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| Lawrence Norris |
In the first week, we quickly learned about the real characters of the school: the teachers. I cannot imagine there ever being a school with such a cast of unique and animated teachers. Special care was taken to recruit only teachers who would stand out in a crowd and inspire young boys from many different backgrounds. Our cast would make the witches and other creatures who instruct at Harry Potter’s Hogwarts look dull.
Each teacher seemed quirky in a different way, but on the whole they were fascinating communicators and extraordinary people. We learned immediately that they were focused on learning and that we would either get on the stick or get the stick - it was our choice. While there were several teachers who were beginning to practice some of the more modern approaches to discipline, most of the teachers controlled the classes through sheer force of their personalities or intimidation. And no apologies were made for it.
The school had many jocks, many scholars, some scholar-athletes and a large number of somewhat slightly above average to average students. Enrollment was kept relatively low at about 700. When the teachers used intimidating tactics they probably figured they were dealing well with the diversity issue. It did not matter what color you were or what ethnic background you had, if you stepped out of line, “bam,” you paid for it. Ironically, in the sixties, the bookshelves were full of best sellers on innovative educational approaches like open classrooms and self-directed learning. But, if someone asked our teachers "Why Johnny Can't Read," they would have answered “because mommy and daddy and their teachers are too soft on them.” Our teachers were not going to make that mistake!
The school’s mission was established decades before my class ever saw the old brick buildings. MSN had a reputation for taking all kinds of kids and making something out of them. It was a “no child left behind” or in the case of problem students a “no child left with a behind” philosophy. Most educators today would say that the methods used were certainly primitive by modern standards. Most MSM teachers had their own unique creative method of cruel and unusual punishment to foster discipline. It seemed to us that they dealt corporal punishment out unmercifully. But, for us, taking such medicine was a test of manhood that we were certainly willing to take. Like our dads, older brothers, and uncles, we wanted to make the grade more than anything else. We wanted to become men of Mount Saint Mary’s. The discipline methods were not just part of the school tradition; they were also a reason why parents were sending their kids to the school in the first place. If a parent didn’t know their kids would face such methods, they hadn’t done their homework.
In the first week, we quickly learned about the real characters of the school: the teachers. I cannot imagine there ever being a school with such a cast of unique and animated teachers. Special care was taken to recruit only teachers who would stand out in a crowd and inspire young boys from many different backgrounds. Our cast would make the witches and other creatures who instruct at Harry Potter’s Hogwarts look dull.Each teacher seemed quirky in a different way, but on the whole they were fascinating communicators and extraordinary people. We learned immediately that they were focused on learning and that we would either get on the stick or get the stick - it was our choice. While there were several teachers who were beginning to practice some of the more modern approaches to discipline, most of the teachers controlled the classes through sheer force of their personalities or intimidation. And no apologies were made for it.
The school had many jocks, many scholars, some scholar-athletes and a large number of somewhat slightly above average to average students. Enrollment was kept relatively low at about 700. When the teachers used intimidating tactics they probably figured they were dealing well with the diversity issue. It did not matter what color you were or what ethnic background you had, if you stepped out of line, “bam,” you paid for it. Ironically, in the sixties, the bookshelves were full of best sellers on innovative educational approaches like open classrooms and self-directed learning. But, if someone asked our teachers "Why Johnny Can't Read," they would have answered “because mommy and daddy and their teachers are too soft on them.” Our teachers were not going to make that mistake!The school’s mission was established decades before my class ever saw the old brick buildings. MSN had a reputation for taking all kinds of kids and making something out of them. It was a “no child left behind” or in the case of problem students a “no child left with a behind” philosophy. Most educators today would say that the methods used were certainly primitive by modern standards. Most MSM teachers had their own unique creative method of cruel and unusual punishment to foster discipline. It seemed to us that they dealt corporal punishment out unmercifully. But, for us, taking such medicine was a test of manhood that we were certainly willing to take. Like our dads, older brothers, and uncles, we wanted to make the grade more than anything else. We wanted to become men of Mount Saint Mary’s. The discipline methods were not just part of the school tradition; they were also a reason why parents were sending their kids to the school in the first place. If a parent didn’t know their kids would face such methods, they hadn’t done their homework.
Excerpt from: Lawrence Norris The Brown and White Copyright Sporting Chance Press.
Forty plus years in the making, The Brown and White is a fictionalized memoir that tells the story of Collin Callaghan's freshman year at a Chicago Catholic High School. Collin is a white boy who is living in turbulent times in a changing city. He clings to his neighborhood and his family as he heads out each day with his classmates on the Brown and White, the ancient school bus driven by free-spirited Willie. Memorable characters abound as this story unfolds. Collin's loveable family, especially his Irish Catholic policeman father and his Irish immigrant mother face life together. Collin and classmates blaze their own humorous and passionate trail through the late 1960s. A unique cast of terrific teachers are there to see the boys through. Laughs and life meet readers head on as they travel on the Brown and White.
A different time.
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