In the 1960s and ’70s, Staples High School buzzed with educational innovation.
There were English courses in things like filmmaking, and an Alternatives program for students who learned in non-traditional ways. The Staples Governing Board gave students, teachers and administrators a powerful voice in nearly every aspect of school decision-making.
But radical new ideas were not limited to the high school.
In 1969, Eric Bosch was a 9th grader at Bedford Junior High (today, the building is Saugatuck Elementary School). Principal Ken Brummel had an idea: Allow teachers to teach any course they wanted, in any area that intrigued them.
Allow students to choose any courses they wanted, across all disciplines. There were no restrictions. If they wanted, they could take 7 classes of phys. ed.
And, oh yeah: Letter grades were optional. Every instructor could provide any type of evaluation they wanted: “Outstanding, Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory,” for example, or a written set of comments.
Eric Bosch’s course evaluation for “Nutrition.”
Students also graded themselves.
The “Modular Teaching Experiment” began that spring, for the final 6 weeks of the marking period.
The other day — more than 50 years later — Bosch found material from those experimental days.
He did not choose 7 periods of gym. Instead, he took:
- “Nutrition,” (taught by Don DiGennaro)
- “Tube Talk” (Edward Elendausky)
- “Vampires Unlimited” (Annette Silverstone)
- “Keeping up with the News” (Karley Higgins)
- “Metalworking” (David Conrad_
- “The Athlete” (Ray Comeau)
- “Track” (Ed Hall).
Course description for “The Athlete,” taught by Ray Comeau.
Looking back, Bosch finds the 6-week session “mind blowing.” It was also — well, different.
When he was applying to Clark University 3 years later, an interviewer asked, “What the hell was going on with your 4th quarter in 8th grade?”
Eric Bosch’s 4th quarter report card included grades from traditional and experimental courses. “French was not my strong suit,” he says.
But, Bosch adds , he is “grateful that Westport’s teachers and administrators were willing to try new approaches to teaching. While some college admissions personnel might not have liked it, isn’t that the price you pay for being on the leading edge of anything?”
Early in his first year of college, Bosch recalls, he told his parents he was more prepared than many of his classmates.
The Bedford Experiment ended. But Westport schools — in particular, Staples — continued to innovate.
And what happened to Ken Brummel, the BJHS principal who pushed the envelope?
A few years later, he was named Westport’s superintendent of schools.
(“Friday Flashback” is one of “06880”‘s regular features. To help support your local blog, please click here.)
Bedford Junior High School, back in the day.
One used to get a diploma too from Bedford Junior High, if you go back 90 years. I have my aunt’s diploma from 1932.
Only in Westport.
That was Staples High School also. I graduated from there in 1956,
Who remembers PSSC Physics and SMMS Mathematics and what they were???
Ahhh the good ol MOD system
Cooking Class Mod and Joe Saviano picking up duck eggs on the river for the eclair recipe
History of Westport and taking the historic bus trip with Besse Jennings doing her best historian reminiscing
Jack Stahl doing Wrestling only as crazy Jack could
Those were the daze my friend…..
It’s not surprising that Don DiGennaro taught nutrition. I had Mr. DiGennaro as a teacher for a couple of different classes at Staples in the early 90’s. At the time he had stopped eating animal products after reading Fit For Life. He was the first person I met who advocated seriously for plant based eating.
I wish I had taken it seriously at the time. Now, 30 years later, I have adopted a plant based lifestyle. If I only had listened to DiGennaro then… or listened to anybody for that matter!
Great piece, Dan!
With Helen Ranholm I thought, Ahhh, wasn’t that Staples High School way back “in the day”? I graduated in 1958.