How some of us decided what language to take in high school

By FRANK BARNING

One of my biggest high-school decisions was which language to take: Spanish, French or Latin. I was not the kind of young man who asked others for advice, so as with many other choices in my young life, I had to wing it.

For those of us who thought they were college bound, a big deal in eighth grade was waiting to see if you had been selected to take a foreign language during our freshman year at Division Avenue High School. I expected to get good news, and being a planner, chose a language in advance.

These were my thoughts (at the time) on the three languages:

Latin…this was for the really smart kids people who would attend elite universities, so that left me out. Or guys headed to the priesthood. That left me out, too.

Spanish…this was the easiest of the three. Therefore it was for the marginal people on a college track. So that removed Espanol from my choices.

French…this was the language for those of us college-bound kids who were, intellectually, somewhere in the middle. So, this was my choice. And it helped that I liked Maurice Chevalier, Brigitte Bardot, the Montreal Canadiens hockey team, Edith Piaf and French fries.

When ninth grade started, I was in a French class with some really smart kids. The brilliant Ellen Rees comes to mind. She is now Dr. Ellen Rees. Why wasn’t she taking Latin, I wondered?

That first day of freshman year, I was chatting with my friend Ira Selsky after school and asked how he liked his classes. In my mind, Ira was as smart as Ellen Rees. Among other things he said, "Oh, Spanish is going to be fun." In shock, I almost fell on the floor. What the heck was Ira doing taking Spanish?

It turns out that I was naive for thinking such stupid things about choosing a language. I wonder how many other absolutely moronic conclusions I reached while at Division.

Our freshman year only three languages were offered. We were to become our school's first graduating class. By the time we entered senior year in 1959, since there was other grades at DAHS, additional languages were available because the pool of students had grown.

French was one of my favorite high-school classes. I took three years with a teacher having the least French name one could imagine, Thaddeus Kalinowski. He had never been to France, much less Quebec, but the man was a fine instructor and I was well prepared for two semesters of French at Hofstra.

Among other things I learned in French class was that Piaf, as in Edith, means sparrow.

The memories of other DAHS grads follows:

Warren Zaretsky, 1960
I only remember that "someone" said "it's a good thing to take a foreign language." I don't remember who it was or if there was any social, cultural, political, or economic reasons given. It seems it was just a generally accepted idea, like you should eat your vegetables and you don't fart in crowded elevators (well, not out loud anyway).

The choices were Spanish and French and "everyone" said that Spanish was easier. I took Spanish in ninth grade with Mrs. Camiera, a no-nonsense, stern woman with a Castilian lithp. Nevertheless, I fooled around and barely managed a 65. The following year I took French (might as well try the only other option) with Thaddeus Kalinowski -- a bizarrely flamboyant, exuberantly nerdy "piece of work," in natty suits, blue and pink shirts and contrasting bow ties.

I remember him flitting around the room, pounding on students' desks and screaming into our faces, "If I came to your house and woke you up at 3 o'clock in the morning, could you give me the principle parts of the verb vouloire?"

Somehow I passed three years with him, and even a semester's worth in college, Subsequently, when I went to Paris, my 3 1/2 years of French was useless, while my 1-year of failed Spanish stood me in good stead in Spain.

Melissa Shaffer 1962
I chose French, I think because it seemed more intellectual, you know Descartes, etc. and of course for the appeal of French culture in general. Also took Spanish because I loved languages. Took Russian also in high school because it was unique at the time and that appealed to me. Was able to use all those languages - continued Russian in college, finally got to go to Paris, and have used my Spanish since I went into the Peace Corps in 1967. We have a large Latino population in Connecticut, so I get to use at least a little Spanish daily.

Bob Castro, 1960
I have only vague recollections of the foreign language selection process. It seems to me that the guidance counselors had input to this event. I believe that we were told that completion of a foreign language sequence would enhance our chances of college acceptance and that we would have to take a language in college anyway. So, it would be better to start now and make taking a language in college easier.

For me, the choice of a language was easy since my dad spoke fluent Spanish. It was with great regret that Senora Cameira failed the only two students in her Spanish 1 class that had a Spanish heritage; me and Louie Lopez. Summer school at Levittown Memorial was not on my original list of things to do that summer, but due to some "urging" from my parents it became my new priority.

I wound up taking three years of Spanish and did reasonably well, especially in the Regents exams. Maybe that was because I sat next to Renee Gordon.

Dewain Lanfear, 1960
The best I can recall (how's that for a disclaimer from someone not running for office), I was told that many colleges still required Latin as a prerequisite and that many also required a total of five years of language. Furthermore, German was for students who were going to major in math or science, French was for those aiming towards the humanities, and Spanish was for everyone else. Based on that I took three years of Latin and two years of French (doubled up my junior year).

However "bogus" the advice may have been, those choices were excellent ones for me. In 1967 I walked into a language proficiency test for my MA in English and after a two-week refresher in French, sailed through the exam without a problem. Of course I was aided by the fact that the passage for translation was exactly on my thesis topic, but nevertheless, I believe my DAHS training prepared me well for that test.

By the way, in college I took two years of Russian and retained nearly nothing. I really believe that nothing we ever learn is wasted.

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The photo, from the 1960 yearbook, is of Mr. Kalinowski teaching a French class.

Do you remember Thaddeus Kalinowski and Kathleen Lyons? They taught at Division Avenue High School for decades.

Click on pix to enlarge


By FRANK BARNING

This is the third installment of "Do you remember . . .? Approximately 18 Division Avenue High School faculty and staff members from the late 1950s and early 1960s were still working at the school in 1975.

Today we've included shots of Mr. Kalinowski from the 1960 yearbook and Mrs. Lyons from 1963. Larry Loewy, class of 1975 and a registered nurse, provided photos of the DAHS old timers that appeared in the 1975 yearbook.

I am really enjoying writing this series, searching my memory to recall teachers from so so long ago. The sad part is that just about all of the very early Division Avenue teachers and staff are deceased. If you dig around via Google, it is amazing what you can find. I know that, among others, Mr. Tarantelli, Mr. Cetnarowski, Mr. Pivnik, Mr. Jewell and Mr. Chenevey are still kicking.

Today the blog features Mrs. Lyons and Mr. Kalinowski, both now in the faculty room in the sky. I have no memory of Mrs. Lyons. The yearbooks show her in the math department. My Google search yielded a Newsday obituary, "Kathleen J., on January 24, 2009 age 95." Regretfully, there is no more that I can report except that a few of Mrs. Lyons' students replied to my Facebook request for information about her. All had fond memories of a professional teacher.

Kathy Stahlman Zinn' 63 wrote, "I had Mrs. Lyons for seventh grade math. She had a class of us who had been unidentified for advanced math studies. Even though I thought I hated math, and she was very strict, I loved her, and learned a lot. She was one of the first role models or me of a woman who could make a career in math and science and still have a personal life. She gave her all at DAHS, and almost always had a smile, just as in this picture."

Mr. Kalinowski, on the other hand, was a big part of my high school life. He was the chairman of the foreign language department and for three years my French teacher. Last September, for the blog, I asked readers to provide the names of their five favorite teachers. Several, including me, listed Mr. Kalinowski. We referred to him as Thad Kal, but never to his face.

I remember the first day of French I, September of 1956. He told us that this was the last day that "any" English would be spoken in this class. And that held true for the three years that he was my French teacher.

One day in French I, he called upon me to name five parts of the body. Quickly I rattled off four but hesitated at number five. And then it came to me, a word we had not yet learned. "Numero cinq, derriere" which means the fleshy part of the human body that you sit on. The class roared and Thad Kal approved.

I probably did not see him again until around 1980, which was the last time our paths would cross. That was 20 years after graduation and more than 30 years ago. Vivian and I were at a New York Mets' game at Shea Stadium and I spotted him as we headed to our seats.

Never one to pass up an opportunity to reunite with someone from my past, I went over and introduced myself. There was a glint of recognition and he asked, "Did you continue French in college?" My reply was that I had taken two semesters at Hofstra and felt that I was well prepared. To say the least, Mr. Kalinowski was thrilled.

After our all too brief meeting, an usher helped Vivian and me find our seats. We sat on our derrieres for nine innings.