My Noble Profession: Memoir of a Life-Long Science Teacher

By Pauline Hurtt

Do you ever wonder what it is like to be a science teacher with all the ins and outs of being efficient, organized, and passionate? Follow the career of one woman from her first-year teaching until she retired. You will find eighteen vignettes of students she taught. You will find these stories fascinating, rewarding, and inspiring.

The author also addresses sundry education issues, such as brain development, dress codes, uniforms, and Power Point presentations. This treatise is a refreshing look at education through the eyes of a teacher who has been there.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jan 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9781982219833

Pauline Hurtt

Pauline is a retired Chemistry teacher with BS and MS degrees from CCNY in New York, and an ABD from BC, Massachusetts. She is a published author of: “What is Cancer”, “My Noble Profession”, and “A Catholic Nun’s Story”. She is in recovery for overeating and alcoholism.

Book preview

Copyright © 2019 Pauline Hurtt.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Balboa Press

A Division of Hay House

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.balboapress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-9822-1977-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9822-1983-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019900360

Balboa Press rev. date: 01/16/2019

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Introduction    Educare (Latin): To lead out

Chapter 1   Early 1960s

Chapter 2   Late 1960s

Chapter 3   Early 1970s

Chapter 4   Mid-1970s

Chapter 5   Late 1970s

Chapter 6   Late 1980s

Chapter 7   1990s

Chapter 8   2000s

Chapter 9   2010s

Chapter 10   2015

Chapter 11   Today

Epilogue

Dedication

Barbra Jones

who is an administrator/science educator.

and

David Johnson

who’s a science educator and keeps the dream alive

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Tricia Odham, my loving friend, who cares beyond belief for all the people she loves. She is the best mother, and grandmother Jayson and Mia could have, and the best wife Michael could have. Thank you for loving me before I could love myself.

Jane Cockrell, my wise friend, who lives by love and fairness to all. Thank you for your subtle guidance along my path through the village.

Becki Christian, my dear friend, who exhibits the courage of living. Thank you for your support, love, and listening, as well as including me as part of your family.

Rita Horan, my friend, who is first and foremost a loving wife, a caring mother and a patient daughter. I admire your work ethic and love of family. I so clearly remember our year of teaching Chemistry together and Movie Nights.

Janice Koch, my colleague and friend for 40+ year. You are so knowledgeable and you put your beliefs into action. I appreciate your suggestions for my manuscript.

Susan Meell, another friend who is a CEO of an educational company. Your suggestions for formatting were invaluable. I appreciate the time you spent.

William J. O’Donnell, Sr. who brings his erudite Jesuit brain to our relationship. Thank you for sharing your independence with my own. I appreciate your editing skills.

David Grand who wrote and produced Brainspotting binaural music.

INTRODUCTION

Educare (Latin): To lead out

Hello there, Reader. Why did I use the title My Noble Profession, you may ask? Could that title not refer to a(n):

• gifted surgeon

• eminent lawyer

• creative entrepreneur

• charismatic minister

• caring nurse

or, could it be all of these, especially, those who patiently lead out of ignorance?

To be noble is to have high moral principles and ideals. Think for a moment about Helen Keller’s teacher, Anne Sullivan. Did she, or did she not, lead Helen out of darkness? Think about Socrates of ancient times, Galileo of the Renaissance, Albert Einstein of the 20th century, and Stephen Hawking of this century. If you recognize these names, are they