Helene WILLIAMS Spierman, Coordinator
On Saturday, September 16, 2006, we had a lovely 45th anniversary reunion at the classy Italian restaurant, Arqua, on Church St. Thirty-five of our class (originally 137) gathered for this “off-year” reunion. Several people who had planned to come could not at the last minute; some due to illness, others to business. We gave a round of applause to Claudia Wilson, who was to be ordained as a Priest in the Episcopal Church the following weekend; and to Susan Levine Fuhrman, who had been appointed this summer as the new President of Teachers College of Columbia University.
We continue to attract class members who haven’t ever attended our reunions: This year Emily Paunovic Mullen came; and Rhoda Schlamm, who left Hunter after 10th Grade, joined us as well.
A highlight was the reading of a letter from Irving Kizner. Mr. Kizner was known for his sense of humor and warm personality. His letter elicited a reaction after almost every sentence, proving he still can work the crowd, even in absentia, with what was actually a sincere note of appreciation. Reminiscing aloud, Sharon Klayman Farber reminded us of what we often said when Kizner came into class. (Short video of Sharon, 1.3 mb.)
We also heard from Marjorie Landsberg Goldsmith, present Chair of the Science Department and a Member of the Board of the Alum.Assn., with an update on the high school. After all the thank-you’s were finished, we gathered into a group for a class photo, a first for us. Pictures had been taken all afternoon by several people, and all of them will be posted on the class web site shortly. Last but not least, our class donated $5,700 to the high school, not including some donations which are eligible for corporate matching programs and will increase our contribution to almost $6,000!
We are all looking forward to our 50th Anniversary, and more leisure time to devote to reunioning.
There are some who think it best to warm up a car before starting out in the cold winter, while there are others who think it best to start right away and let the engine warm up while in motion. And we have been exposed to many movies in which a prize fighter loses the initial rounds, and then gets his second wind and destroys his opponent; and also with horse racing stories in which the "hero" is held back and then with a final burst of speed crosses the finish line first.
Nonsense!
My teaching career started out, with zero experience, in Hunter College High School on the "fast track." I was "thrown in" with a group of intelligent and vibrant and self-assertive young women whose abilities forced me to keep up with them at once. No "warming up" or "holding back" – there they were, that is, there you were – and there was no direction I could take other than "full speed ahead."
I consider myself fortunate in meeting this class in my early years as a teacher. I started in 1954 and had some of you in class not many years later. When you graduated I had just finished my 6th year at the school – I was not quite 31 years old. And yet, there was only one way to keep up with you – not by fighting your intelligence, but by emulating it. Yes, I became a successful teacher by teaching successful students: You were, in every sense of the word "my teachers." I often wonder why I am thanked when I am the one who should be doing the thanking. THANK YOU ALL!!
Irving Kizner
P.S. What are we doing in 2011?
