Robert Louis Stevenson School - Circus Yearbook (New York, NY)

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Jean lgudindfein When classes commence each morning, buzz goes the buzzer, in saunter pupils, then angles, triangles, axioms, etc. are run ragged until they penetrate - but deeply. Mrs. Rubinstein started her schooling in Public School 147, then Hunter High School, and college also at Hunter. She says her greatest thrill came after graduation. She was given an assignment to teach English to a group 'of foreigners. Actually, this is where she gained a great deal of confidence in her ability, because, these adult students were so eager to learn they clung to each word which was said. In 1925, Mrs. Rubinstein and her husband founded Camp Winona for girls and Camp High- lake for boys, in Pennsylvania, which are now super- vised by her son and daughter, Irwin and Ruth-Jean Rhodes. Mrs. Rubinstein has a definite viewpoint about public schools. She feels that the necessity for private schools would be eliminated if the public schools would only fulfill more adequately their purpose. In her lifetime she observed through various teaching positions in different neighborhoods poverty at its worst. This has led her to believe that one of the greatest crimes of -mankind is poverty. One usually thinks of a math teacher as cold and calculating, but Mrs. Rubinstein is just the opposite: charming, friendly, and warm. ' W. . 7-., i .,,...wNs,-,.,,,,.,,4,.,,,a...z,,.. , argery .Saline Mrs. Shine, our school secretary and assistant to Miss Silsby, has been with us only a few months, and we were especially curious to find out about her. Here are the dry but necessary statistics - Born - Brooklyn, education - Grade School, High School, night courses at Brooklyn College. While studying at night, Mrs. Shine worked in various ofhces and took business courses on the side. She wanted to go to college but couldn't afford it. Her jobs were many and varied - Department of Welfare, Triborough Bridge Authority, U.O.P.W.A. fUnited Office and Professional Workers of Amer- icah and many others. This is her first job in a school and when asked how she liked it, she said that she enjoyed her work very much though it largely con- sists of handling out nickels, and dimes, and answer- ing questions about report cards. Mrs. Shine wants to accomplish two big things. She wants to travel fMexico, Western United Statesj and to raise a family. She likes bicycle-riding, tennis, ping pong and folk dancing -'AND -'is looking for a ground floor apartment! W

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aria pofdn Another new addition to Stevenson this term was Mrs. Pollin - AND - the functional technique in latin. She was a student at Hunter High and Hunter Col- lege. She taught Latin at Hunter High School and then did tutoring and private testing. Mrs. Pollin says she's interested in private school education because it allows for close contact between teacher and pupil. She feels that education should be a life experience, with people doing things -- active classrooms. There should be less stress on formal teaching technique. Small classes and field trips are important, she says, things outside the classroom should be related to subject matter. To carry out this idea, Mrs. Pollin has taken the Latin classes to Greek restaurants, on shopping tours for thin s for the S latin room, and to museums to see exhibits related to their subject. But Latin is not all that Mrs. Pollin teaches. She's also in charge of T.C. 1'l'echnical Compositionj. When asked: Isn't that a rather dry subject, and sort of old-fashioned? - Mrs. Pollin replied - There are still certain fundamentals essential to everybody and T.C. is not really gotten in Elementa 'Y Schools. AND - don't ever say Latin is a dead language! 6hzaLefA lynn N Where have I lived? Mostly in Oklahoma City Hollywood, and New York City. , Why did I decide to study dramatics? I had been a dancer in Hollywood. I hoped to write . . . But I got pushed into acting. After acting around with- out knowing what I was doing, I decided to find out or else give it up. Do you prefer the theatre to the stage? Yes, I do prefer the legitimate theatre to the movies. I like the element of chance, and the presence of the audi- ence. Do I find more satisfaction in acting than in teaching? When I succeed in stimulating a pupils imagination and in opening the door of his own cteativeness to him, the satisfaction is the same that l find when as an actress I manage to create a living character. What quality do you dislike in actors? Ignorance. Who is the most interesting person you've met? Albert Einstein. Simple as a child with a wonderful laugh. Where would you like to live? In China, for a while, to get the feel of time they seem to have, as a people. Then in Russia, where theater is not a com- mercial gamble, but art. Finally in America . . . where this has yet to be achieved.

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Madrid gg? Mrs. Sigel just wanted to teach - no special reason why. She really acquired the yen when she came here from Germany, and attended Greensboro College QBAJ, Syracuse University QMAJ, and also Clark University. Then Mrs. Sigel taught. She is still working for the perfect class made up of perfect students - Plenty of umph, personality and brains. Mrs. Sigel would rather teach boys than girls - they're more interested in government. By the way history and English are the most important subjects. However, Mrs. Sigel is domestic at heart. She loves to cook fancy dishes - foreign ones preferred. l love to make parties out of all occasions. I like music. Dancing is divine, especially the imaginative modern kind - but no jitterougging! I love to wear tailored suits, earrings, and pure Sllk blouses. Out- door sports are tops on my list. Don't ask me to chaperon though - just burying your teachers alive. QMrs. Sigel has been swell about it anywayh. My ambition, besides eight hours sleep a night, is to near a good concert, have regular picnics with barnfires, raise a perfect family, and do a wonderful research job. jgzrence Smifd Mrs. Smith was born in Eufala, Alabama, and came north to study art at the New York School of Ap- plied Design for Women. After further work with the Art League, Mrs. Smith did newspaper illustra- tions. Mrs. Smith never intended to teach, but her sister who taught at Stevenson enjoyed it so much, that Mrs. Smith wanted to teach, too. I can't imagine teaching anything but art. There's always something new and interesting. Next year, I hope to do some more Crafts work with the Art Club and go on more field trips, also. The moderns? I like some very much - Renoir, Matisse, Monet and others. But, for the surrealists some distinction ought to be made. Some are de- lightful and charming, but there are some who go too far. Mrs. Smith prefers teaching older children fthe junior High and onj. She enjoys seeing pupils who thought they could never draw discover some latent talent and develop it. If I didn't teach I'd give all my time to Howers and the running of a kennel. I like wire haired ter- riers the best. I've had so many of them, even now, I have one. Some day I'm going to retire to Florida and enjoy the leisure and the absence of haste, which I have often found missing in New York City.