Successful Methods and Pedagogical Techniques Used by ESL Teachers in the Classroom; A Pilot Study

Kicking around an idea for this semester's pilot study leading into my dissertation topic. Still looking at cultural competency, but looking more through the lens of the successful ESL teacher. Here's what I have so far. Let me know what you think.. work in progress..always is :)

Abstract

The purpose of this pilot study is to identify successful strategies and pedagogical techniques used by ESL teachers in their classrooms. In greater detail, this study is designed to investigate specific methods which ESL instructors incorporate as part of their lesson planning to engage their students. The research gathering strategies used for this study will consist of interviews with teachers and students, observations, and a short narrative from each teacher describing their favorite strategy. This study will be based on the constructivist design while applying the framework of critical reflexivity, which requires teachers to examine how their past experiences have shaped their ideas on their roles and responsibilities as teachers. This framework has been shaped by several prominent educational researchers.

Research Problem

            Classrooms across the United States are becoming more diverse. While a number of cities, such as Miami, Los Angeles, El Paso, and Phoenix have enjoyed a long transition into diversity, some areas of the country are not. One such area is the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. While other northern regions in the state enjoy diverse learning communities, the percentages of Hispanic and Asian students in Hampton Roads schools are still low. For example, the most recent demographic of the Newport News school system shows only 9.9% Hispanic students, and 2.9% Asian (2010). By comparison, in the city of Alexandria, these percentages are 30.7 and 5.0, respectively (2010).

 However, the percentages of minority students in the Hampton Roads region are rising and will continue to do so. To continue preparing for this change in demographics, school systems in southeastern Virginia will need to hire more ESL teachers in the near future. Currently, there are very few ESL teachers in the area. An inquiry to one school system with four high schools, seven middle schools and 24 elementary schools elicited a response that there were 3-4 ESL teachers currently employed in the entire system – one for each level.

At this time, it is not believed that any research has been conducted on the expected growth of Hispanic and Asian students to this region. There is also little evidence of any planning for this shift in demographics at the regional level. The intention is to examine the situation in one school system. By examining a locality with only several teachers, I intend to capture the essence of what is working. These results will be compared to results in a larger study, which will be conducted in a larger school system, probably in Northern Virginia. By identifying the successful methods and techniques which are brought into the classroom by ESL teachers in more diverse regions, the objective as a researcher is to make comparisons to the methods and techniques used by teachers in the Hampton Roads and determine which methods and background techniques are working successfully. This information can be presented to school administrators who will be in the position to seek and retain successful ESL teachers in the next several years.

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Purpose Statement

            Ladson-Billings (1995) notes the importance of cultural competency in the classroom by stating that “not only must teachers encourage academic success and cultural competence, they must help students to recognize, understand, and critique current social inequities.” (p. 476)

                        Studies have shown that because of the conflict with language understanding, literacy can be gained with ESL students by making the topic in literacy relevant to the student’s life and interests (Smallwood, 1998; Singleton, 2000). Keeping the participatory approach conceived in the Frierian model of ESL curriculum in mind, other educators have developed multi-step plans to help ESL language learners develop better command of the English language (Rominski & Vazquez, 1997; Frederick & Huss-Lederman, 1998). Some of these techniques have been emulated at the school system level (NYCBE, 1997).

            Some of these programs and techniques concentrate on the reading aspect of learning English, while others make the transition to putting the newly learned material into writing form. As noted by Bello (1997), “by integrating writing with content at every level of instruction, teachers help learners find their own voices in their new language and develop the ability to communicate effectively in different contexts and with different audiences.” (ERIC DIGEST, p.5). While translating to a new language, it is imperative to note that teachers are responsible to be aware of their students’ perceptions of what helps them progress and somehow to incorporate these perceptions into their teaching (Diab, p. 40).

            While ESL teaching is unique, many of the methods and techniques used by these teachers could fall under the larger framework of cultural competency. According to Ladson-Billings (2008), “culturally relevant teaching must meet three criteria: an ability to develop students academically, willingness to nurture and support cultural competence, and the development of a sociopolitical or critical consciousness.” (p. 483)

            My previous research has focused on topics relating to cultural competency issues for teachers, and the culturally competent characteristics exhibited by high school coaches. My intention with this study is to identify positive methods used by ESL teachers to communicate with their students.

Research Question

            My main research question for this study will be:

·         What are the personal and pedagogical characteristics specifically focused toward teaching ESL students? (compared to a traditional classroom teacher)

Interview Questions

      Questions to be used for each teacher (8-10) will include the following:

• ·         Tell me why you became an ESL teacher. (Warm-Up – should provide some personal background)
• ·         Describe a typical day in your school (Warm-Up – might help to shed light on how school system/Title III funding affects one’s job)
• ·         Describe the classroom methods or strategies that you use to teach ESL students?
• ·         What role does resources play in helping you develop lesson plans to teach ESL students?
• ·         How do you use the resources available to you to teach ESL students in your classroom?
• ·         Do you think your school system properly provide you with the necessary resources to work in an ESL classroom? (is improvisation important?)
• ·         Do you think there are differences between the classroom needs of ESL students and students for whom English is a first language?
• ·         Do you think that your cultural and social background plays a role in the classroom? Why or why not?
• ·         What is your favorite lesson to teach to ESL students? (can ask…might be more for background)
• ·         What is the greatest challenge you face as an ESL teacher?
• ·         What are some of the ways you work to overcome this challenge?
• ·         What are some of the ways that you utilize the course curriculum? Is there room for creativity and thinking “outside of the box?” Give me some examples.
• ·         How would your students describe you as a teacher?

The data gathered from the answers to these questions is intended to lead to potentially relevant follow-up questions and provide the subjects an opportunity to reflect before making further comments, either in oral or written form. Because this is a pilot study, I will probably not have follow-up questions.

The other part of my fact-finding strategy is to conduct a 30-45 minute observation of each teacher in class. The purpose is to see him/her put the methods described into practice.

References

Bello, T. (1997). Improving ESL Learners’ Writing Skills, ERIC Digest. Washington, DC:

 National Clearinghouse for ESL Literary Education.

Demographic data (2011), Hampton City Schools. Retrieved from http://sbo.hampton.k12.va.us.

Demographic statistics (2010-2011), Alexandria City Public Schools, Retrieved from

            http://acps.k12.va.us.

Diab, R. (2005). Teachers’ and students’ beliefs about responding to ESL writing: A case study.

            TESL Canada Journal, 23, 1, pp. 28-43.

Frederick, C. & Huss-Lederman, S. (1998). The Participatory Approach to Workplace and

 Vocational ESL. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics.

Hoang-Thu, T. (2010). Teaching Culture in the EFL/ESL Classroom. Presented at The Los

            Angeles Regional California Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages,

            Fullerton, CA.

Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant

            pedagogy. Theory into Practice, 34, 3, pp. 159-165.

Ladson-Billings, G. (2008). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American

 Educational Research Association, 32, 3, pp. 465-491.

New York City Board of Education. (1997). STARS for ESL. Strategies, Techniques and

            Resources: Meeting Higher Standards in Grades 6-8.

Rominski, C. & Vazquez, M. (1997). Improving Reading and Writing Skills of Mainstreamed

 ESL Students. M.A. Research Project, Saint Xavier University and IRI/Skylight.

Singleton, K. (2000). Teaching Literacy Students in Your ESL Class. Presented at the Virginia

            Adult Institute for Lifelong Learning – English as a Second Language (VAILL-ESL)

            Conference.

Smallwood, B.A. (1998). Staff Training for Alexandria Head Start in ESL Methodology.

            Alexandria Early Childhood Commission.

Should Teachers Be Paid More? Sure, But Here’s an Idea!!

Just for the sake of leading in, it is negligent to talk about education these days without mentioning the changes being made in the controversial program known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Enacted in 2001 by then-President George W. Bush, the bill was best known for giving teachers and administrators headaches from coast-to-coast.

While the reasoning behind the bill made sense, it was never a realistic proposal. Over the 13-year course of the plan, schools were required to incrementally improve their standardized test scores every year. What many people do not realize is the pattern of the improvement. Most of the gains were slated for the years 2011-2014. On a graph, the improvement curve looked like the first half of the Griffin roller coaster at Busch Gardens. For those who do not live in the Williamsburg, Virginia area, let’s just say the curve was about to become very steep. And the numbers were not good. In my region of Virginia, only six of 37 schools in Newport News met the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals, while only five of 31 accomplished the feat in neighboring Hampton. Even more suburban systems such as York and Williamsburg-James City had percentages in the 30-40% range.

Arne Duncan, the current Secretary of Education, has been given a lot of money and freedom to run his department. He will probably go down as the most powerful DoE leader ever. His initial plan called “Race to the Top” pitted states against each other for Federal funds. This plan was met with mixed results, usually criticized by the states losing out on money.

His plan to rework the entire NCLB plan to include room for more classroom creativity and less “teaching to the test” should be met as a positive sign in American schools. The jury will remain out while this is reworked, but the stage is now set for a true meaningful change to be made in our educational system. Many hope that Duncan and his associates take advantage of this opportunity.

With this in mind, I’d like to make a modest proposal with regard to the teacher salary plan.

Are teachers underpaid? It depends on where you live and who you ask. In Virginia, the starting salary ranges from about $33,000 in the most rural divisions to the following in its larger divisions. These numbers are based on a 10-month scale having a bachelor’s and master’s degree.


(Data found on the websites of the various school systems through the Virginia Department of Education website at http://doe.virginia.gov)

            Starting Teacher Salary With a Bachelor’s/Master’s

Alexandria   $ 43,632/ 50,047

Arlington        43,910/ 48,412

Fairfax Co.     44,440/ 49,928

Harrisonburg  39,214/ 41,764

Norfolk          38,012/ 41,053

Richmond      39,712/  41,697

Roanoke        36,604/ 37,967

VA Beach      38,597/ 41,097

The bottom of the scale begins to widen after the first 5-10 years, but here’s what the same teacher can expect to be making after 20 years, and the final number is the highest possible salary on the teacher scale for a standard contract:

Alexandria     75,299/ 92,313                     99,063 with a Masters plus 30 credits                              

Arlington       65,256/ 87,450                    101,298 with a Doctorate

Fairfax Co.    74,395/ 79,884                     93,015 with a Doctorate

Harrisonburg 47,377/ 49,927                     67,229 with a Doctorate

Norfolk          59,854/ 64,642                    70,460 with a Doctorate

Richmond      49,818/ 52,307                     71,664 with a Masters plus 30 credits

Roanoke         52,197/ 53,562                   60,851 with a Doctorate

VA Beach      54,098/ 56,598                    70,014 with a Doctorate

There is an obvious disparity among the regions within the state, but outside of Northern Virginia, a teaching position pays equivalent to a GS-7/8/9 government job. Here’s what the GS scale in the Washington DC Metro area looks like

7	42209	43616	45024	46431	47838	49246	50653	52061	53468	54875
8	46745	48303	49861	51418	52976	54534	56092	57649	59207	60765
9	51630	53350	55070	56791	58511	60232	61952	63673	65393	67114
10	56857	58752	60648	62544	64439	66335	68230	70126	72022	73917
11	62467	64548	66630	68712	70794	72876	74958	77040	79122	81204
12	74872	77368	79864	82359	84855	87350	89846	92341	94837	97333

The arguments here become obvious. To the full-time government employee, it’s “well, they have summers off!” For the teachers, the cry is “we have to do all this extra unpaid work and we never have enough time!”

Both arguments are valid and true. The typical teacher contract consists of a 195-200 day work schedule, with additional requirements to complete 180 hours of professional development during the term of each license (5 years). Taking two graduate courses can satisfy this requirement, but at least half of this can be accomplished through regular faculty meetings and division-wide development training.

Considering that eliminating summer school is not an option (by the way, teachers can make between $1500 and $5000 extra depending on the pay plan - usually $22-30/hr. – and length of term – four to eight weeks), what can be done?

Notwithstanding any upcoming merit pay plans, my solution is to add 20 mandatory days to the teacher contract. The first 10 days would be added to the end of June and involve a student remediation session. This could be used as a way for some students to avoid summer school, if used properly. If a student meets certain academic benchmarks, they can stay home. This time can also be used for debriefing and reflection among the teachers and staff. Under the current contract structure, teachers pack up on the last day and leave without having an opportunity to look back at the past year and determine where ideas went right or wrong. With remediation, it could be possible to reduce the amount of time and resources needed for a summer session.

The other two weeks would be added before the current check-in date in mid to late August. These two weeks would be devoted to professional development and school meetings. The current argument from teachers is that they come to school for 5-8 days of preparation and spend most of the time in meetings (school-wide, division-wide, grade level, content level, team level, etc…). There is not enough time to plan one’s lessons, decorate the classroom, get to know the new teachers and make general preparations for the first day of school. My proposal suggests getting the professional development out of the way first, and then allowing for the 5-8 days to be used strictly for class preparation, which is the most important element of education. It will lead to a much smoother transition into the school year and alleviate some of the time teachers have to spend working at home, or the late afternoons/evenings in the school building.

For working these extra days, teachers would be paid based on their current contract, but generally this would result in a 10% raise.

Of course, there are a number of elements to be added into the mix, with the first being funding. However, my belief is that this covers a lot of angles including higher teacher pay, meeting greater community expectations, more classroom time, more potential face time with troubled students and a greater sense of teamwork within a school building.

I’d love to open this forum and hear from those in favor and those opposed. If I may make a request, please, use the comment link to respond as opposed to my Facebook page, if possible J

How ESL Teachers Relate Their Ethnic and Social Backgrounds to Practice: An Article Review

In her article, published in the March 2011 journal of Race, Ethnicity and Education, Dr. Lasisi Ajayi, a professor at San Diego State University, uses the ethnic background of her state, California, to present a strong argument for the importance of ESL teachers relating their ethnic and social backgrounds to instructional practices.

California, as a whole, is one of the most diverse states in America. But, instead of concentrating on her San Diego base, Ajayi traveled two hours north to Los Angeles, where she found 57 English as Second Language (ESL) teachers from inner-city junior high schools who were willing to answer her questionnaire, sit down for an interview and share their own perspectives in writing with regard to how their personal histories were reflected in their teaching pedagogical practices.

Ajayi presents useful data to note the increase of ethnic minority students, as well as teachers, in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), and then uses her data findings to pose two questions:

      ·         How do ESL teachers backgrounds influence their conceptions of their roles, instructional decision-making, and efforts to negotiate the increasingly complex institutional and policy climates in which they work?

·         How do teacher educators and researchers engage in the development of teacher education programs and curricula that incorporate exploration of teachers’ personal backgrounds and attitudes?

 Ajayi came into the study with the hypotheses that ESL teachers make connections between their ethnic/social backgrounds and instructional practices (p. 255). On a larger scale, having the ability to draw on these backgrounds and experiences can benefit teachers now and in the future if the pedagogical choices made by the teacher can be identified and used in future teacher education programs.

The author’s states her purpose as determining the ways that ESL teachers interpret their ethnic and social backgrounds to mediate their pedagogical roles. She guides her study using two more questions:

·         How do the teachers’ ethnic and social backgrounds relate to their instructional decision-making in teaching ESL?

·         How do their views mediate their understanding of their roles as teachers and their interpretations of the institutional and policy climate of their schools?

After the introduction, Ajayi moves on to presenting her theoretical framework on teachers’ backgrounds and practices using the poststructuralist theory, while looking at the rejection of human beings having a coherent identity, a person’s link to society, the relationship among thinking, teaching and knowledge, and the classroom as a social and political site.

Her literature review concludes with the suggestion that ESL teachers’ backgrounds are a crucial source of knowledge and experience from which they construct their practice (p. 257) and that there is more to learn from investigating how ESL teachers reconcile their personal backgrounds and perspectives with teaching ESL (p. 257).

Ajayi proceeds to the demographic data of the student population of LAUSD. Having no personal relationship with the students, this data is useful in presenting the broad picture of the student makeup. According to the school system website, in 2008, there were over 746,000 students in the district, of which 72% were Hispanic, 12% African-American, 9% White and 6% Asian. On the other hand, the teachers’ demographics showed that 47.8% of teachers were White, 27.9% Hispanic, 12.8% African-American and 8.4% Asian. (p. 257). Other notable data includes 25% of K-12 public school students being ESL and representing more than 100 languages.

 Methodology

 Ajayi’s first step was to develop a questionnaire to collect biographical data. There were four parts to the survey. Part I included 11 questions focusing on the teachers’ racial, linguistic, gender, experience, age and educational backgrounds. The second section was used to determine the relevancy of the ESL curriculum and program in the teachers’ schools and how well they were addressing the students’ needs. Additional questions looked at California policy of the ESL program and use of personal experiences to deliver instruction.

The researcher bolstered her findings in other ways. Each teacher was required to write a statement commenting on their views on California’s language-learning policy, school policy, ESL programs and curriculum as well as standardized tests. This was based on the Ajayi’s belief that teachers’ views were a social construction, a belief previously introduced by Wenger (2005, 153)

Each teacher was also interviewed for a 20-30 minute period to explain their views about teaching ESL and the effectiveness of using English-only within the program, which was one of the four programs used in California (others being Basic Bilingual, Dual-Language and Structured English.) other questions looked at the effectiveness of their teacher education program and how they used their own background in their classrooms.

Her schools were randomly selected from two of the seven mini-districts in Los Angeles because over 20% of the students in the schools were classified as ESL learners. The teachers were recommended by the schools’ ESL or bilingual coordinator. There was an 81.42% response rate to the initial survey and the teachers represented approximately 37% of the ESL junior high teachers.

The quantitative data was analyzed using the SPSS PC+ statistical software with the probability level of p<.05 set for all tests of statistical significance.

To analyze the qualitative data, the author applied the framework of critical reflexivity, which is the practice of having teachers examine their presuppositions about their roles and responsibilities based on their personal views of teaching (p. 262).

In short, the findings of the researcher were varied. She found that Hispanic teachers were most likely to employ their personal views and experiences in their roles as teachers. African-American teachers understood the importance of using their personal histories and generally felt that their social structure had an influence on their view of the ESL program. White teachers also noted the importance of using personal backgrounds, but felt more inclined to have to make a conscious effort to build relationships with students.

Conceptually, this can be a useful study. Although it centers on teachers in one city, the findings deal with relationships between teachers and ESL students and address the ethnic differences by presenting the findings of Hispanic, African-American and White teachers. These findings may transfer to other geographic locations in the United States. However, it may have been more useful to find teachers in other diverse cities. New York, Phoenix, El Paso, Washington D.C. and Miami come to mind. Certainly, time and money would be necessary to advance the study.

I am impressed with the methodology used by Ajayi. She covered many bases as part of her mixed-methods study. Getting an 81% response rate showed dedication and care to the selection process used for her initial survey. She also employed other methods for data gathering, such as written perspectives and interviews. It may have added richness to the study to have subjects bring in historical artifacts for their interview, but Ajayi’s findings are relevant and thorough as is.

This study serves as a good starting point for what I am aiming to accomplish with my pilot study on ESL teachers. First, Ajayi gives the methodology which presents many ideas on how to tackle this topic for my pilot study. In fact, the author notes her own pilot study in her validation of instrument section, recalling her interviews with eight ESL teachers in four junior high schools in Los Angeles. This could serve as a model for my pilot study, although I anticipate more difficulty finding ESL teachers in this region, so my pilot study might have to work with four teachers in two schools.

A second helpful feature comes in the author’s section on further research. She feels the needs of this to be in the specific approaches that teachers use to teach ESL – a collection of data about classroom practices, as well as student responses to these approaches. From these findings, Ajayi theorizes that qualitative differences in instructional effectiveness and ESL student learning can be realized.

Finally, although this study cannot be used for the pilot study, it does provide references for almost 50 other sources which can enhance my further research on this topic.

 

References

Ajayi, L. (2011). How ESL teachers relate their ethnic and social backgrounds in practice, Race,

            Ethnicity and Education, 14, 2, 253-275.

 

Los Angeles Unified School District (2008). Los Angeles Unified School District Student

            Demographics. www.lausd.k12.ca.us.html.

 

Wenger, E. (2005). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning and identity. Cambridge

            University Press: Cambridge.

Remembering Mikey D

Today marks the 18th anniversary of perhaps the most horrific day in modern American history - the day when over 3,000 Americans were killed due to the acts of cowardly terrorists. I still can't believe it has been this long.

Today, just like I've done every September 11th since 2002, I pause to remember of one of our friends from my alma mater, Wagner College. Michael DeRienzo was one of my friends and TKE brothers who had moved on after college to become a finance type of person and one who worked for Cantor Fitzgerald on the 104th floor of the North WTC Tower on the day of 9/11/2001. To put our school's location in perspective, Lower Manhattan was right on the other side of New York Harbor from Wagner and many graduates had their senior picture taken from the roof of 15-story Harbor View Hall with the Twin Towers in the background. On that fateful day, many Wagner students were able to witness the explosions from their dorm room and the second plane appeared to have circled back toward Manhattan from just over the campus.

As a tribute, I wrote this piece for a special issue of the Wagnerian, our school newspaper which I was editor of in 1985-86. I also posted it to an online tribute website at the request of Ken Nilsen, fellow frater, and now Dean of Student Life at Stevens Tech in NJ. From this, Hank Nuwer, the site's caretaker, published it as part of a tribute to fallen fraternity and sorority members. Since then, Hank, a journalism professor and foremost authority on hazing and fraternal issues, has become a friend and mentor for me.

Anyhow, over the years, several people have asked for a copy of this tribute to our friend Michael DeRienzo, affectionately known as "Mikey D" to us at Wagner. On this, the day before the 10th anniversary of his death, in his honor, I would like to resubmit a writing of 15 years ago, simply titled, Remembering Mikey D.

R.I.P. Michael DeRienzo -- 9/11/2001


Michael DeRienzo, Class of ’87, was one of many lost in Sept. 11 tragedy

I know that the tragic events of September 11^th affected everybody that is going to read  this. We continually feel the pain, and it is a horrible pain. Our hearts have reached out, and we feel for our families and friends.

The Wagner community lost good friends on that terrible day. Michael DeRienzo is the friend that some of us knew best, and with the help of his friends, I wish to tell you why our “Mikey D” meant so much to us.

Our Wagner history dates back 15 years or so, but the time frame really doesn’t matter. We did the same things as current students do. We played football on the Oval, painted the anchor for Homecoming, grabbed a bite in the Hawk’s nest when the dinner menu looked bad, and as Tau Kappa Epsilon brothers, enjoyed our fraternity home. At that time, it was in a dark hallway under Cunard Hall.

Mike was a big part of our college experience. He was a Staten islander, and attended Wagner with his twin sister Lisa. They were very close, in a way that only twins can know. Their mother, Mrs. DeRienzo, also worked at Wagner, in the audio-visual department. She was a single parent, so it was just the three of them, and it must have been special to be that close on a daily basis.

Chris Ryan remembers Mike with one word – family. In January of 1986, the DeRienzos invited a large group of people over to their home to watch the Super Bowl. It was quite obvious to see how close they were. Last spring, Chris played the role of host when Mike and Steve Mehler passed through his home in Albany, en route to some skiing in Vermont. As he recalls, it was a meeting filled with big laughs, and big smiles. A couple of beers at Troy Pub, a quaint establishment where Chris is managing these days. A great visit. There was no reason to think it wouldn’t be repeated at a later date, but as Chris recalls, “I’m a handshaker, not a hugger. I’m glad I was a hugger that day.”

The day after the attack, Wade Appelman was stuck in Atlanta, GA, quite far from his home in Boulder, CO. There were no planes flying out, and a 22-hour car ride awaited. Wade began telling his work colleagues about his last “road trip.” Again, this dates back to 1986, more specifically, “Spring Break.” Wade, Raj Muthusamy, Dave Smolka, Pete Radigan and Mikey loaded their gear into Wade’s 1968 Mercury Montclair and headed to Ft. Myers, FL. To keep their expenses low, they spent a few days at Wade’s grandparents’ house.

Swimming in the family pool was fun, but Mike was getting edgy, so he invited Wade’s octogenarian grandfather out to a nice local restaurant… Hooters! Over a decade later, the grandparents still ask about the “nice boy that took Grandpa to that restaurant with the girls in the orange shorts.”

Mike had a sly sense of humor about him. I can recall bringing my then-fiancée’ to New York in 1990. A bunch of us went carousing through the city - Mike, Raj, Steve, possibly Brian Buckley, myself and my fiancée’ Ritz. Funny thing about our trips to Manhattan, during college and after; a visit to McSorley’s Pub always found its way onto the itinerary, and it certainly did so on this night. After  a while, my hollow leg filled up, and I had to excuse myself to go visit the trough (literally, it’s a ditch.) This was never a quick process at McSorley’s, with the single relief facility and the waiting line.

During my extended absence, one of the other customers decided to go talk with the single woman who, in spite of her engagement ring, looked to be alone. His advances were quickly shut down, not by Ritz, but my Mikey, who advised the gentleman that pursuing a conversation with “my wife!” was not a good idea. Embarrassed, the Romeo wannabe left.

Most often, Mike’s humor came out in a positive way. I always thought that Mike reminded me of Jerry Seinfeld, without the biting sarcasm. Years ago, Mike learned that I had taken up singing, country music nonetheless. For a New Yorker talking to a Virginian, he could have had a field day with this. Instead, his correspondences would ask whether I had met Garth Brooks yet. No, Garth never quite made it to the Cowboy Café on Route 1. 

Ernie Jackson has a much better recollection. Ernie and Mikey were fellow R.A.’s; in fact, his favorite memory of Mike was watching him perform the dreaded “Exterminator Duty,” required of all R.A.’s on Friday morning. Mike didn’t immediately understand Ernie. He was music major and played the guitar. Mike got a few laughs from that; after all, who goes to college to learn how to play the guitar? But it wasn’t mean spirited. In fact, after some time, it was obvious that it was his way of showing acceptance. It must have had some effect, as the two would laugh about those days later while riding the Staten Island railway from Dongan Hills. In Mikey’s honor, Ernie is having a custom guitar built and donated to Wagner College. From what I’ve heard, it’s going to be one awesome ax.

Ernie touched on some other points that I have heard many times in the three weeks since learning of Mike’s passing. His infectious smile, can-do attitude, positive outlook, they all existed. Tom Kettell mentioned Mike’s easy demeanor, and that was also a great part of Mike’s personality. But he possessed a charm that’s hard to explain.

Here’s one example of this. In the mid-1980’s, the Wagnerian office was located in Union 227. Its location made it the perfect shortcut to get to the cafeteria, and most of my TKE brothers traveled freely through the office before and after meals. Looking back, we should have charged a toll. This used to drive my dear friend and Wagnerian editor successor Mystica Alexander crazy to no end. But she did make mention of the fact that “well, at least Mikey D stops and says hi and how are things going? He’s probably the nicest of your fraternity brothers.” I may have to answer for this later, and the wording may not be exact, but the thought is there. Actually, it was Mystica who informed me of the tragic news of Mike’s death.

It was terrific to see that Mike turned into an accomplished adult. He graduated from Wagner in 1987, with a degree in business administration. After five years at U.S. Trust in Manhattan, he took a position as a broker with Cantor Fitzgerald, and worked on the 104^th floor of 1 World Trade Center.

I only know one detail of Mike’s whereabouts on the morning of September 11^th. He had arrived for work and was there at 8:46 AM, when a jumbo jet crashed into his building. He was at work and this was confirmed by a call from Todd Rutman, the father of Mike’s goddaughter. Mike assured Todd that they had heard an explosion downstairs and were leaving the building immediately. I don’t know the tone of this conversation, but I get the feeling that Mike was optimistic about his chances for survival that day.

A scholarship fund has been started in Mike’s name. Donations can be made out to the Michael DeRienzo Scholarship Fund, Wagner College, 1 Campus Road, Staten Island, NY 10301.

It is hard to confine the grief that we have all felt and are still feeling. There are other Wagner graduates who lost their lives on September 11^th, and we mourn for Timothy Finnerty, Michael Clarke, Joseph Doyle, and Michael Cammarata. Although this is written for our friend and fraternity brother, the hurt is also felt for the people that we never had the opportunity to meet.

Our community at Wagner lost a great deal of innocence on September 11^th. It is saddest to realize that some of our most innocent friends and family members were the ones who died. To our friend, Mikey D., we pray for your soul and for your family. You were a great friend to many of us, and we will greatly miss you. Goodbye, friend.