Lee Note 74 Math Memories Jack McCartney July 3, 2001

I too lived through the Colley, Plagens, Robson days and felt I just had to put my two cents in. As some others intimated, I am not sure where Mr. Colley's interest lay, but I don't think it was in teaching his students Algebra 1. Since I didn't have a desire at the time to be pushed academically, I didn't care. He somewhat reminded me of an old style high school teacher that was also required to teach a class other than gym except I don't think he was remotely the athletic type.

If I remember correctly, he almost came to blows with one of the guys in my class when they got into a dispute and Mr. Colley sent him to the principal's office. Seems like words were spoken as he left he class and Mr. Colley followed him out into the hall where the discussion got quite heated. I don't remember who the student was, but I didn't have any doubt as to who would have come out the winner if it got physical. I don't think that student ever returned to the class.

However, I must have learned enough Algebra 1 from Mr. Colley to allow me to get through Mrs. Plagens' Algebra 2 class. I recall there were stories going around during the year I was in Algebra 1 about how tough and intimidating she was and her penchant for filling the blackboard from the beginning of class until the bell sounded and her students were expected to take it down verbatim. As I found out, those stories were all true. I worked harder in that one class than in any other class in my three years at REL, but I did get well grounded in the subject of Algebra.

As someone else indicated, the notes from that class were an invaluable resource that I kept until well after getting out of college. Looking back, I think she was a dedicated teacher (probably one of the better ones that I had) and was due more respect and admiration than what she probably received from her students.

While the year spent Plagens' class may have seemed like purgatory at the time, being in Miss Robson's plane geometry class (I don't think she was married at the time, but can swear to it) was like being in heaven. Glad to hear Jack Pfennig's report that she is doing well. I learned the subject of plane geometry, but never got the feeling that it was being crammed into me. My wife says engineers like order, symmetry and reason, but can't deal with irregular forms and abstract concepts. That may be the reason I had trouble with the Theory of Residues in one of my upper level college math courses.

Anyway, Miss Robson rates as one of my top all time teachers. I put her up there with Miss Moore, my English teacher in the 7th grade at Horace Mann. I think that was the class where I first met Mary Lee and found out she wasn't overjoyed to be reminded of her older sister. I can understand her feelings since I turned down a chance that year to be moved into the same class with my twin brother after Miss Moore and his teacher decided we might like to have the same classes. Six years of competition at Alamo Elementary where there was only one teacher per class year was enough for both of us. We could always blame grade differences on one of us having a tougher teacher than the other one.

Anyway, those are my memories from the Colley, Plagens, Robson era.

Jack McCartney