Thanks Mark. I still had a lot to learn about both teaching and photography in those days, but I was working on it. All of the football pics were shot with my Vivitar 200/3,5. I hadn't yet destroyed the front element. That would come later while shooting drag racing and continuously cleaning molten rubber and bits of asphalt off the lens with my T-shirt. The lens, now held together with duct tape, occupies a place of honor in my camera display case.
Paul via phone > On Jun 7, 2015, at 12:56 PM, Mark C <pdml-m...@charter.net> wrote: > > Excellent collection of photos, thanks also for sharing the story behind > them. The problems facing urban schools in particular (and to a degree all > American schools) are huge and beyond the scope of any one person to solve, > but individuals, especially teachers, can still contribute to the growth of > the students and your photos clearly show that positive process at work. > Looking forward to seeing more scans. > > Mark > >> On 6/5/2015 9:18 PM, paul stenquist wrote: >> I taught English Lit and Composition at a very special place called Percy L. >> Julian High School from 1975 to 1980. Prior to my years at Julian I had been >> teaching at one of the worst schools in Chicago — Austin High School — a >> West Side school that had gone from 100% white to 100% black in a few years. >> The administration and the largely white staff didn’t know what to do, the >> school was out of control and on fire frequently and, at one point, the >> National Guard had to be called in. In 1975 the federal government mandated >> faculty integration, meaning that if you were a white teacher at a school >> that had too many white teachers and you wanted to transfer to a school >> that had too many black teachers, they had to allow you to apply for a >> position. I had heard about Julian. It was an all-black school on the south >> side of Chicago. It wasn’t a white school that had re-segregated but rather >> a brand new school that a prosperous middle class black community had fought >> for. I applied, the principal approved it, and the largely black staff >> welcomed me and several other Austin teachers with open arms. >> >> I had some great classes and some wonderful kids at Julian. I taught Honors >> English 3 and a special double-period Humanities class. The kids and I went >> to the Chicago Symphony, the opera and a number of theatrical presentations. >> We had a great marching band, majorettes and cheerleaders. All in the mid >> 70s when the white kids in the suburban schools were thumbing their noses at >> those kind of things. We also had a fabulous football team, and in 1979 we >> became the first public school in almost 20 years to win a city championship >> over the predominantly white catholic league schools. >> >> I documented much of my time at Julian on film. I have several thousand >> transparencies and BW negs that I shot during those five happy years. I’ve >> just begun scanning some of them. I started with that 1979 football >> championship, but I have many more that I will eventually scan. >> >> In March of 1980 I was offered a job in New York at Hearst Magazine >> Division. The Chicago Board of Education had run out of money and had >> stopped paying the teachers. We were on the picket line when I got the call. >> I crossed the line, walked into the office to turn in my resignation on >> Thursday afternoon, March 7, 1980 and flew to New York the next morning. I >> still feel guilty. Today, Julian is still somewhat better than the other >> Southside Chicago High Schools, but the magic is largely gone. The entire >> south side of Chicago is a mess. The gangs are in control, and kids are >> shot on the street every day. A number of Julian kids have been killed on >> their way home from school. It’s had for me to imagine. It’s heartbreaking. >> >> Here are the first of my Julian scans. The way it was 40 years ago. >> http://photo.net/photodb/folder.tcl?folder_id=1080368 > > > > --- > This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus > protection is active. > https://www.avast.com/antivirus > > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > PDML@pdml.net > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
