Memorable teachers.

Have you had a teacher who has had a life-long effect on you? What did they say or do to have this effect? Many people recount stories about teachers they had, the lessons they learned and the profound effects a teacher may have had on their lives, I have one of these stories.

While Mr. Syndey Baker had an immeasurable effect on my professional career by, despite all the odds, pushing and making me the best trumpeter I could possibly be, Mr. Ceccerelli encouraged but mostly demanded that I read and write like a grown up when I was only 19 years old and Clyde Criner teaching how to listen and process music, none has had a more profound effect on me than Mr. Lebowitz.

Mr. Lebowitz was my gym teacher from 4th to 6th grade at Public School 19 in Williamsburgh, Brooklyn. I offer a bit of history regarding Williamsburgh in the 1960's and 70's, there were more gangs (approximately 170) in this area, than in the entire state of California. Having arrived at P.S. 19 from catholic school and dealing with my own personal set of circumstances I knew this was not going to be a smooth or easy transition.

I had a rough go of it in the beginning because, of course, the new kid in the school had to earn respect by whatever means necessary, but my school day always seemed much more pleasant in gym. No, Mr. Lebowitz was no push-over, actually far from it, even the criminals in training understood that Mr. Lebowitz was the king of the gym and his word was law, in the gym and anywhere between Grand St Extension, South 3rd, Rodney and Keap Streets. A distinction that needs to be made is that while most teachers in the school taught with obvious degrees of separation, Mr. Lebowitz was one of us, and more importantly, always taught with love and respect, like a parent or older brother would.

I remember going to after-school gym daily, a program which was invaluable to those who attended regularly because it kept us out of trouble and otherwise safe. Mr. Lebowitz taught us how to play basketball but it was much more than that, it was all about sharing (everyone took a shot and three passes before any shot attempt), guarding without fouling, sportsmanship and conflict resolution without the use of fists.

I recently reconnected with Mr. Lebowitz through Mrs. Lebowitz and Facebook (I promise not to say anymore derogatory things about FB, for now.) I haven't seen him since his retirement party where Mrs. Lebowitz referred to him by his first name (first time I had heard it) and I turned to a classmate of mine and asked who was she talking about. Life can be so cyclical, Mrs. Lebowitz was Jr's 5th grade math teacher and a great influence on him as well.

Mr. Lebowitz and I spoke the other day and it made my day, he even referred to me as G4, my place on the gym floor where my attendance and grade card would have been in his book.

I think William Arthur Ward said it best,“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”