Note: The author was born 2 August 1934 in Detroit; married B. Ann Rue on 8 September 1956 in Bound Brook, New Jersey; and died 24 October 1993 in Milanville, Penna. The following manuscript was typed in early 1968, as part the author's application for a teaching job in East Africa which he did not get. Editorial changes in the handwriting of his wife are incorporated into this text. It is presumed that the present manuscript was a working copy from which a final draft was prepared. A second document, which appears to be more a practice in self-reflection than something intended for a prospective employer, mostly regarding the author's experiences in the U.S. Navy, is available here. -TSR

When asked to write an autobiography, I must of necessity think back to the years I had once hoped to leave behind -- forgotten.

My early years in many ways were not particularly pleasant ones, although I'm sure they left a significant mark on the make-up of the man.

I was born in Detroit, Mich. in 1934 in the heart of the depression to a family of lower class socio-economic status. My father was deaf since early manhood and I have always felt this was an overwhelming handicap in his life. He had valued education but was unable to overcome this hardship and complete his schooling. He dropped out of college after his second year of college. Because of these factors he has supported his family almost totally by assembly line work. Of course his love of boks, his respect for learning, and his desire for his children to do better certainly affected my outlook on life.

My mother had a poverty background in every sense of the word. All of the memories I have of my youth are colored by being poorly clothed, or poorly fed, or unclean.

I was the middle boy of three sons. My older brother is four years my senior and my younger brother 1 1/2 years my junior. When I was 14, another son was born, but Jimmy never seemed to be part of our shared miseries. (It was unfortunate, perhaps, for him to have no one with whom to share his miseries.)

My parents built a home in 1940 in Livonia, Mich. outside a solidly middle class neighborhood. Everything we did or had was different from those with whom we went to school. Even while we walked a mile and a half to school in winter months, we were envious of our classmates. They walked no more than a half mile in clothes which enabled them to enjoy the childhood pleasures of winter. By the time we reached school our hands and feet were numb, our clothes stiff, and our hair frozen solid.

By the time I was in high school, I had had many part-time jobs, and was then able to buy my own clothes, do my own laundry, and pay for my own dental costs. If I had not, these things would have been left unattended.

During my high school summers, I worked in a small church camp in various capacities from nature instructure to waterfront director. When I was 18, I served as business manager -- an unprecedented position for one my age. I was deeply impressed at the responsibility and trust that had been placed in me. The five summers I spent in Clear Lake Camp will always represent something special to me. I believe it was this experience which most affected my decision to spend my life in education.

Unlike my brothers, I did reasonably well in the public schools. High school was an escape for me. I enjoyed all it stood for and was active in many aspects of school life. I played football and basketball and ran track. I was inovlved in student council and participated in two class plays. As I look back to my high school days, I view them with fondness, although by my senior year it was unavoidable that I face a new anxiety. It was doubtful that I would have the financial ability to realize the dream I shared with my father -- to attend college.

In December of my senior year I went to work for General Motors on the midnight shift in hopes of making enough money for my first years expenses at Michigan State. I received a tuition scholarship from Michigan State University and $300 from the local PTA to apply to my first two years of school. I felt I was well set. However over the summer my parents used my savings for a number of things, and I went to college with $100 in my pocket and $300 in the bank.

That first year at Michigan State was no picnic. I waited tables, swept floors, washed windows, cut asparagus, shoveled snow, and sold magazines while I studied on the side. It was not an easy life, but I managed to keep my head above water both academically and financially.

My older brother Bill was discharged from the marines in time to enroll in school second semester. He received the generous benefits from the GI Bill and his lot looked increasingly attractive to me. I finally decided to enlist in the navy while the educational benefits were still available.

The next four years I view with mixed emotions. I spent most of these four years as an electrician on a submarine. It often seemed like an eternity til discharge day, but I gained many valuable experiences working with people which I shall never forget.

In 1958, I married a campus co-ed. My wife transferred to Connecticut College for Women in New London. The next two years we daily commuted our different directions -- she to school and I to the sub.

Our first child, a son, Thomas, was born in October 1958. I had been discharged early from the navy to return to school. My wife stayed with her parents until the baby arrived. My new family joined me at MSU soon afterward. We spent the next two unusual years in a 30-foot mobile home. The GI Bill did not seem quite so lush when I had to provide for a family, but with a part-time job we managed to make ends meet. The arrival of our second son, David, in January 1960, made the situation a bit more difficult. However, I graduated soon after that in December 1960, and we went east to accept my first teaching position. I taught a sixth grade self-contained class for a year and a half. I was then reassigned in the same district to teach 7th and 8th grade math.

In 1962, I changed districts and again took a position teaching a self-contained 6th grade class. This class was organized primarily around reading disabilities. My colleagues and superiors seemed pleased with the work I did that year. However, I never felt the teaching of reading to be one of my strengths, even though some of the children made noteworthy gains that year. I felt I could make a more significant contribution in teaching math. The next year I was reassigned, upon request, to teach math and have been doing so since.

For the last four years I have served as math department group leader. In this capacity I have been primarily responsible for:

1. Major curriculum revision in the mathematics department;

2. Representing the department on a general curriculum planning committee;

3. Orientation and assistance to new math teachers;

4. Development of a mathematics library for student and teacher use; and

5. Organizing and running the math club.

Extracurricular student activities for which I am presently responsible include the student council advisorship, 7th and 8th grade dance committee advisor, and math club sponsor.

I belong to the local, county, state, and national educational associations, the New Jersey Outdoor Education Association, and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. I have been actively involved in our local association for three years. I have served on the executive board, as chairman of the Teacher Educational Practice and Standards Committee, and am presently serving as salary chairman. We are now deeply involved in negotiations with our board of education concerning next year's salary agreement.

I presently am serving on a citizen's committee in support of a bond referendum in the town in which I reside [Piscataway, New Jersey]. We are attempting to sell the township on the need for the construction of several new schools. The election is to be held in December.

My summers since I began teaching have varried widely in activity. I earned my masters degree in school administration, taught summer school, attended a National Science Foundation institute in math, and also held some "odd" jobs to make ends meet.

Presently I am tutoring two boys on a voluntary basis. One is a neighbor who is foreign-born and having serious academic problems. The other is a relative who hopes to enter college in January. I have in the past done considerable tutoring in math for supplementary income.

We have had two more children in the last four years. Our third was another boy, and finally came Ella, now age two. My wife has been a great support to me in almost all that I have attempted. I shall be eternally grateful to her encouraging support in the areas in which she saw merit, her intelligent criticism in areas in which she had doubts, and her never ending readiness to attempt the unorthodox, the unusual, or often the outlandish.

We have indeed been a very fortunate family. Both my wife and I, as well as the children, have enjoyed good health. In light of this, we attempted a cross-country, summer-long family camping trip last summer which was, to say the least, a unique experience. It was our first real opportunity to discover America. Perhaps it was this that awakened our pioneering spirit.

And so-- I apply to teach in East Africa. Many friends and colleagues have raised an eyebrow and questioned why. I believe it is because we feel there are many exciting things to do in this world, many ways in which to contribute one's assets to mankind, many challenges to meet, and many aspects of life to discover. I believe I have much to offer such a program, and I believe my family has much to gain. My wife and I have discussed this prospect at length and hope to have this opportunity of becoming true citizens of the world.

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- Part II -