"Teaching in New York"

What is it like teaching college in New York? Is teaching college in New York that much different than HS in Ca? If we are talking about students, no. Students are the same everywhere. If we are talking about everything else the answer is definitely yes! Here’s why:

For one thing the two schools I teach at are older schools. Lehman is located in the upper west Bronx and it goes back to the early 1900’s. It was originally an all-women’s college specializing in nursing. The nursing program at Lehman is still one of the best programs nationwide. Lehman was a military base in WWII, and armaments were stored in the large buildings. The school added buildings after the war and went co-ed in the late 50’s. It serves about 10,000 students both full and part time. It is part of the 12 campus City University of New York system. Some of the other schools are, CCNY, Baruch, Queens College, Kings College, Brooklyn College, Hunter and College of Staten Island.

            I love the buildings at Lehman. They are Gothic cathedral type and named after past distinguished professors and school administrators. Carman Hall, Schuster Hall, and Davis Hall are just three of the 7 buildings housing academic subjects. Leonard Lief Library which is one of its newest buildings is pretty state of the art as far as libraries go. The student body is about 60% Hispanic, 30% Africa-American and 10% Asian and white. Those figures mirror closely the race profile of the upper west Bronx. Lehman College has both B.A. and M.A. programs. The English Department shares the third floor of Carman Hall with Economics and philosophy. That is where I work.

The other campus I work at is the College of Staten Island (CSI for short).  What is unique about CSI is how spread out it is. It probably has the same number of buildings as Lehman but on a campus at least twice as big. It wasn't built to be a college. Until the late 1974 it was a State run center for disturbed kids called Willowbrook. Geraldo Rivera did a show about the abuses going on at Willowbrook in 1972 and got the place shut down. Soon after that they discovered that one of the gardeners was a serial killer. They dug up quite a few buried bodies on the grounds. Some say the place is haunted and some teachers won’t teach in certain “rooms or buildings” if you get my drift.

            That doesn’t worry me!  I‘ve taught the dead before. I had some 1^st period classes at Poway High School that could be described as the “morning of the living dead”. CSI has beautiful open grass spaces, and lots of trees that are breathtaking in October. What I like about CSI so much is, it has only 8,000 students and so I‘ve never experienced the campus being crowded. One Friday night when I ended my class about 6 pm and began walking to the (shuttle) bus stop there was no one else out walking around. In the chilled twilight I had this big beautiful quiet place to myself.         

College teaching is fun and interesting. No hassles from parents, no counselors begging you to give a good grade to someone that clearly didn’t earn it, and no administrators telling you that data is your friend, testing is your friend. However, before you get the idea that these are perfect jobs let me turn the coin over and show you the other side. The teeth grinding side. 

For one thing my two commutes are not fun. It is 45-50 minutes one-way from Upper East Side of Manhattan to Lehman College on the upper West side of the Bronx. I must walk a half mile to the train station (subway), then stand in the tube with other commuters waiting for the trains. I get the 4 express train (in theory: less stops but in fact just as many) which will take me to Kingsbridge Road. It is not a fun ride. Sometimes I stand; sometimes if I’m lucky I get a seat. No matter what, at 8:30 in the morning it is a crowed “cattle car”. Sometimes I have to listen to Karaoke singers, listen to people asking for spare change (even a penny will do), religious ranting, and bodily noises (not yet identified), people eating smelly food and so forth. Then I walk another half mile from train station to the college. The reverse trip is another 50 minutes.

            At Lehman, professors are on a strict paper count. I can only run 1,000 sheets of paper in 15 weeks. Not per class, in total! I always go through it and have to find other places to run off a class set. Sometimes I have to go to the print shop near my house and pay to have handouts printed. Supplies are nonexistent; I bring in everything from a stapler to scissors. I had to get a bigger rolling bag just to carry everything. I share an office with 2 other professors. But they are tenured full-time professors so they get all the file cabinets and shelf space. Thank God I have my own desk. Finally, the English Department secretary is an absolute troll. She is mean and for some reason doesn’t like me, or maybe it’s just part timers she doesn’t like. I try to avoid her at all costs.

            CSI is an even longer commute. 2 hours+ to get there and 2 hours+ back. At least it’s only one day a week. The Department secretary there is not very helpful but she is pleasant. We can make the copies we need but all other information you need like computer passwords, copy codes are nowhere to be found and when you ask, you get the “look”! My son said it best, “Dad, when you are an adjunct (part-timer) you are on your own”. So true, so true.

            I use chalk boards, and teach in old rooms with wooden floors. In some respects if you took a black and white photo of me at the blackboard, it might well look like I was teaching in the 1950’s.  Despite the commute, the lack of support, the lack of supplies and occasionally being reminded that you are merely an adjunct; I like teaching college here. Most professors are unique characters and students treat you with respect. Most students try hard, and I have the freedom to design challenging classes and fun ways to communicate with students. Maybe the best part is that my Austin, Rebecca and I all teach college and that means we can get together for lunch at Neil’s and talk shop over a spirited bowl of split-pea soup. Thank you for reading.