Sodikow Retires
et...@escape.com
of Forensics and faculty member of the English Department, has retired
from teaching and coaching. He has been involved with the Bronx High
School of Science for thirty-plus years.
Any readers of this newsgroup who remember him might drop him a line. I
know that he appreciates these contacts more than anything.
Ethan Kirschner
Director of Forensics, English Department
Bronx High School of Science
et...@please.no.spam.escape.com
Joel Rubin
>Just wanted to let you all know that Richard B. Sodikow, longtime Director
>of Forensics and faculty member of the English Department, has retired
>from teaching and coaching. He has been involved with the Bronx High
>School of Science for thirty-plus years.
>
>Any readers of this newsgroup who remember him might drop him a line. I
>know that he appreciates these contacts more than anything.
>
Gee--I hadn't heard of the use of the word "forensics" for the process
of public debating and argument before.
I had heard of it, of course, in its sense of having to do with the
law, most frequently used in connection with the medical examiner.
David A Karr
>On Sun, 06 Jun 1999 05:55:01 GMT, et...@escape.com () wrote:
>>Just wanted to let you all know that Richard B. Sodikow, longtime Director
>
>Gee--I hadn't heard of the use of the word "forensics" for the process
>of public debating and argument before.
It seemed to me rather hard to avoid hearing this use during my time
at Science, but perhaps that is related to Mr. Sodikow's success with
the debate team.
Merriam-Webster lists this as its first definition of the word "forensic":
1 : belonging to, used in, or suitable to courts of judicature or to
public discussion and debate
This seems to cover the debate team reasonably well.
Forensic medicine is obviously the kind of medical practice "suitable
to courts of judicature," but it's common enough that Merriam-Webster
devoted its third definition to similar uses of "forensic" (the second
definition is "argumentative").
As the derivation of "forensic" is from the Latin "forum," these uses
all seem fairly reasonable.
--
David A. Karr "Groups of guitars are on the way out, Mr. Epstein."
ka...@shore.net --Decca executive Dick Rowe, 1962
see.m...@mouse-potato.com
teacher. For starters, he insisted on calling me "Saundra." This was
despite my telling him that my given name was Sandra, and that I
preferred to be called Sandy. He said that the only proper version of
the name was "Saundra," and that's what he would call me. Then he'd
get annoyed when I didn't answer to a name that wasn't mine.
I found his behavior totally bizarre, and to this day it still
mystifies me. He also had a terrible temper and would frequently erupt
in class. He'd turn bright-red, and I would worry that he was going to
need medical attention. I don't recall learning a thing in his class.
He mostly seemed angry and belitted us; it wasn't an atmosphere
conducive to learning.
All my math teachers were terrific; several stand out. I had Linda
Berman for three years. She was completely supportive of my constantly
asking questions, to the point where she'd write something on the board
and call out my name before she turned to the class because she knew I
already had my hand in the air.
I had Gene Falk for Abstract Algebra. It was offered because about ten
of us had completed all the elective math courses before twelfth
grade. Mr. Falk said that most of us probably wouldn't understand it
the first time around (I certainly didn't), but that if we majored in
math in college (which I did), we'd be taking it again, and would grasp
it the second time around. I was stunned to find that the same
Abstract Algebra was a junior-level course in college, and that we even
used the same book by Herstein! And Mr. Falk was correct -- I had a
much better idea of what was going on, the second time around.
I also had Gergory Greene, who knew how to show us the fun side of
mathematics. He was always giving us challenging puzzles to keep us
interested.
Does anyone know if those math teachers are still at Science?
Sandy Fifer `71
sandy at halcyon dot com
gr...@no-spam.twcny.rr.com
> I also had Gergory Greene, who knew how to show us the fun side of
> mathematics. He was always giving us challenging puzzles to keep us
> interested.
Mr. Greene was my BC Calculus teacher during my senior year (93-94).
He was the best math teacher I ever had. He was one of the few who had
good personality and he made sure each and every one of us worked to our
potential. Not bad considering there were about 35 of us packed into that
classroom. I don't remember the puzzles you mentioned, but he always managed
to keep me interested. The course was very challenging for me and I had a
hard time getting over 90 on his exams, but I did manage to get a 5 out of
5 on the Advanced Placement exam for the course. Mission accomplished,
Mr. Greene. Oh, and there was never a dull moment, especially when we had
to share a room with the infamous Ms. Judith Engel. Talk about "living
la vida loca!"
Greg Hebel '94
Mark Landis
see.m...@mouse-potato.com wrote in message <7jvi5i$iq9$1...@halcyon.com>...
>I had Richard Sodikow for English, and I can't think of a worse
>teacher. For starters, he insisted on calling me "Saundra." This was
>despite my telling him that my given name was Sandra, and that I
>preferred to be called Sandy. He said that the only proper version of
>the name was "Saundra," and that's what he would call me. Then he'd
>get annoyed when I didn't answer to a name that wasn't mine.
Funny how that works. I guess it's the spirit in which it's done. Mr.
Cotter,
my senior English teacher, decided I looked like a "Duffy" and addressed
me that way most of the time, knowing damn well it wasn't really my name.
But coming from Mr. Cotter, it was just quirky, not mean. It was just part
of
what made him the colorful character that he was.
Finally, one day, thinking back to an old-time radio show, "Duffy's Tavern,"
I responded to his calling me Duffy with the catch-phrase from that show:
"Archie speaking. Duffy ain't here." He laughed appreciatively (probably
realizing that the show had gone off the air around the time I was born),
and
from then on, always addressed me by my real name.
BassPlyr23
"Bucky", a name I particularly detested because of my (since-corrected) dental
condition. My response to the name-calling was to answer questions in class by
imitating every major character in the then-popular TV show "Welcome Back
Kotter." He stopped the name-calling rather quickly.
Actually, I rather liked the man.
Eugene Holman
bassp...@aol.comspamsux (BassPlyr23) wrote:
Even when I had him, for freshman (1958-59) and junior (1960-61) he had a
rather obnoxious habit of picking out certain students that he obviously
liked, and others for which he had a gut antipathy. I found this to be one
weakness in an otherwise dedicated, intelligent, and humorous man.
I last saw Joe Cotter in 1971 when I visited Science during a Christmas
vacation trip to New York. (I've been living in Finland since 1966.) He
hadn't changed a bit, and he remembered my name: "You must be Gene Holman,"
he said.
A discussion about him in this newsgroup a year or so ago revealed that he
is still alive, but that he was deeply affected by the death of his wife
several years ago. If anybody reading this is in a position to do so,
please send him regards from Mark Landis, "Bass Player", myself, and other
former students who still remember him fondly.
--
Regards,
Eugene Holman
Mr. Cotter teaching about euphemisms during the 1958-59 school year:
"What's a euphemism? Well, when I go to buy a suit the salesman usually
comes up to me and says: "You probably want something on the portly side,
sir."
"'Portly?', I answer. 'I'm not portly, I'm FAT."
Eugene Holman
bassp...@aol.comspamsux (BassPlyr23) wrote:
> Mr. Cotter (I had him for senior English in 1977) always insisted on
calling me
> "Bucky", a name I particularly detested because of my (since-corrected) dental
> condition. My response to the name-calling was to answer questions in
class by
> imitating every major character in the then-popular TV show "Welcome Back
> Kotter." He stopped the name-calling rather quickly.
>
> Actually, I rather liked the man.
Even when I had him, for freshman (1958-59) and junior (1960-61) year
English, he had a rather obnoxious habit of picking out certain students
BassPlyr23
obviously insane Mr. Levitan) brings to mind another borderline loony - Mr.
Cherry, whose chemistry class it was my misfortune to have for second semester
junior year (spring 1976). He taught me exactly NOTHING - spending most of his
time writing obscure and useless chemical formulas up on the board that had
nothing to do with the chapters in the book, and trying to figure out how to
look up the skirt of one particularly attractive young lady in the front row
without her knowledge. This same girl, who was my lab partner, did absolutely
nothing in the lab, forcing me to do twice the work. Yet, she received a
passing grade for lab, where I didn't. In fact, half the class, including me,
wound up in summer school. I actually was forced to take the chemistry Regents
TWICE, even though I'd passed with a 70 the first time - Cherry convinced the
AP of the department that I MUST have cheated, since I passed the Regents but
never received a passing grade on any of his tests.
We heard rumors that his wife had died in a lab fire, but nobody could
substantiate it. What exactly was this man's problem?
Eugene Holman
bassp...@aol.comspamsux (BassPlyr23) wrote:
> Actually, the discussion about teachers at Bronx Science (particularly the
> obviously insane Mr. Levitan) brings to mind another borderline loony - Mr.
> Cherry, whose chemistry class it was my misfortune to have for second semester
> junior year (spring 1976).
I had him for chemistry lab in the 1961-62 year. He was the exact opposite
of my classroom chemistry teacher, the good natured Mr. Kleinsinger.
> He taught me exactly NOTHING - spending most of his
> time writing obscure and useless chemical formulas up on the board that had
> nothing to do with the chapters in the book, and trying to figure out how to
> look up the skirt of one particularly attractive young lady in the front row
> without her knowledge.
Yes, that was one his things, We often joked about it.
> This same girl, who was my lab partner, did absolutely
> nothing in the lab, forcing me to do twice the work. Yet, she received a
> passing grade for lab, where I didn't. In fact, half the class, including me,
> wound up in summer school. I actually was forced to take the chemistry
Regents
> TWICE, even though I'd passed with a 70 the first time - Cherry convinced the
> AP of the department that I MUST have cheated, since I passed the Regents but
> never received a passing grade on any of his tests.
That sounds HEAVY. That's bordering on slander, defamation of character,
etc, etc. I hope you didn't leave it at that.
>
> We heard rumors that his wife had died in a lab fire, but nobody could
> substantiate it. What exactly was this man's problem?
For physical sciences they just had a string of less capable teachers. My
physics teacher, Mr. Hellman, was an average teacher who was having trouble
with a new physics curriculum, so-called MIT physics, introduced in
1960-61. It seemed that he was only one chapter ahead of us in the newly
published textbook.
If he was pleasant but somewhat ineffectual, 'Buggsy' Heitner, our lab
teacher, was a total incompetent. I used to feel stupider coming out of his
physics lab than I did going in, and it wasn't awe for the simplicity of
the complexity of the universe. Things were better for senior year physics
when I had Mr. Landau. He was a fine teacher, although strict and
surprisingly humorless. He always looked like he had just eaten a lemon
before class.
--
Regards,
Eugene Holman
jmh
certifiably nuts. Like you, I definitely did not learn from this
guy. I spent so much time trying to learn all of the chemical
compound formulas and what molecules could and could not bond to each
other that I didn't pay attention to the basics. I was barely passing
the entire year, but in the last quarter of the year when we started
working on organic chemistry, it all finally clicked and I ended up an
80 for a final grade. BTW, the Regents exam was easier than Cherry's
test.
I heard all kinds of rumors about Cherry's wife, but I think that's
what they were, just rumors.
On 20 Jun 1999 17:56:57 GMT, bassp...@aol.comspamsux (BassPlyr23)
wrote:
>Actually, the discussion about teachers at Bronx Science (particularly the
>obviously insane Mr. Levitan) brings to mind another borderline loony - Mr.
>Cherry, whose chemistry class it was my misfortune to have for second semester
>junior year (spring 1976). He taught me exactly NOTHING - spending most of his
>time writing obscure and useless chemical formulas up on the board that had
>nothing to do with the chapters in the book, and trying to figure out how to
>look up the skirt of one particularly attractive young lady in the front row
>without her knowledge. This same girl, who was my lab partner, did absolutely
>nothing in the lab, forcing me to do twice the work. Yet, she received a
>passing grade for lab, where I didn't. In fact, half the class, including me,
>wound up in summer school. I actually was forced to take the chemistry Regents
>TWICE, even though I'd passed with a 70 the first time - Cherry convinced the
>AP of the department that I MUST have cheated, since I passed the Regents but
>never received a passing grade on any of his tests.
>