|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Looking Back at 1982!
(Memories from the book 900 Shows A Year)
|
|
Did you know a Social Studies teacher at Mendham High
wrote a book about teaching? Yes, one sure did!
|
|
|
|
Hello to Alumni! (and others surfing through!)
Yes, a teacher actually did indeed write a book! It's called
900 Shows A Year: A Look at Teaching from a Teacher's Side
of the Desk, and written by our very own Social Studies teacher
Mr. Stu Palonsky, affectionately nicknamed "Papa Smurf" by his students.
He taught at Mendham High from 1982 to 1984, and the book
was published in 1985. Yes, a very long time ago!
The title of the book refers to the number of classes
(or "shows")
a teacher taught per year back during that time. The book focuses on his experiences as
a teacher at a "fictional" high school called "Oldham High", in
the years 1982-1983. Since he worked at Mendham, there
is quite a bit of real-life Mendham peeking through in the pages - and
gee, the name "Oldham" sounds awfully a lot like
"Mendham", doesn't it? Hmmmmm! 
The main point of the book
is to research and answer an academic question: to find out why so
many teachers seem dissatisfied with the teaching profession.
The book is filled with all the things he experienced while
in the classroom with his five classes at "Oldham High",
plus thoughts and opinions from fellow teachers and students, and many
stories of the daily events that went on at "Oldham". Boy, lots of the
happenings at "Oldham High" seems so familiar ....!
What is great about this book
is how it captures life as a student during the early 80's. It is
a wonderful and unique "historical" reference source about Mendham.
This book was well-known in the community when it was first published,
and most kids in the 80's
heard about "the teacher who wrote a book"! Recently, some alumni have emailed
me wondering about this book, so this webpage will highlight the cool
parts. I loved reading the book, and got a big kick out of it - Mr. Palonsky
has plenty of dry wit!
The book has so many reminders and anecdotes of
what every day at school was like for students and teachers way back then.
If you would like more info, check out the links listed below,
as I tried to divide up information
in this book in an easy-to-read format for our old brains,
and all pages chain together.
For you older folks,
I bet a lot of this will bring back memories!
|
|
 |
Click on any of the links below:
|
|
|
| |
General Information (Q&A) -
Here's some basic info about the book.
Many alumni have asked questions about this book, so
here are some of the answers!
|
|
|
| |
The Students at Oldham High -
Here are some random memories from the book, about
student life back in the early 80's at "Oldham High"!
What were the students like? What did they wear?
Did they look through the lobby gym window too much?
|
|
|
| |
The Teachers of Oldham High -
Find out exciting stuff about the teachers! Were they allowed
to drink coffee at their desks? How many stalls were in the men's
bathroom? Could teachers leave the school grounds for lunch?
Yes, important things listed here on this webpage!
|
|
|
| |
Do the Teachers Still Teach 900 Shows A Year? -
And finally, the biggest question of all is answered!
The title of the book refers to how the teachers used to teach 5 classes
a day, for 180 days in the school year (5x180=900). But compare to
nowadays - Mendham High has
changed to some sort of rotating schedule. So is the title
obsolete now? Do they really still teach 900 classes a year?
|
|
|
|
|
If you want more info
about the book 900 Shows A Year, why not read it yourself? It's only
200 pages, that won't take too long. You must have plenty of free
time, right? And the book is certainly shorter than some
of those books we were forced to read in senior English class.
Some local libraries in Morris County have the book, and I know the Morris
County Library has a copy (at least last time I checked). Sometimes
there are used copies available on Amazon.com, but personally I had
many problems getting it there (it would be listed as
available from sellers when it really isn't). Well, hope you
enjoyed this blast from the past from over 25 years ago!
|
|
| Thanks for visiting! Now you can go
back to whatever you were doing before ...!
|
|
|
Click here to go back to the Home Page (oldmendhamhigh.com)
|
|
|
Oldmendhamhigh Main Page |
The Grove!! |
The Journeyman Covers Page |
The Long Sad Story of how Mendham High Was Built |
The New Construction 2006-2008 |
No Place Like Home! |
Old Blurry Photos of the School |
Photos from Some Yearbooks #1 (places and things) |
More Photos from Yearbooks #2 (places and things) |
Old Mendham High Stuff found in my House |
Mendham HS Official Site
|
|
This page is part of oldmendhamhigh.com (A MHS History & Alumni Website for old folks)
The absolute address of this page is http://home.att.net/~suelighthouse/900shows.html
|
|
Updated: January 2008
|
| |
Sue Willis, Class of '88 (with some other alumni helping here, too) - lifelong Oldham resident, member of the Oldham Borough Historical Society,
and a librarian to boot!
Email at:
suelighthouse@att.net suelighthouse oldmendhamhigh
|
|
|
|
|
|
