

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The bells were ringing, calling her to dance Dancing, for Payal Parikh [99], is as natural as her name.

Payal is the Hindi word for the ankle bells that are an integral part of traditional Indian dance.

Her mother, who learned classical dance in India and teaches it now, decided to name her daughter after those traditional bells.

A musical note, a dance step, then, sounded in her ears every time someone called her by name. Payal's dance career did not begin, however, until she was six or seven, when she participated in cultural celebrations at Swadhyaya [self-study school]. Her mother, Rupal Parikh, did the choreography for those occasions.

The Sunday school dances, which occurred three or four times a year (often in honor of a god's birthday) were an easy introduction to the culture and religion of Payal's ancestral Gujarati.

Payal, despite her mother's close involvement, was not pushed into performance by the proverbial stage mother. It was, instead, her admiration of the older girls, whom she desired to imitate.

"It was at the Navarati {"Nav" means "nine days"], the nine-day celebrations, that I first become interested in dance," Payal explained. "In India these dances are performed in an open field for nine consecutive days, near the end of September by the American calendar, or the beginning of October. These dances are held in honor of Goddess Ambama ["rna" means "mother"]. Everyone dances in a circular formation, keeping God at the center. In America, however, the true meaning has been lost and it has become a social event for young and old alike."

The Federation of Gujarati Associates of North America (FOGANA) was formed for the very purpose of preserving that Gujarati culture and, about two decades ago, FOG ANA began sponsoring youth competitions in cultural dance.

There are three basic types of Gujarati dances in the competitions. "The Carba," Payal explained, "features the hands, and is danced only by girls, the Raas uses sticks, and includes boys and girls, and the Folk Dance, which uses different kinds of props (candles, hand-bells, scarves tied around the hands, etc.) The choreography for Carba is

restricted to circular formations, while Raas and Folk Dance are more open, with lines, circles, and other formations allowed. The idea, again, derives from Navarati, where the dance is a way of keeping God in the center of all. Each of the dances, therefore, concludes with Aarti [prayer] ."

By seventh grade, however, she was involved in dance competitions, but it was "more for the fun of it," Payal said, and not a serious pursuit of the triumph of perfection. "We competed in the FOG ANA Folk Dance category and didn't place at all," she added.

Gradually, however, she and a group of twelve-to-sixteen like-minded girls began seriously training for the Gujarati Association national dance competition. In 1997, in the Carba category, her dance troupe captured second place in the regionals.

"We worked very hard over the next summer," she said.

The competition became intensely serious for Payal's troupe in July 1998 at the 18th Midwest FOGANA Raas, Carba and Folk Dance Competition, hosted by Gujarati Samaj, Chicago.

Payal's troupe, representing Downers Grove, Illinois, competed in the senior Carba category.

The sixteen dancers, wearing colorful costumes (including red and green head scarves) performed a six-minute program to the song, "Tame Tame Re," which tells the story of a young girl going to a fair with her girl friends to meet (or, at least, to see) her future husband.

The celebratory dance was performed with smiling enthusiasm.

"We gave our all," Payal explained, "and when it counted our energy came flowing out twice as fast. Each action we had done over and over again during the summer took on a new meaning. The extra effort made each action feel that it had its own uniqueness and beauty that I could feel and I hoped the crowd could see. By the end of the performance I had sweat running down my face and my throat was so dry, I could hardly speak."

The Senior Carba representing Downers Grove took first place in the FOGANA regional, out-scoring six other troupes.

At the nationals, two months later, Payal's Downers Grove troupe won second place.

Payal may not compete in the future, but she will surely dance for the very joy of it. "1 relive those six minutes often and I am re-energized by the memory," she said.

If she wasn't born to dance, she was certainly named to dance. Just ask her mother.

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RGlIgGprGllesllGm: The long and shopt of: ppepapation It takes up to two hours to prepare for each performance. She must do her hair, including attaching a false braid (which must reach down to her waist) , and it must be tied tight. She then carefully adorns herself with head and body jewelry (a specifically designated part of the classical costume), adds make-up (especially accenting the eyes) and, finally, flowers.

Then, and only then, is Padmavathi Siramdasu [98] ready to dance.

She would not be ready at all, of course, if she had not also undergone years of rigorous training.

Padma (as most of us at MPA call her), who performed eight solo dances for her Rangapravesham (Classical Dance Debut) in August 1998, began dancing when she was five. She became interested in dance as young as age three or four, however, when her parents had taken her to see some great Indian dancers.

Dance classes soon followed, and although the young Padma enjoyed it, she didn't fully appreciate the hard work of practice.

"It was part of my life," she said, "part of my routine every Saturday. I didn't question it, I just did it. Yet, at some deeper level, I always enjoyed it. " Padma looks back (via video) on her first performance, at age eight, and finds reason to laugh at herself.

By age thirteen, however, she was

more seriously engaged.

"I thought it was really cool just to dance and to learn about my culture through dance," she said, "and during the season [Spring and Summer] we danced almost every weekend ."

Padma, as a member of the Natyakalalayam Dance Company, has performed locally in such places as the Ravinia Festival, the Symphony Center, and Navy Pier in Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin. She has also performed in India, in Chennai, Hyderabad, and New Delhi.

"Dancing in India was different," she said, "for there was more pressure. There were critics who wrote reviews of our performances, so we were held to a much higher standard."

"In America," she added, "I like performing before audiences for whom Indian dance is a new experience.

They are so enthusiastic.

Indian audiences in America are often more complacent because they have seen the dances over and over again."

Padma began preparing for her August Rangapravesham some nine months before. She had class once a week, but she practiced every day on her own. Beginning in June, however, she had class every day for two hours,

and then she practiced another two or three hours each day on her own.

"In India," Padma explained, "the Rangapravesham is a dancer's first public performance on the stage as a professional, and one then dances the rest of one's life. In America, however, Rangapravesham marks the first time a dancer gives a full-length [two-hour] performance. One must do certain set dances - one of each type - and it is more like a graduation, a commencement if you will."

The form of dance Padma performed for her debut, Bharatanatyam, is a classical Indian style that combines rhythmic movements with mime, and interpretative facial expressions. It is an esoteric art, complex and difficult to learn.

Padma was fortunate to have as her Guru, Mrs. Hema Rajagopalan, a leading exponent of the art, and winner of seven choreography awards from the National Endowment for the Arts.

And although Padma compared her debut to a "commencement, a graduation," one should not assume that her dancing career is completed.

"I intend to dance until I have to stop," she said. "I lose myself in dance. It is like therapy, it is so exhilarating. I love that I've learned so much about Hinduism, about my culture, and I love that I learn more every time that I dance."

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18th Street, in Pilsen, didn't seem like Chicago by Daniel Baltierra

DANIEL BALTIERRA

Spanish teachers at MPA don't have to go very far from the school to teach their students about Mexican culture.

The Pilsen neighborhood, particularly along 18th Street, was the focal point for a sixth grade walking tour (led by teachers Carol Bollacker, Barbara Tubutis, and Daniel Baltierra)

woman, that other Hispanic shoppers in the mercado applauded.

Lunch was also a part of the day's activities, and students had a typical Mexican plate - Lin taco, L1na tostada, y WI burrito - accompanied, of course, by loud salsa music on the juke box.

The music motivated Siena King to demonstrate how the hottest salsa steps could be happily mixed with rap.

Perhaps everyone's favorite shop on the tour of Pilsen was El L1no dolar.

It was interesting to see how quickly the students immersed themselves in the culture. By the end of the day, they were readily reading (and sometimes translating) advertisements, street names, signs and billboards in the neighborhood.

One of the students observed, on the bus ride back to MPA, that "it didn't seem like we were in Chicago at all."

And that, along with everyone's favorite shop (El uno dolar), was what most people liked best about the trip.

last October.

The students went into various stores, including a bridal shop, where they were given an opportunity to admire one of the dresses that a qLlinceanera (debutante) would wear.

Students also observed the Pilsen murals, painted by local artists and students from the community.

One of our concerns was how the people of the community would regard our students. Would they see us as outSiders, coming into their neighborhood only to gawk at them?

Our reception in Pilsen, however, was warm and welcoming. They were flattered and pleased that students were exploring their culture. When one Hispanic woman asked the purpose of our visit, for example, she expressed surprise that students so young were learning Spanish.

"I wish I had the opportunity to learn another language when I was young," she wistfully observed.

Students also visited a Tortilleria (where they watched the making of tortillas) and an 18th Street bakery, where three young bakers kneaded dough with much dexterityand without any machines.

Another activity was a scavenger hunt in a grocery store.

Students had to locate and price a variety of Hispanic products - pinas y naranjas y aguacates, y mucho mas - and later compare prices of similar P,foducts in their local supermarkets.

Our students also had the opportunity to practice their Spanish in the shops, and one student, Jack Waterman, did such an excellent job in interviewing a seventy-year-old

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t99S Coftlftlenceftlent Address:

Softie 1Mo.ds of advice F.oftl sOftleone 1Mho has seen ... consecutive MPA g.aduations by David A. Jones This is the 41st consecutive Academy graduation that I've attended. After spending the last 3S of them sitting up here on the platDAVID J ONES form, I had looked forward to enjoying this one from a seat in the audience. Maybe next year.

When Headmaster Adams asked me to speak, I tried my best to get out of it. Over the years, some outstanding people have stood at this podium.

Poet Gwendolyn Brooks stood here, and Nobel Prize economist George Stigler, and Olympic gymnast Bart Connors, and Senator Paul Simon, and Norman Ross, a wonderful radio personality from days past, and many other truly distinguished personalities . I hardly feel qualified for the role, but I am honored to be here with you, and to address this graduating class that I came to know and appreciate during my time as headmaster and their years of growing up.

As I learned from over the 40 ceremonies I attended, commencement speakers usually do three things: they tell funny jokes, they say wise and important things, and they give advice. I've never been very good at any of the three, especially the one about giving advice. Believe it or not, I am reluctant to tell people how to run their lives, and I've learned that young people don't really want to hear advice from old people.

And, in truth, I don't know what advice to give to young people today.

If you remember the movie "The Graduate" with Dustin Hoffman, you

certainly remember the advice the older business man gave to young Dustin - "Plastics."

More recently, there was a good piece of advice, erroneously attributed to Kurt Vonnegut at an MIT commencement - "Wear sunscreen./I If you're looking for advice to graduates, I'd recommend that you read Time magazine in a few weeks, since it will highlight the important segments of multitudinous commencement addresses given by nationally and internationally famous people.

Since I left headmastering at Morgan Park Academy, I've been working as director of school accreditation services for the Independent Schools Association of the Central States. In this role, I've enjoyed visiting many, many fine independent schools in the Midwest area. It has provided for me what I knew I would miss the most in retirement the opportunity to spend time with other educators, and the opportunity to be around children. But it has also reminded me of several other important aspects of education that we too easily forget.

I spent part of a week at a Quaker boarding school where everybody students, teachers, and administrators - performed all of the work required at the school: cutting grass, mopping floors, serving food , washing dishes, and, since this school owned a farm, even slopping hogs and cleaning out the barn. I really couldn't imagine our city-bred students performing such chores! But as an observer, I became much more aware of the dignity of work, and of the true sense of satisfaction that can be gained by physical labor.

I also visited a school in Northern Michigan, located in the cold but

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beautiful surroundings of that region.

A few flowers were just blooming, and the majestic trees were budding out.

A river runs through the campus, and the architecture was designed to fit beautifully into the surroundings.

Students were out walking through the woods, and a few were fishing along the shore of the river. Another group of students had just returned from a weekend outing in a nearby wilderness area. The school's curriculum not only reflected the setting, but also seemed to have been developed with a recognition of, and respect for, nature, and its tremendous influence upon all of our lives. I left that campus with a much deeper appreciation of the natural world around me, and I vowed to enjoy it more each day for the rest of my life.

And I visited a school in one of the more southern states where the entire school curriculum and program has been developed around the theory of multiple intelligences. I knew of the concepts, but I was hardly prepared for what I encountered there.

At that school, there was no emphasis upon tests and test scores, and no attention was given to what the students didn't know. Rather, I saw the students and faculty deeply engaged in identifying and working with the multiple intelligences possessed by every student - whether creative, or artistic, or literary, or inter-personal or whatever - and seeking ways to recognize and enhance and utilize these many gifts.

I learned a new appreciation for the many differences that we all exhibit, and for the need to recognize and accept all of these differences which are so critical to the mosaic of life.

In still another school, a Hebrew day school, I saw repeated instances of

how religion, and academic studies, and the fine arts had come together in beautiful harmony. It was displayed in the numerous and varied student works hanging in the hallways, and in the student-produced floor tiles installed in the corridor floors, and in the students' eager involvement in social studies projects. All of this was evidence that their faith had given to them an important point of reference that gave purpose and motivation and direction and inspiration in their every-day lives. I was reminded of the need for some anchor in our lives, to give us a sense of tradition, and permanence, and continuity which we all so desperately need, whether we recognize it or not.

My school visits took me to schools in seven different states, and even to one school on St. Maarten in the Caribbean. In all of the schools, I was acutely aware of a strong sense of community, but perhaps nowhere was it so quickly discernible as in the school in St. Maarten. There on the island, with its mixture of native and Dutch and French and Americans and others from all over the world, I saw the only school that even came close to the diversity I always so much appreciated and enjoyed at Morgan Park Academy. But more than just diversity was there. I saw also a fine example of true community. Not just community in the sense of a group of people unaVOidably thrown together for some reason, but community in the sense of very different people sharing, and caring, and appreciating, and helping, and serving, and supporting, and enjoying one another.

As I viewed all of these and many other schools, I couldn't help but draw mental comparisons between them and Morgan Park Academy. I've come away with a much deeper appreciation for what Morgan Park Academy has been and still is. In none of the schools did I see any more highly qualified students, or more talented and dedicated teachers, or a more comprehensive or better

curriculum, or more supportive parents, or more intelligent trustees, or even more brilliant administrators.

I certainly hope that you, as members of the Class of 1998, and all of you other MPA students in the audience, are fully aware and appreciative of the wonderful school you've been able to attend. You should say thank you to your parents after this ceremony for having sent you to this fine school.

But as I've thought about this and other wonderful schools, I've also been made more deeply aware of the numerous and almost overwhelming challenges which still face us in American education, and which I

the stars and the galaxies, and we've walked on the moon, but we haven't been able to eliminate crime, or to cure cancer.

We begin while they are at a tender young age to teach our children about computers, and databases, and spreadsheets, but have we also taught them to enjoy a symphony, and to appreciate a poem or a beautiful painting, or to revel in a magnificent sunset?

Have we given our students an anchor for their lives, whether it be in religion, or philosophy, or service, or family or friends?

I can still remember some words spoken at my high school commencement about a million years ago. Our nation had just come out of World

the 70s ...

Dave Jones in the 60s...

view as particular challenges to independent schools.

We've taught students to read and write, but have we taught them well enough to appreciate and care for our environment?

We teach kids to calculate accurately, but do we teach them enough about the poor and the homeless and the diseased and the suffering?

Certainly the eradication of poverty and disease and starvation should be high on our list of concerns, and we should be anxious to find ways to eliminate all of them.

We've learned to travel in space and to photograph the planets and

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War II, and the speaker was talking about the many technological advances that had been made during the war. But he pointed out that, as a result of the great leaps that had been made in technology, we were suffering from what he referred to as "cultural lag." As I think about his words, I realize how much truer they are today than they were back then. Certainly the challenges of today in this regard are monumental.

I grew up under the shadow of the Great DepreSSion, and during my lifetime have witnessed a world war and two police actions.

I've lived through political assassinations and racial unrest, and Freedom Marches and a War on Poverty.

I read about the rise of Solidarity in Poland, and about the construction and destruction of the Berlin Wall.

I watched the "Ed Sullivan Show" and "I Love Lucy," and "Mash," and "All in the Family" and "Seinfeld."

1 didn't attend Woodstock, but 1 did watch the movie, and I witnessed the rise of the Beatles and now the death of Frank Sinatra.

I've been thrilled by the development of a polio vaccine, and by the idea of a man walking on the moon, and I've been depressed by Watergate and the Nixon tapes and recent political misdemeanors, and by numerous instances of man's inhumanity toward his fellow man.

education: to gain knowledge, and certainly to get into college, and probably eventually to get a good job and to be successful in life.

But how will you measure your success?

What will be the markers that indicate success for you?

I certainly hope that whatever those markers are, they will include having been involved in good causes, and having done good things.

So now I'm back to the idea of giving advice, and perhaps I do have some advice, or at least some suggestions - besides "wear sunscreen" - to give you .

So here they are.

Learn to appreciate the importance and dignity of work.

and the 90s... the 80s...

I'm frequently amazed at how much has transpired in just my lifetime.

But I am also very well aware of how I had absolutely no influence in, or control over, any of those events.

Few of us will ever march grandly in the parade of life, or stride manfully across the pages of time. For the most part, we simply have to be content to brighten the corner where we are, and to accept being little more than a bug spot on the windshield of history.

Today, you graduates are marking a fairly significant milestone - the completion of an important phase in your educational career and perhaps in your life. You've probably had many purposes behind acquiring your

Learn to enjoy and care for your environment.

Learn to recognize and to value the differences among the people with whom you come in contact.

Develop sensitivity to the fine arts.

Be a participating member of your community, wherever that community may be.

Be appreciative of the gifts and benefits that life has bestowed upon you.

In at least some small way, help the world to overcome the gap between technology and culture.

Find an important anchor in your life.

And finally, do something to

make a difference in someone else's life.

If you follow this advice, you cannot help but have a successful life.

But what do J wish you on your graduation day?

I wish you many things.

I wish you laughter, the kind that stays like a song in your heart through other days ... and returns to mind now and then ... to make you smile all over again.

I wish you joy for each day ... the kind you can feel like a fountain within ... the kind that goes with you through sunshine and showers ... and brightens the moments of so many hours.

I wish you friendships, old and new, tried and true ... of different kinds: playful, happy, full of fun ... that leave you smiling when day is done ... and serious, full of talk, and sharing ... a sense of belonging, and loving, and caring.

I wish you peace through all your days that shows itself in quiet ways ... peace of mind that's part of you in all you think and all you do ... and peace of heart that's there to stay and says, "all's well with you today."

I wish you love ... the caring kind that loving people love to find ... approving smiles, and words that say, "It's pleasant seeing you today." Friendly faces, warm helloes, affection that sincerely shows. I wish you love - the caring kind - for always.

I wish you memories from joys of the past...the heartwarming kind that seems to last.. .like little reminders of people, and places ... beautiful moments, and favorite faces. And I hope, in the future, you'll smile and say ... you have nice memories of today.

And I wish you happiness ... a sense of well being, beautiful things worth hearing and seeing. A long list of favorites special to you ... a deepdown enjoyment of what you do.

Something achieved ... a day well spent ... or just a feeling of heart's content. I wish you happiness, not just on your graduation day, but for all the days that follow.

Q

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Are you a parent who thinks too much?

"It seems that I managed to tread on everyone's toes," former MPA English teacher Anne Cassidy remarked about the public reception of her book, Parents Who Think Too

Milch.

parents with whom she came in contact. Once she had the title, she began gathering examples. The evidence seemed to overwhelmingly confirm that today's parents do, indeed, think too much. The next part of the task was to figure out why.

Anne had previously written one book, Single File (1989) , but that was a very different experience. The idea for that book came from a columnist, who offered regular advice to single women. "I was the 'hired gun,'" Anne explained, "it was a lot of work, but someone else's ideas."

One possible source of the discomfort that some felt in reading Parents Who Think Too Milch was that the message (an updated version of Dr. Spock, that resonates all the way back to Emerson's dictum to "trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string"), designed to be liberating, was actually frightening.

Anne Cassidy's book implies, "Parents Who Think Too quite rightly, that a ready-made Much is more like my child. I've solution to the complexities of tried not to be pushy about it, childhood can't be found as but it's out there and I want to readily as the recipe for pabusupport it, as any good mother lum. lf there is no formula, no would.

I'm happy, of course, if expert opinion to lead one the book creates dialogue, but I through every step of the want to be part of it, to get wonder years, then one must (of credit for it." all things!) decide for one's self.

Anne had called her agent lf you think you might be to seek advice about another one of those parents who think project and, in the course of too much, Anne's sub-title (Why the conversation, the agent We Do It, How to Stop) should asked what else Anne might prove comforting. have "on the boiler."

Writing the book, for her, The agent was immediately was very different from the taken with the promise of the hundreds of articles she has title and a publisher, Dell, was written about parenting. found within a week of "Many of the articles I have submitting the proposal. written were edited to fit the (HId ,l "O It T h eart ?

The idea had been percotone of the magazine, but the lating for several years, but she book, I realized, was mine," she actually began writing the text said. " It sounded like me." in November 1996. She The idea for the book completed the manuscript by actually came to her in the August 1997, but then spent process of writing some of those anne cassidy the bulk of another year in many articles about parenting. editing and indexing the She still considers herself (like volume. many journalists) a generalist, Once the book was published, she did the usual book but once she had children of her own, she found herself promotion tour, giving some two dozen interviews. The first quite naturally concentrating on topiCS closer to home. one was the most terrifying. The host of "The O'Reilly It was the title - Parents Who Think Too Milch - that, Factor" had a reputation for badgering his guests and, to quite surprisingly, came to her first. It was just a feeling she make matters worse, the host was in a studio in New York had, derived from her research and from observations of

parents who

think

too Illuch

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and Anne was in a studio in Washington.

"I couldn't see him," Anne recalled, "but he could see me. I hadn't been that nervous since I performed a piano concerto with my high school orchestra."

The pre-interview, she also discovered, had very little bearing on what was asked at the "live" session.

ANNE CASSIDY Her other interviews, which were inanMPA commonly three-to-five minutes for classroom television (but in the 70s often much longer for radio), were much easier after that first alarming experience. She was not even intimidated by an appearance on "The Today Show."

Anne taught at Morgan Park Academy from 1976 to 1979, and she fondly recalled "the warm, collegial fun we had in that tiny English office, where students came to 'hang out."'

She also laughingly remembered her first interview for the teaching position at MPA. Headmaster Dave Jones had given her directions to get to MPA via public transportation and, somehow, she had gotten lost. By the time she called him, her "nice interview dress" was drenched with sweat from the August heat. When Dave Jones learned where she was, he told her to stay put and he would pick her up in a few minutes.

She never thought she would be offered the job after that. She was hired, however, and she particularly liked teaching a senior course, "modern world literature and philosophy."

Anne always had a strong inclination toward journalism and she left MPA Author Anne Cassidy. to return home to Lexington, Kentucky to work on Bluegrass Woman, a magazine founded by her mother.

"We had a lot of fun doing that magazine, "Anne said, "but it never paid very well - hardly at all, in fact. It folded in the 80s."

Later, after earning an M.S. at the Columbia School of Journalism, she took an internship at McCall's, and continued on as an editor for the next several years.

She turned to free-lancing in 1987.

She is married to Tom Capehart, an economist for the

- 13 -

Department of Agricu lture, and they live in Oak Hill, Virginia with their three daughters, Suzanne, 10, Claire, 7, and Cecilia, 4.

"Writing the book didn 't really change my perspective on my own children, she concluded. "It only convinced me all the more that I was doing the right thing by my children.

I don't want to be a professional parent, a scientific one. I want to be an amateur, in the best and purest sense, and I want to raise my children for the pleasure of it, for the love of it."

II

Suzanne. husband Tom Capehart. Clair and Cecilia.

"My heart hasn't t:ailed nile yet!" by Carrie Beth Correll

I turn to Dr. Spack when my son Benjamin has a temper tantrum or a fever; I turn to Harriet Lerner's The Mother Dance when I CARRIE BETH need to CORRELL " commiserate" with husband and read about Frank [821 and son Benjamin. how other families operate; I turn to the What to Expect. ... books for those times I don't know quite what to expect; and I turn to Anne Cassidy's Parents Who Think Too Much when Barry Kritzberg asks me to!

Anne Cassidy calls this a "consCiousness-raising book" and I actually looked forward to my assignment, to read her book and see how it relates to my life as a parent, a parent who thinks too much.

I can't help it, I was a psychology major, my burden in life is to overanalyze everything, and parenting has been no exception. After two years of experience, I might consider myself somewhat of an "expert" on childrearing (ha!). But it sure helps to conference with other experts (read: play group!) to share a laugh, frustration, anger or awe.

Parenting. Motherhood. I fall under both categories, and there is no limit to the books on both subjects.

How could I possibly read them all?

I read every word in the What to Expect When You're Expecting book - I was pregnant with my first child, I had time.

I read only a few pages of the What to Expect the First Year/Toddler

Years book - I had a toddler and I had no time.

I was too busy experiencing the first year, I didn't need to read about it. It's just as well.

I found myself worrying if Ben hadn't rolled over by the time the book said he should - WHERE HAD I GONE WRONG? So the poor baby was placed on his stomach for the next week and teased with toys, bottles, anything to get him to roll over, doggone it!

Then at Ben's IS-month checkup, his pediatrician asked me how many words he was saying. Before she had come in to the room, I had noticed a poster on the wall which indicated a baby should have a vocabulary of about SO words at IS months - oops! So I told the doctor he only had a few words - "he says 'uh-oh' - not really a word, but maybe I could count it as two! She wasn't impressed and mumbled something about the fact that he was probably okay. Not very reassuring, but luckily I had read several books which said boys take longer to talk and he would talk when he was ready, blah, blah, blah. I knew he understood everything I said and I was enjoying the babbling stage, so I didn't worry.

Anne Cassidy entitles Chapter 1 "Raising Children by the Book ...

When You'd Rather Raise Them by Heart." In this instance, as in many others I've come across, I put down the book, ignored the advice of the expert, and listened to my heart.

Guess what? My heart hasn't failed me yet!

Cassidy writes, "books have become an indispensable accompaniment to modern parenthood." She then supports it with an illustration from her own experience: "During my

- 14-

first pregnancy I almost lived for the moment when I'd graduate from one month to the next in What to Expect When You're Expecting. Occasionally, I'd steal a glance ahead, sometimes I'd skip all the way to the end: 'Labor and Delivery.' It was this book and our thoroughly modern childbirth class that sent me trudging out, eight months and counting, to buy tennis balls, sour lollipops, ice packs, and other items deemed necessary for natural childbirth - items, I might add, that never made it out of the suitcase."

This is my story exactly, I felt like I was moving into the hospital, with all the "stuff" I brought. My husband packed as though we were going to be on a deserted island indefinitely food and drink abounded. He ended up cracking not one bag of chips because he felt bad eating in front of me since I couldn't - what a great guy!

One of my girlfriends told me she wouldn't read any parenting books O.K., so she's a pediatrician and no doubt knows everything contained in those books, but she said reading was her time, her escape from parenting.

I decided that sounded good, I'd start reading something for pure pleasure - my next book? The Mother Dance by Harriet Lerner.

I have so many issues of Parents and Parenting magazine still in their cellophane wrapper, I can't justify snuggling up to something not related to parenting.

So, what kind of parent am I? The "take charge" parent, in charge of my child's development according to the experts - not really.

The "technician" - no doubts about my ability to raise my child, but open to new and better ways to do it maybe.

The "hypochondriac," who looks up every little sniffle in her complete medical library and discovers the child has some horrible disease contracted only from the pikeon plant found in the deepest jungle of Malaysia - I hope not!

The "intellectual," one who has great respect for education and a proactive approach to childrearing, but feels guilty if she does not use information from the greats like Piaget, Maslow, and Erikson?

Okay, I did find my developmental psychology text from college, dusted it off and planned to refer to it often - I have no idea where it is right now!

There are six other types - the "playful parent," fun all the time - in my dreams; the "new dad" - don't fit the criteria; the "back to basics," the "natural," the "doubter".

At one time or another I have been most of these parents, but I have evolved. I am what Cassidy calls the "reference reader," one who "sees parenting books as a reference, rather than a bible, and so I may have escaped the worst ravages of thinking too much."

Could it be that I don't have the time I once had to overanalyze everything? !

I learned quite a bit from Anne's book, sort of a Cliff's Notes on the parenting manuals. For instance, I learned that, according to the experts, a child should form an attachment to an object sometime in the second year, in an effort to slowly become more independent from parents.

I had never heard this, but WHEW, Ben can't go to bed without his beloved "Bloomie," so he is right on developmental track! Who knew!

When I was trying to decide whether to keep working outside of the home, or become a stay-at-home mom, I read a book (the name escapes me) about working moms. The conclusion of the book, and one I agree with, was that the best solution was part-time work. So I looked into a

part-time arrangement at work because, after all, this was going to be best!

For me, though, this didn't feel right, at least not at that time, and I turned in my resignation a week later.

Sure, working a few days a week, outside of the home (looking even better as Ben hits the "terrible twos"!), bringing in some extra money would be great, but I went with my heart and decided to be with my son, all of the time, for a good portion of his early childhood, for better or worse. I haven't regretted my decision.

Anne Cassidy talks often about parenting classes she has attended (and sometimes dropped out of) over the years. I, too, went to one parenting class when Ben was close to a year old. We watched a film by a well-known and respected pediatrician, Dr. T. Berry Brazelton. I liked him and his philosophy on childrearing. We parents discussed lots of issues - sleep and potty training, eating and discipline.

The one-night course was free and I am glad because I left with no more knowledge than when I arrived.

Everything we discussed seemed very much common sense; the class did boost my confidence that I had a fairly good handle on this whole parenting thing, so maybe that was worth the two hours I spent away from my child.

In Chapter 5 Cassidy talks about educating our children and bringing up "superbaby." Trying to get our children into the best pre-school now sets them up for future success, so say the experts. Out East, people put their children on waiting lists at the very best pre-schools before they are even born, and spend thousands of dollars doing it. So in November, with Ben barely two years old, I attended something akin to a COllege fair, for pre-schools. Ben misses the September 1 cut-off for pre-school since he was born in October, so now I am worried he'll be almost four before he experiences pre-school for the first time, and

- 15 -

will be behind the other kids (of course, he is the only child who is in this predicament!). So I beg for January admission, to no avail; I then decide I will just sign Ben up for every class I can find until he is old enough for pre-school, and at press time he is in four different classes each week (in my defense, he loves them and we only have one class a day!) So now I think I'll just cherish the extra time I'll have with Ben because, let's face it, once they go to school, life is never quite the same.

The best piece of expert advice I ever heard was on the radio as I drove to work, in the midst of making that important decision to work or stay at home (and work!). I can't tell you who said it, but I'll never forget the message. This gentleman spoke about how our society is constantly in high gear and we tend to hurry our children right along with us. We hurry them through breakfast to get to day care or school; we hurry them through play because we have soccer practice and music lessons and dry cleaning to pick up, etc. etc.

We are hurrying them and overscheduling their childhood those ideally lazy days consisting of all play and no worries, leaving the house in the morning to play with friends, not to return until dusk, after a lengthy game of Ghost in the Graveyard.

That was my childhood and I decided that fateful morning in the car that the expert was right, that I could get caught up in hurrying Ben from here to there, not playing with him because I have to get dinner and do laundry and go to the bank.

I decided we'd both lose out and I wasn't willing to live my life like this.

Sure, I want Ben to be all he can be, to have the very best opportunities, to go to the best schools and participate in many different activities to develop his many talents. But "superbaby"?

No thank you.

Cassidy has a whole chapter on "PC parents" and how we spend a lot

of money on our children, much of it unnecessary and overindulgent. We feel that we have to keep up with the joneses, she suggests, from baby carriages to Nintendo to vacations to schools. "Kidcentricity" she calls it, allowing our kids and their stuff to take over our lives, taking them with us to French restaurants which are not "child friendly," letting them record the outgoing message on our answering machine.

Who cares, I say?

My child is the center of my life and, within reason, I want to do as much with and for him as I can.

Am I overindulging him?

Maybe.

Am I giving in to everything he wants?

No way.

But I know that kids are only little once, and one day he won't want to go out to eat with us (not cool) and all of his toys will be in his room, with the door shut, and I will long for Legos and Thomas the Train and Fisher Price taking over my house.

So call me "kidcentric," I wear the label proudly.

Another PC issue Anne brought up was how we as parents praise our children, how it is judgmental and we rob our children of self-reliance, making them reliant on our judge-

ments.

Nonsense!

I am glad I never read this tidbit of expert advice before.

Frank and I are very judgmental, praising Ben for many of the things he does, from drinking out of a big boy cup, to singing, to going under water in swim class, to brushing his teeth.

Our child hears "excellent" all of the time and he gleams with pride.

One of our swimming teachers told us that we are our children's best cheerleaders, and to be generous with praise.

I want my child to know that I think he is pretty terrific and when no one else is there, I'll be there, porn poms in hand, cheering him on.

Rah Rah Sis Boom Bah! Anne redeemed herself in the "Kidcentricity" chapter with this final paragraph, and my favorite : "If you think there is some purpose to life, that all is not chaos, that we're meant to do something with our lives, then think of what grown-ups and children can mean to each other. We with our wisdom can guide children, can help them become the best people they can be. Children with their freshness can remind us what the world was like when we were just coming alive to it. And those, I

think, are gifts worth fighting for."

I love it!

So Anne Cassidy encourages us to think less and feel more. To utilize all of the expert advice out there with a dose of our own common sense. We are all pretty good parents, after all, doing the best we can in a crazy world. I'll end with a few more of my favorite quotes, summing up her book nicely; "At some pOint, it seems, we have to ask ourselves whether we like ourselves enough, approve of our basic principles and values, to replicate them in our children."

"But now I turn to magazines for those little tips that I might have passed over before, you know, the ten new birthday party games and how to make a drum out of used oatmeal containers. 1 appreciate these more now because they collect and share information that other parents have found useful. And they aren't telling me how to raise my kids. They leave diSCipline and other important decisions right where they should be, in my hands."

By reading the books and listening to the experts, "(we) lose the time, space, and quiet to ponder what we think our children need."

I must run now ..... mine needs a juice!

Q

Jumping off the fence by Jacqueline Crnkovich

JACQUELINE CRNKOVICH

with her husband, Andy and sons, Sam and Alex.

It's hard to judge the impact of a book when you agree with most of the contents from the outset. Yet I realized, as I read Anne Cassidy's Parents Who Think Too

Much, that I've been straddling a fence since becoming a parent almost four years ago.

On one side of me lies all those engaged in "parenting." These are the savvy, modern parents, well versed in the latest theories of psychology and child development and armed with all the right equipment needed to do "the hardest job there is."

On the other side lie those busy with "child-rearing." This too is hard work, yet it is a natural undertaking,

- 16 -

driven by instinct and rooted in a sense of self.

Cassidy's book provided the push I needed to jump off the fence and land solidly on this second ground.

She assures us we are all equipped to operate more from instinct - if we can resist the rather significant tugs from that other side.

My own conflict arises from reconciling the world from which I come with the world in .which I live.

I'm the youngest of seven girls. My

sisters all entered the parenting game well before I did. I had twenty-three nieces and nephews before I was even married.

My oldest sisters started having kids before parenting became the sort of obsession Cassidy describes in her book. For the others, sheer numbers have kept them from becoming parents who think too much. It's harder to be over-involved and overindulgent when you have more than two kids demanding your time and energies. To my knowledge, none of my sisters has ever subscribed to a parenting magazine. In fact, when I once mentioned some articles I had seen, one sister, a mother of five and a doctor, informed me she keeps away from those magazines altogether.

They only serve to make her feel inadequate.

When I became pregnant with my first child, the news was naturally greeted with excitement and happiness - we obviously like babies in my family. However, if I was waiting for anyone in my family to treat my impending parenthood as if it were a really big deal, I was barking up the wrong tree.

No one felt the need to inform me how hard it is to be a parent or what an important job it is (although believe me, I've heard this from enough other people). I used to think this nonchalance was a natural reaction to the twenty-fourth grandchild. But even had I produced a child earlier in the line-up, I think the reaction would have been the same.

Cassidy too has observed this "incessant notice we give this timeless process of rearing children which used to be regarded as a simple act of nature and is now exalted as a brave undertaking." Whatever brought us to this point - and Cassidy offers some sound theories - our generation did not invent the process. In my family, it is common knowledge that children are wonderful and parenthood is one of life's great experiences.

Coming from this vantage point, I did not enter parenthood with much trepidation. It seemed the next natural step in my marriage and our lives.

Why then aren't I fully a parent of instinct? Cassidy answers that question with an exhaustive number of examples of all that modern culture does to erode our instincts. For one, it's hard to escape the expert-laden media. A well-informed person, which I try to be, is bound to happen on all the latest research. Further, the commercialism pervading our lives and those of our children is practically inescapable, especially if you live in a relatively affluent community, and this too plays into abdication of our own voices in raising children.

My children are young (boys, ages three and one), and I know I have many more temptations ahead of me than behind me. Already I've heard the siren call to sign them up - get them going. Before my son Sam was three, he had been through Huggy Bears, Little Butterflies, and a semester of Kindermusic, not to mention the standard library story hour. There were an equal number of activities (Elmhurst has a great Park District) in which many of his friends were involved that I resisted.

The offerings will only increase as he gets older, as will his own interest in taking part. I don't regret a single one of these activities, but I'm already well aware of how easy it could become to over-program my children.

We have to equally resist the call to buy things for our children, and again I haven't always won this battle.

My husband and I have gotten pretty adept at dodging the exer-saucer, swing, baby gym, and the Johnny Jump-up that have taken over our rooms. Fortunately, babies quickly outgrow these things, so now we just face the challenge of finding places to store them.

Still, I can take pride that my infant seat doesn't vibrate, we have hardly any black, red, and white

- 17 -

miracle toys, and I don't own a wipe warmer or a Diaper Genie. At every baby shower I've attended, inevitably each one of these gadgets, as well as many more, have been declared "an absolute necessity" by the knowledgeable mothers in the room.

My babies have been seriously deprived in comparison to some I know, and it's a wonder previous generations grew up at all without all these "necessities." But then I have had at least two sisters eye my two dollar plastic formula dispenser with their usual scorn for yuppie parents, so everything is relative.

Then come the toys. We try to hold all toy purchases to Christmas and birthdays, and for a while I thought we were holding our own against the toy explosion. But this Christmas put us over the edge, and I'm sure the amount of "kid stuff" has influenced our conversations about moving to a bigger house. My parents didn't have to worry about spoiling us simply because they did not have the means to do so. It's harder not to spoil when you can.

And what of the parenting classes to which Cassidy devotes so much ink? (To give you an idea, one whole chapter is entitled, "I am a Parenting Class Dropout.") Well, I must confess, my husband and I are graduates of a ten week course offered through our public library and highly extolled as a lifesaver by a number of our friends.

Naturally I tried to hide our participation in the class from my sisters, but my husband blabbed. The reaction was (as suspected), "Hmmm," accompanied by the amused smirk one might wear upon encountering a fullfledged yuppie parent.

Granted, we enjoyed the course and took away some good things from it. The Adlerian theories of the course are mostly sound and the methods sometimes work. And I think Cassidy too would acknowledge - as she throws a critical light on these sorts of classes and the multitude of parenting

books - that the experts' advice is not necessarily wrong. But too often it seems, we do come away from these experiences using someone else's language, and perhaps relying on methods we don't fully own (I, for one, could never carry off the concept of the family council meeting). I know how to frame a request of my son as a choice, acknowledge his feelings when he has done wrong, and to empower him at all the right times. I know how to praise the work, and not him, and how to admire a picture without in any way jeopardizing his self-esteem. But often I just feel plain phony when I'm using these methods and, as Cassidy points out, kids know phony when they see it.

It's not that the alternative is to yell and scream, throw my weight around, and stomp on my child's feelings. I know better and probably didn't need a class to tell me so. I got the impression from some of the people in the class, however, that they lived in fear of psychologically damaging their children in their efforts to get them to eat a good dinner or get them to bed at a decent hour. Thinking back on the experience, I definitely saw examples among some parents of the lack of selfconfidence that reliance on experts can bring us to. All the role-playing and pop-psychology in the world will not erase the fact that we still have to be able to say a firm "no" to our children.

Perhaps the most interesting and most convincing chapter in Cassidy's book is titled "Kidcentricity." Here Cassidy describes an increasingly blurred line between childhood and adulthood, and theorizes on the effect it's having on our children. The problem she observes is one I've felt, but hadn't fully put together. I have noticed a certain reluctance in me and my friends to admit we're fully grown-up. We are the parents now.

One example that perhaps illustrates this reluctance to assume the adult role is the number of my friends who

have said they don't want to be called "Mrs." by children. It makes them sound old; and that's their mother-inlaw's name anyway. Almost all acknowledge they wouldn't have dreamed of calling their parents' friends by their first names while growing up - after-all, they were old and that would have been disrespectful. In truth, those parents were probably considerably younger than weare now.

This example coincides with Cassidy's enumeration of the many ways our culture has become "kidcentric." From the growth of family theme restaurants and vacations, to the way we're designing our homes and public spaces, Cassidy describes how many things have developed around a "kid-friendly" concept.

At the same time, kids make their way increasingly into the adult world.

Fashion is a good example she offers.

Talk to anyone with a grade-school age girl and she'll tell you the perils of trying to dress her child like a child.

Children are invited to participate in all our conversations, and bedtimes have gotten later to accommodate the working parent.

On the surface, this focus on children is a good thing, yet the case Cassidy makes is that in the process of making the adult world cater to kids, there's less distinction between the two worlds, and this disserves both.

Adults, surely, are robbed of adult spaces and time for adult conversation.

But the bigger loss is for the children: they are imposing on our world, and we're imposing on theirs.

They are not left enough to their own devices, to have their own kid thoughts, and to play in their own way. We are ever at their sides, keeping them occupied, making the world "fun" for them. I agree with Cassidy that this leads to a false and empty kind of childhood, because adults can never recreate the innocent and unique perspective that only kids can have on the world.

- 18 -

I also agree with Cassidy's assessment that this focus on kids has been brought about by working mothers and stay-at-home mothers alike - the former out of guilt for spare amounts of time, and the latter out of the need to prove to the world that they gave up their careers for a more worthwhile and challenging pursuit than keeping house.

I was talking to a group of women friends about some of the ideas in this book, and one of my friends asked me how I would change my child-rearing because of it. (For one, I will resist using the verb "to parent," which, as a made up word not only offends the sensibilities of former English teachers like Cassidy and myself, but, as Cassidy argues, is symptomatic of our self-absorption with our role in raising children.)

I have no magazine subscriptions to cancel, nor will I need to make fewer visits to the Disney Store. Those things I had under control. Most significantly, I think I will follow Cassidy's more subtle but most cruciii1 advice: to have confidence in myself as a parent and trust my instincts.

A more old-fashioned childhood, as she calls it, is possible for our children. I feel fortified in my desire and ability to counteract those siren calls of modern culture: to buy and to do and to go. I also hope to resist the urge to over-program my children and thus allow them time to lose themselves in the self-created adventures that should be a part of growing up.

I know I will continue to feel pressure, both from my children and from other parents. After all, the last thing we want to be accused of is depriving our children of valuable experiences. At those times, perhaps I'll turn to another expert, my own mother. Like all good mothers, she was fond of saying when we wanted to do something because everyone else was, "If everyone wanted to jump off a cliff, would you jump too?"

As always, the right answer is "no."

"alnes B. D.ape..... , 1925 - 199B James B. Draper Jr., assistant headmaster of Morgan Park Academy from 1958-1962, died at his home in Wilmot, New Hampshire October 23, 1998. He was 73.

Mr. Draper's term as assistant headmaster of MPMA/MPA, under headmaster Ted Withington, spanned the difficult years of demilitarization.

He had taught and coached at Kent School, Kent, Connecticut, and then chaired the English department at Germantown Academy, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, before coming to MPMA/MPA. He won ten varsity letters at Noble & Greenough School, Dedham, Massachusetts, and after serving with the U.S. Army during World War II, he was chosen as the goalie for the American hockey team in Europe.

After leaving Morgan Park Academy, he served as headmaster of the Pebble Hill School, Syracuse, New York, from 1962 to 1968. He was then head at Shepherd Knapp School, Boylston, Massachusetts, until his retirement in 1973. For the next nine years, during his "retirement," he was administrative assistant and dean of faculty at Lawrence Academy, Groton, Massachusetts.

A memorial service for Mr. Draper was held October 31, 1998 at the Kearsarge Community Presbyterian Church, New London, New Hampshire.

James B. Draper Jr. in 1960.

- 19 -

La.ing .ings do""n the cu.tain by Barry Kritzberg

The Loring School for Girls senior play that year was "Twelve Angry Women," but it was not a rebellious commentary on the fact that the 1962 commencement exercises would be the final act of the school's eighty-six year history.

The school's last MADONNA FARMER yearbook, Laurel Leaves, gave no indication that anything was amiss at 10650 S. Longwood Drive.

There was, in fact, an optimistic, forward looking quality to many of the pages. The page devoted to the "Crop and Curry" club declared, for example: "What's new? Horseback riding! Now it's possible for a Loring girl to boast of, in addition to other accomplishments, the art of equestrianism."

In those heady days when the Kennedy White House was looking more and more

like Camelot, it was perhaps impolite to publicly suggest that the little world of Loring was anything but stable.

Most of the autographs recorded in Madonna Farmer's 1962 Loring yearbook suggest the cheerful insouciance of youth.

"Its been wonderful knowing you," one typically wrote, "good luck and happiness always." There was no hint that the girl to whom these hopeful remarks were addressed would have to find another school for her senior year.

Another girl, apparently undaunted by the Loring closing, wrote: "Good luck in all you do. I know you'll have fun at the Academy, it's a swinging school!"

Only one somber note was sounded among those otherwise cheerful prognostications: "Sorry to see the school in such a sad state as to break up everything good we had here."

When Madonna Farmer Abdishi [63] enrolled at the Loring School for Girls in 1959, she had no idea that it would be

- 20-

only full-time male on the faculty) countless attempts to make him blush; and Aurelia Fried Miller (who taught Spanish), who escaped Nazi persecution of Jews in Rumania by fleeing to Cuba, and then, eventually, to teaching at Loring - and everyone adored the principal, Miss Evans (who was asked to leave after the 1961 school year, however, for daring to take up with a younger man, a Mr. Eliot, a graduate of MPMA).

During the second semester of her junior year (Spring 1962), Madonna Farmer was astonished to learn that the school intended to close at the end of that academic year. There was an emotional, acrimonious meeting between concerned parents and the board, where parents pledged to do everything from recruiting new students to installing a fire-code dictated sprinkler Aurelia Fried Miller system. The Loring Board of Directors declined to consider the proposals, and most parents went away angry, convinced that the closing was somehow political. For the students, there was unhappy disbelief and days and days of crying.

When Loring closed, although there was no formal merger, the majority of the Loring girls continued their high school education at Morgan Park Academy, which admitted girls for the first time in 1960, reverting to a co-ed school for the first time in six decades.

Madonna Farmer was one of those who transferred to MPA, even though her father was initially opposed to it. Ted Withington, MPA headmaster, had much to do with persuading Donald Farmer to send his daughter to MPA. She found MPA exciting, but strange. After being in classes of six or seven, MPA -- with classes double that of Loring - seemed large and impersonal. "Loring was family," Madonna added, "but MPA was just a bigger school with boys."

The commencement exercises of The Loring School for Girls, held in June of 1962, was a spirited affair, as usual, but no mention was made that the final curtain that day ended an 86-year run.

closing before she would graduate.

She had grown up in Beverly, and although her father, Donald Francis Farmer, had graduated from Morgan Park Military Academy in 1931, she had only a vague awareness of the Academy.

Her father had determined, after some misadventures in Catholic schools, that Madonna should attend Loring for high school. His friends, Raymond and George Wiegel (both of whom were MPMA graduates), had daughters there and recommended it as a very good school.

Loring also had the advantage of not being Catholic. "I had a little thing against nuns," Madonna explained.

Loring, with only 60-odd students in grades 9-12, was a very intimate place, "almost a home away from home," she recalled. Class pictures from the 1962 yearbook showed a biology class of five girls; English, French, Latin, geometry, typing, and speech had six, history was seven. Art, with 18, was the largest class, while charm class, with only three, was the smallest.

All of the classes were held on the second floor, while the first floor housed the principal's office and dining room.

A third room, furnished as a living room, was a favorite gathering place for Loring girls during and after school.

There were lockers in the basement, as well as a library and "smoker" - a room where girls could smoke, but only if they had written permission from their parents to even enter the room.

Each new student at Loring was required to participate in an initiation ritual. The initiates had to wear "coolie-hats" and carry books from class to class for seniors. After some two weeks of cheerful, willing servitude, the new girls were accepted as genuine "Loring Lemons" - but only after participating in a raw egg toss, rolling a lemon (with one's nose, of course) up, up the long Loring driveway, and then eating lemons in the presence of seniors (dressed all in black for the occasion). It was all in good fun, and no one ever protested, apparently, against any ill usage.

There were several memorable teachers in those final years - Janet Lynch Meyer, who inspired Madonna to become a history teacher; the kind, knowledgeable William Bukovsan, who taught science, and who suffered through (as the William Bukovsan

- 21 -

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A man of his ""ord: Mike Rose ""ins one title and then another Mike Rose [98] kept his word having no time limit changes the but perhaps sooner than even he strategy, Mike explained, "making it into more of a chess match." expected.

To win the tournament, Mike had Mike said, shortly before his graduation from MPA, that he was to win four matches in a single day. going to Torrance, California to train His first opponent, a 26-year-old from full-time at the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy (that part was easy). He also said - and this was the part that seemed more incredible that some day he would win a national championship.

"Some day" arrived, a mere ten weeks after his MPA graduation, in August 1998.

Mike Rose was the winner, the national champion, in the Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy National Training Association Tournament, held in Torrance. He took first place in the upto-age 34 division, in the blue-belt, 190199 pound weight class.

This was the first tournament in jiujitsu history where the matches were Rorion Gracie, of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy, conheld without time gratulates Mike Rose on his championship. limits. Winners were determined when one competitor Arizona, was defeated 15-0 in under scored fifteen pOints against his five minutes. Mike's second victory, opponent, or when one "tapped-out" against a 30-year-old Texan, was won (equivalent to "I give up"). on an arm-lock tap-out in less than Previous tournament matches three minutes. were only six minutes long, and The semi-final, against another

- 23 -

Gracie trained grappler, was the toughest match on the way to the title, Mike said. He led on points from early on, but it took more than 25 minutes before was able to force his opponent, with a choke-hold, to tapout.

Mike took the championship on points, 16-0, in a match that lasted some thirty minutes.

He spent thirty hours a week training for the tournament - a varied routine that included running, yoga, weight training, and grappling to exhaustion three times a week - while also taking four courses at Maremount College.

Just two months later, in October 1998, Mike was competing for the international title in Honolulu, Hawaii. He won his first match of the day, a quick and easy tap-out. The semi-final match lasted 25 minutes, with Mike winning on points, 15-3.

"I almost had him at the beginning, with an ankle-lock, but he slipped out," Mike recalled.

The international championship match was against the same opponent he had defeated in the nationals in thirty minutes. Mike won on pOints, 16-0, in just six minutes.

"He was really strong," Mike said, "but 1 knew his style from the nationals, so 1 was ready for him."

What does an 18-year-old with national and international titles do for an encore?

"I might turn pro within a year," Mike said, "and try the free-style fighting called, sometimes, 'No Rules,' or 'Vale Tudo' [its Brazilian name], or 1 might just wait for 2004, when the free-style Pan Kration will become an Olympic event."

A treasure trove of: lInelinories Charles Carner Sr. [41], featured on the cover of the November 1998 Academy Magazine,sent this letter to 4th grade teacher Harriet Arnold a short time later: "I wish to thank you for the excellent article you did on my visit to the Academy. You must have been a reporter for the New York Times at the very least.

"The whole day was a trip back in time for me. As for all the alumni, the school is a treasure trove of memories from the first day to the final ceremony around the flag pole. My uncle recorded much of the period on eight and, later,

sixteen millimeter black and white (and later color) film - from football and baseball to the parades and squeezeheart endings. He liked to title episodes by standing letters on a cannon and then have them drop off as the cannon barrel tilted upward.

"I've no idea what happened to most of that film, but it gives you an idea of the importance of the events at the Academy in relation to our lives."

Alullnni Basketball Gallne More than eighty alumni gathered in the gym on the day after Christmas, 1998, for the annual alumni basketball game. The even years faced-off, as usual, against the odd years.

It was a high scoring, well played match, won by the odd years with a late surge.

There were the "regulars -like Michael Rogers [69], Ron Drynan [79], Kareem Daniel [92], and Scott King [86] but it was also good to see the Cuadros' out in full force : David [86] and Julie [93] Cuadros, along with their parents, Hugo and Linda.

Reviving Alullnni Dinners

II -

Rumor has it, that for many years, the Alumni Associated used to host an annual dinner in June. Although frequently held on campus in the dining hall, it was occasionally staged off campus.

Our hope is to revive this event - but perhaps with a few new twists.

All alumni are co.r dially invited, therefore, to the ANNUAL ALUMNI DINNER. This year it will be held on Saturday, October 9, 1999 Homecoming.

Please save the date and make plans to be there.

Our plan, at present, is to hold it once again in the dining hall - but we will also seek to form a committee that might plan future years. Additional details will be forthcoming in early summer.

And, as John Lennon and Paul McCartney put it, "Having been some weeks in preparation a splendid time is guaranteed for all."

Golf: Outing The Fourth Annual Alumni Golf Classic is being planned for June, 1999. As in past years, the proceeds from this event will go to support the memorial scholarships: Martin Wolf, Claudette LeRose, Donald E. Coller and Capt. Francis Gray.

The date and place are yet to be determined. Watch for the invitation.

- 24 -

Six degrees of separation ...

issues the oath of office to Governor George Ryan in Springfield, Illinois, in January of 1999.

[lnset1 Then Lt. Governor Ryan presents the 1989 Lt. Governor's French award to Myriam Guillen [931, then a sixth grader.

The class of 1987 - - one of the smallest - - has a large turnout for its reunion.

Front row: Noah Robinson, Paula Cuadros, Kimberly March, Mary Kim, Monique Elias, Gina Griffiths, Juli Horka. Back row: David Stopka, Andrew Akers, Roxanne Sylora, Rajiv Goel, Rosie Regas, Kevin Smith, Stacy Wood.

- 25 -

What's going on?

Maurice R. Vick [33] is always glad to hear from or about the Academy. ''It played a great part of my life during my early years of high school. I am always thankful. I remember marching in the lead group of the World's Fair."

William C. Boehm [37] is still living the retired life two miles from Mt. Vernon. "When you're retired, every day is Sunday. I play tournament bridge two or three times a week and play golf at Fort Belvoir about three to four times weekly. (I don't do either of these too well). I still teach ballroom dancing weekly, but have limited this to senior citizens."

Russell C. Craig [37] just completed a one month trip in his aircraft (a Bellanca Viking) from his home airport, March Air Reserve Base in Southern California. "I flew to Buffalo, NY, Washington, DC, Boston, MA, and home to California, with stops at Fort Wayne, IN, Hutchison, KS, and Gallup, NM. I logged 48 hours of flying time and had my 79th birthday enroute.

Don't get to Chicago much anymore. My son has relocated to Alexandria, VA." Merwin B. Grahm [38] is 78-years-old; his wife died one year ago. "I gave up golf, but I try to stay active. I think about my

Troop which marched directly in front of MPMA."

experience at MPMA and I wish I could turn the clock back - my time at MPMA was grand."

Charles W. Getz [42] is "alive and healthy, thank you Lord. I am enjoying my grandchildren and writing screenplays, novels and articles. I am active in WW II organizations on the internet: getz@pacbell.net"

George L. Lamparter [39] has lunch every two months with some of the guys from the class of 39.

"We have fun!!!"

Charles R. Carner [41] visited his daughter, Cynthia, and her husband, Robert Langston [MPA art teacher], and grandchildren Anais, John, Thomas and Katherine in Chicago.

"I expect to do another visit after March in Santa Monica, where my son, Charlie, and his wife, Debbie, are expecting their first child. I see my son, Henry, in California as well. I play roles (as an extra) in occasional movies of Charlie's, read scripts, and do location scouting. I am also still working on three books - one history, two fiction (flying and newspaper-communication novels). I write short detective fiction also.

Other than that, I sit on my office furniture and ponder over Windows 95 Instrument Flight Training."

RobertN. Burchinal [43] had his 74th birthday (born 2-14-25) and is still going into the business three days a week. "I have, however, an incurable lung disease (similar to black lung) which is taking its toll. This illness began over three years ago and there is no cure! But we play the hand we were dealt. I have five children (two girls at either end and three boys in between). They have provided me with eleven grandchildren. Four of the five live here in Arizona and one son and family reside in Chicago .. .1 continue to lose older friends, which is tough to deal with at times, when one considers how short life really is."

Charles F. Everett [43] and his wife are fine and their grandchildren keep them busy. "Our greatgranddaughter, Emma (age 2), will fly to Minnesota with her mom, giving us a chance to know her. She lives on Vashon Island in Washington. I am doing fine, and all in the family

Robert G. Miner [41] recalls that "each year (1938-41) the cadet corps marched on Michigan in the Memorial Day Parade.

We focused straight ahead, in good, military fashion and were thus able to sidestep the offerings of Chicago's Black Horse

- 26-

are okay. We have a new granddaughter, born March 10, 1999. We now have 16. Our oldest granddaughter had an article printed in Opthalmic Nursing and Technology on ocular injuries from air bag deployment. We are so proud of her. It seems the important things now are what the children and grandchildren are doing.

We were in the Chicago area last week of September. Talked to Bob Slew.

Say, class of 1943, how about getting together? We should do it in the near future. Sure would be fun just to sit and visit at the school. Time sure flies - it's 56 years since we all went our own ways."

William P. Braker [44] is retired 5 years - as Director Emeritus of John G. Shedd Aquarium. "I am living with wife Patricia in Matteson. 4 children, 7 grandchildren. Enjoy tennis, golf, skiing, fishing.

Retirement is a great life!"

George L. Stemmler [44] is the Founding Director of the German American Heritage Society, which now has 300 members, and is a consultant to Kranjon Industries, headquartered in St. Louis.

"I have two sons and two grandsons, all living in St. Louis. My wife, Guin, is a minister, associated with Union Avenue Christian Church, St. Louis. I have been in contact with Lauris Eck and Deb St. Pierre and

would like to hear from Bob Usedom and Dick Phillips."

years of marriage in the wonderful country of Sri Lanka."

Jerome S. Levin [45] just celebrated his 50th Wedding anniversary and is still active in the practice of matrimonial and family law (President of the law firm of Levin & Rosen Ltd. in Skokie, Illinois). "I am past president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Law. I have two married children and four grandchildren."

RobertJ. Cecrle [50] married Rae Ann, 1976, and they have three children, four granddaughters. "I am the owner of Weldone Ornamental Iron, 908 South Western Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612 (312) 226-0392, and of B & R Developers and Mngt. (run by Rae Ann). My hobbies are boating, skiing, water skiing, and scuba diving."

Ralph D. Schiller [45] finds the last alumni bulletin much improved.

"It is nice to observe the school making an effort in the area of alumni. Good for you and thank you.

Only news is our son, Ralph III [Culver 84] was married to Andrea Soulleaire last August and had a baby boy, Ward Schiller. Andrea is a doctor, MD-OBGYN, and Ralph III is president of Logistics of USA LTD. Best wishes and long live MPMA. Getting better and stronger."

John F. Stewart [47] recalls two MPMA experiences he'll never forget: taking the Corps downtown by streetcar to be the Governor's escort in the Memorial Day Parade ... and also, our last night [at MPMA], when Ken Nash and I played 'Taps' as a trombone duet."

Barry O. Coleman [49] hopes to attend his 50th Class Reunion "to see how the fellows have done."

George R. McArdle [49] is enjoying retirement, "particularly the thought of not being obliged to be at work. I celebrated 40

Sally V. Hass [54] has retired, and is "enjoying the Cascade Mountains and high desert of Oregon."

Mark C. Klein [55] and his wife have retired and moved to the Monterey Bay area, near Carmel, in Northern California. "Two of our children are now running the company - Computer Media Technologies, Sunnyvale, CA. Golf, flying and classic cars keeping me busy."

Walter S. Hofman [50] is practicing dentistry at St. Alexis Hospital in Hoffman Estates. "I have traveled to most of the important places in the world. My health and family are terrific. "

Richard L. Bauer [57] moved back into the Chicago area from Oklahoma in April, 1998. "I have seven children and sixteen grandchildren. I'm on disability, so my wife and I are just taking it easy.

I am still in touch with Robert Vernon [57]. He lives in Olympia Fields, IL. He and I would like to hear from old friends and classmates. "

John R. Gislason [53] retired from Procter and Gamble after 37 years. "I saw MPMA classmate Bill Sadd on a trip to Sanibel Island, FL and also saw Bill Craske on a trip to White Sulphur Springs, W. VA. Both look great. Sadd is retired and Bill is a doctor.

I am a happy grandfather of five and enjoy being with the families: son Rob in Orlando, FL; son Bill and daughter Amy in Terrace Park, and have a son Dave in Lansdowne, PA. One daughter, Jill, a senior in high school, is still at home. My wife Jan and I enjoy golf and racquetball. "

Jerry D. Bowden [57] has been retired since June, 1993. "I taught chemistry and math at A. B. Shepard H.S. in Palos Heights, IL." Dabney W. Hoon [59] returned from a wonderful trip around the United States and had great fun visiting Chicago and seeing old friends from Loring. "We had a great visit with Lois LaMantia and her husband Bill - Mr. and Mrs. William McEssay.

Also had lunch at Pump Room with Sandra Glickley Haggerty, also from Loring Class of 1959. It was wonderful to share with my husband, Howard, all the great places in Chicago!"

Patrick M. Lonergan [53] moved to a 90 acre farm overlooking the Delaware River in New Jersey.

"Gloria and I are doing fine."

- 27 -

Bruce E. Burmeister [61] is on disability due a 1982 auto accident, which resulted in a closed head injury for him, and took the lives of his two sons, Carsten, age four, and Frederick, ten. "I am active as a volunteer at the county animal control shelter, the Juvenile Detention center, Kiwanis and the church. I enjoy gardening, fishing, hunting and camping. I am on the Kiwanis Board of Directors and am President of the Volunteer Tact Force of the LaPorte Country Juvenile Services Center. Beverly is a Senior Director at LaPorte Hospital and we are both choir members at our local Presbyterian Church.

Barbara E. Callan [61] is living on Lake Freeman, near Indiana Beach, in Monticello, Indiana. "I am treasurer of my church, Lutheran Church of Our Savior. I have been a widow since 1990. I enjoy boating, fishing, doing watercolor painting and sketching, and playing bridge. My daughter and grandson live nearby. I have also been a Braille worker at our church for over six years. I would enjoy hearing from my classmates."

John M. Stack [61] says "the memories of Academy life, even after thirty-eight years, still drive me as to what constitutes a good education. I am building an indoor golf dome facility and am a 4.0 tennis player.

I enjoy an active community involvement with the township schools. I have also smuggled Bibles into

China the last four years!!

So - shared my love for Coach Andy Bitta, who died last September. I'll forever embrace the ideals of the Academy's education. Thanks, from Big John."

Kenneth Mortenson [63] and his wife, Linda, had a baby boy in January 1999.

"At my age, I can be father and grandfather simultaneously!!!"

Judith Orzechowski [65] says "it was very nice to receive the sympathy cards from both the Alumni Association and the Mothers' Club for my mother's recent death. We had recently returned from a European cruise (my children, Tony and Katy, husband Ziggy and my parents) when my mother suffered her stroke.

Between that and the year long battle with cancer, it was just too much for her."

Dr. LeonJ. Witkowski [65] has recently moved his practice from the River Oaks shopping center in Calumet City (after 25 years) to Mokena, 11. His new address is Dr. Leon J. Witkowski Jr., DDS, 19665 S. LaGrange Road, Mokena, IL 60448, 708/ 479-9888. Stop by and see him anytime. He is looking good in his new office!

Charles B. Goes [66] was elected President of Master Printers Association of Illinois and Indiana.

Dr. Jeff R. Unger [70] continues to work with many pro wrestlers (including Hulk Hogan) across the country.

Janet Coleman [72] has three children - John, Kristen and Sarah - and is studying for a Master's degree."

resources consulting and taking care of DJ (5-yearsold), Katelyn (two-and-ahalf years) and Ditka, our English Bulldog. We also got to see Sammy hit Numbers 47 and 66 at the Astrodome."

James A. Fitch [73] has four children (ages range from 8 to 17) and is sponsoring 17 -year old Tim Lorenz from the Frankfurt area of Germany for the current school year.

"We have known Tim since he was six years old when we lived next door to his family in Koenigstein, Germany for two years."

Susan Waitkus Westcott [78] was "married on a picture perfect day to Craig Westcott on May 16, 1998, at the Chicago Yacht Club.

We enjoyed a wonderful three week honeymoon in France and Italy, and we hope to close on our new home in North Mayfair (Chicago) by the end of October."

Mary A. Hunter [74] has a five-year-old, in kindergarten. "I have made a career change into environmental consulting."

Eileen Hofstetter [76] and her husband, Michael, moved to Buffalo Grove and the newest addition to their family, Clayton Edward, was born on April 17,1998."

Paula Newsome [79] was one of the stars of the NBC sitcom, "Conrad Bloom," with co-stars Ever Carrandine, Mark Feurstein, Linda Lavin, Jessica Stone, Lauren Graham and Steve Landesberg. The cast was featured in TV Guide (September 12, 1998).

Paula now makes her home in Los Angeles. [See the November 1999 Academy Magazine for a profile of Paula.]

Keith Ashby [78] and his wife, Agnes SolonAshby, MD, welcomed in the new year with a new addition, Meredith Elise, born 11-27-98. She and her two-year-old brother, Colin, are now orienting themselves to life in the midwest, as I have accepted a position with Procter & Gamble, as a medical director in the company's professional and scientific relations organization."

Robyne L. Robinson [79] continues to garner accolades. She was named Best Newscaster 1998, City Pages Newspaper, Best Female Anchor 1998, MN Women's Press and Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine; Best Celebrity 1998 Skyway News, 1998

David A. Jones [78] is still a Mergers and Acquisition attorney at Boyer, Ewing and Harris in Houston. "My wife, Socorro, is semi-retired, doing some human - 28 -

Humanitarian of the Year Minneapolis Community & Technical College; Emmy Nominee "Talk With Robyne" Specials, UPN-9; 1997 and 1998; and best local music show ("The Buzz"), MN Music Awards; She has been the subject of feature stories by MPLS - St. Paul Magazine [and was pictured on the cover in September 1998], Blaze Magazine (National Publication), St. Paul Pioneer Press & Star-Tribune Newspaper; and was one of only 4 journalists nationwide to do broadcast interview with the artist formerly known as Prince (including Oprah)."

[Robyne was featured in the May 1999 Academy Magazine.]

Alicia Martinez-Spencer [80] recently relocated to Charlottesville, VA from Arizona after completing her graduate studies in an Adult/Geriatric Nurse Practitioner Program. "I am currently practicing at the University of Virginia providing primary care to rural elderly. My husband Paul and I are busy with remodeling projects in our home."

Paul Chronis [82] is a partner with the international law firm of McDermott, Will and Emery, and is specializing in commercial litigation.

Mary Vallortigara Andersen [83] is presently living in Hinsdale ... currently in the process of moving to another home in Hinsdale.

"I am a stay-at-home mom. My husband and I are raising our three sons: Artie (6 years old), Christo-

pher (3-1/2 years old), and Nicholas (17 months old)."

Steve Petso [83] is starting a new company - The Mortgage Mart. "I also went mountain biking in Colorado over the summer. I recently moved back to Indiana after living in Tulsa, Oklahoma."

Marc Sokol [88] is attending Indiana University Law School in Bloomington, IN. Elizabeth (Beth) Crosby Judson [89] and her husband, John, live in Isle of Palms, an island off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina. They both received their masters in Engineering from Clemson University and continue to work for Amoco Chemical Company. They are hoping to get an overseas assignment next year. They love their life on the beach and are always having lots of visitors since they are in such a beautiful part of the country.

Nikhil R. Rangaraj [89] decided, after four-andone-half years with Price Waterhouse, to make a change. "I joined Diamond Technology Partners, a digital strategy consulting firm, last fall and am currently living in Cambridge, MA." Laresh K.Jayasanker [90] is now teaching in a firstyear program for at-risk high schoolers at the College of San Mateo in California."

Amy L. Danielewicz McCombs [90] is now co-coordinator of

Clinical Services at The Wells Center (a chemical dependency treatment center.) "In July, we moved into our new (99-year-old) home in the historical preservation district in Jacksonville, IL, across the street from a wonderful old park - a perfect place for the kids to play. Daughter Andrea will be 2 in May, the same month we're expecting our 2nd child."

Catherine Covert Fox [91] and husband, John, "joyfully welcomed their son, Donovan John, into the world April 8, 1998 Donovan is happy and healthy."

Stephen Goosby [91] recently accepted a position as a trade marketing manager with Brown and Williamson Tobacco, in Syracuse, NY. He is also pursuing an MBA program (Marketing) at Syracuse University. "I'd love to hear from any MPA alumni on the East Coast! I always look forward to Alumni Bball!"

Kevin Shaw [91] has been working at ESPN, since graduating from Michigan State in 1995.

"I'm located in Bristol, CT and in 1997 I was promoted from production assistant to associate producer. I produce features for our NFL and NBA coverage, traveling to different cities each week.

E-mail me at SHAWK.@ESPN.COM."

College as an admissions counselor since September 1997."

Jodi Kapjon Gaertner [93] "In the presence of family and friends, married Michael Gaertner, a computer programmer from Germany, August 2, 1998. Tiffany Woodie [93], Deborah Aruguete [94], and Sarah Rasul [93] were in the wedding party.

Guests included Jabari DeRon [94], Arpit Shah [93], Pechluck "Pat" Pongched [94], and [former MPA history teacher] Christopher Freiler. Michael then switched jobs and now we are living in Redmond, Washington, just outside of Seattle. I miss my job at the welfare-to-work program in Chicago, but I am also looking forward to being a full-time student again. Anyone wanting to get in touch, feel free to email me at JGAERTNER@ATT.NET. Take care."

Daniela Ford Silaides [94] says "everything is great. I am working toward my Masters at DePaul and making plans for law school in the coming fall. I would love to hear from some classmates. I hope everybody is doing well."

Kruti Trivedi [96] worked the summer of 1998 as a reporter for the largest paper in the state of Washington - The Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "I was very surprised to find out that my deskmate, veteran

Johnnie M.Johnson [93] graduated from Cornell College in 1997, with a double major (Business/ Sociology). "I have been employed by Cornell

- 29-

reporter Art Gorlick [53], was an alum of MPMA! "I am studying at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton and am spending the spring semester in Australia, studying human rights violations."

Todd Schorle [96] is a junior at DePaul University and a third year member of the tennis team. I am #6 singles, competing in Division I. I am a media studies major and also a founding father of a new fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epsilon."

Jude I. Abbasi [97] is a sophomore at Loyola and plans on going into a health profession. "I have also been engaged for quite some time and plan on getting married late summer of 1999."

Matthew M. Klarich [97] graduated from Lincoln [two-year] College in May 1998 and started at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston in autumn 1998.

Samantha C. Chears [98] is a freshman at Florida A & M University in Tallahas see, Florida where she is majoring in pharmacy. "I am on the Dean's list and doing well."

Bradley Kaspar [98] didn't make the tennis or soccer team at Wheaton College. "But I want to learn to breakdance."

TAPS Dr. Aurel E. Goglin [29], September 30, 1998.

Harold A. Wiersema [33], June 20, 1998.

Robert W. Von Lutzow [35] Arthur G.JohnsonJr. [38], December 1998.

Arthur was the commander of "c" Company and one of the rare four-sport lettermen in the school's history. He excelled in football, track and baseball and won a varsity letter in basketball as a freshman.

He was the idol of many and most of our alumni will say, without hesitation, that he was "truly a great guy." I personally can add emphasis to that statement.

About twenty years ago, on a visit to Culver, Johnson's name came up in a conversation with Russ Oliver, coach of many of Culver'S better teams.

Coach Oliver remembered the MPMA star very well: "you know, we at Culver got very tired of playing against Art Johnson."

During World War II, his infantry platoon was surrounded by the Japanese on Guadalcanal. His brilliant leadership found a way to break out of the encirclement and he and his men returned to safety. He bravely earned himself a Silver Star. A legend is gone.

- - Irwin Martin [40J Carl G. Swanson [42], December 15, 1997.

David B. Brittain [44], December 15, 1998.

David, age 72, of Brandon, WI, died at home after one helluva life.

He was born December 24, 1925 in Chicago. After graduating from Morgan Park Military Academy, he briefly served in the U.S. Army during WW II. He then attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana where he received his BA and MA degrees.

He taught at Elmhurst College (Illinois) before coming to Ripon College in 1962. He taught anatomy and physiology until he retired in 1989. He continued to teach on an adjunct basis, however, until 1995. He became particularly interested in the connection between the mind, body and spirit and spent many years teaching yoga and stress management in Ripon and other area communities.

Dave was a long time member of the First Congregational Church of Ripon. He was particularly interested in the Association of Humanistic Psychology. In recent years he had also been volunteering with Hospice of Fond du Lac. Dave's zest for life was particularly exhibited in his love and compassion for others.

Dave is survived by his wife, Sarah McGowan, three children, Guy P., of Fort Atkinson, Scott E. of Byron, and Carol A. Jordan, of Bayside, five grandchildren; a sister, Mary Jane Buddig, of Hinsdale, IL, and his first wife, Barbara Brittain, of Ripon.

A memorial service was held at the First Congregational Church of Ripon, Saturday, December 19. Memorial donations may be made to Planned Parenthood, Ripon College or the charity of your choice.

- - Sarah McGowan Richard F. Poss [45], 1998.

Barbara L. Beutel [47], it was recently learned, died in 1984.

David N. Daisley [48], August, 1998.

A. Paul Heinze, father of Dorothy Heinze Ecklund [48], December 1997.

He was 106-1/2 years old and had nothing wrong other than old age. He slipped away peacefully in the middle of the night. Even at that age he was remarkable since he still knew everyone and still had his faculties and a fairly good memory.

- - Dorothy Heinze Ecklund Phillip G. MalysaJr. [55], October 22,1997.

Glenn Westerberg [66], September 17,1998.

- 30-

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MPMAjMPA Fashions

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lIEM

DESCRIPTION

~

ABI

A

Hooded sweat shirt

navy

red/white MPA logo

Adult:

S

A

Hooded sweat shirt

navy

red/white MPA logo

Adult:

XXL

A

Hooded sweat shirt

navy

red/white MPA logo

Youth:

10-12

B

Tie-dyed t-shirt

wild

white MPA

Adult:

M

B

Tie-dyed t-shirt

wild

white MPA

Youth

SJZ.E

CQSI

M

L

XL

$25 $27

14-16

L

$25 $19

XL

$19

C

T-shirt

gray

Scripted MPA

Adult:

S

C

T-shirt

gray

Scripted MPA

Adult:

XXL

$15

C

T-shirt

gray

Scripted MPA

Youth:

4-10

$14

D

T-shirt

navy

Red MPA Athletic Dept.

Adult:

S

M

M

L

L

XL

XL

$14

$14

D

T-shirt

navy

Red MPA Athletic Dept.

Adult:

XXL

D

T-shirt

navy

Red MPA Athletic Dept.

Youth:

6-8

E

Cap

white/red visor

MPA

adjustable

$15

E

Cap

khaki/blue visor

MPA

adjustable

$15

$15 10-12

$14

F

Boxer shorts

green/blue plaid

MPA

Adult:

M

L

XL

$18

G

Concord golf shirt

blue collar

MPA embroidered

Adult:

M

L

XL

$31

H

Long-sleeve Henley

red

MPA

Adult:

M

L

XL

$20

H

Long-sleeve Henley

red

MPA

Adult:

XXL

$22

J

Knit ski cap

red

MPA

One size fits all

$10

K

Sweat shirt

white or gray

MPA seal

Adult:

XL

XXL

$25

L

Sweat shirt

white or gray

MPMA seal

Adult:

XL

XXL

$25

M

Sweat shirt

white or gray

Football team

Adult:

XL

XXL

$25

International luncheon: an MPA Tradition Countries (and dishes} represented at MPA's International luncheon on November 4, 1998 included: Native American (corn salad}; India (chakri}; Bangladesh (kur mur bhaji}; France (fromage}; Thailand (chicken}; Haiti (pork chops}; Germany (potato pancakes}; Puerto Rico (red beans and rice}; Holland (chicken broccoli casserole}; Italy (pasta}; China (fried rice}; Poland (pierogi}; Sweden (noodles}; American (southern fried chicken}; Mexico (tamales}; Syria (rice with almonds}; Senegal (peanut butter cookies}; Japan (gomoku-meshi}; Viet Nam (egg rolls}; Croatia (stuffed cabbage}; England (tea sandwiches}; Philippines (chicken}; Pakistan (cookies}; Norway (krum kake}; Lithuania (chrustics}; and Ireland (soda bread}.

PRESORTED FIRST CLASS U.S. POSTAGE

MORGAN PARK ACADEMY "A world-class education " 2153 W. 111th St. , Chicago , IL 60643

PAID PER MIT NO. 2898 CHI CAGO, IL

FIRST CLASS MAIL