AC_1965_Web

54 AN T I OC H CO L L E G E C L A S S O F 19 6 5 5 0 t h A N N I V E R S A R Y B O O K A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z G O O D M A N GOODMAN SHERRY ROSS Sherry with Warren Goodman. THEN AND NOW 4 B.A. 4 M.A., Bank Street 4 M.A., Supervision and Administration FAMI LY 4 Husband, Warren Goodman 4 Daughters, Samantha Lara and Stephanie Lizbeth 4 Three grandchildren I G R A D U A T E D F R O M Antioch in four years as I was dating Stephen L. Ross, also ’65, and didn’t want to spend a year in Yellow Springs without him. So even though I went AEA for 11 months (Besançon, France—dreadful place—Antioch should never have been sending students there) I was able to grad- uate by working and studying at the same time during my last six months at Antioch. The most posi- tive experience I had while abroad for those 11 months was when I carted myself (alone) on a 14-hour train ride from Paris-Venice and got on a crate of a “ship”going 4th class to Haifa, Israel. I was determined to meet Aviva, a girl I had been writ- ing to since I was 15. I stayed five weeks with her and it was love at first sight. I’ve been back to Israel three more times and she has vis- ited here several times. Antioch was the perfect college for me. Everything that happened, even though some of it was very difficult, was an important learning experience. Dan Hotaling, my advi- sor, was the person responsible for changing my life. I was a business major who initially wanted to go into merchandising, buying haute couture for an expensive depart- ment store in New York City. Once I met manufacturers from New York (during my second co-op job at Filene’s Boston flagship store), I realized these were not people I liked nor wanted to spend my life making money for. But I was intent on graduating in four years. So I did not change my major, just my co-op jobs. I accidentally ended up work- ing with young children one sum- mer, near my house when I had to be home because my mother had been in a terrible automobile acci- dent. I loved it. Then I worked at Antioch’s own children’s school and had a very negative experience. Dan Hotaling told me to forget about it, go to Bank Street College of Education in New York City and then make up my mind about what I wanted to do. After working and studying straight for four years, two weeks after graduation I started at Bank Street in a field I knew noth- ing about.When you study at Bank Street during the year, you teach all day and go to school at night. You have 4 placements during the aca- demic year. If I thought Antioch had changed me, Bank Street continued the process.A year later I was a dif- ferent person. Bank Street taught me everything I needed to know as an early childhood educator. At this time they were still downtown on Bank Street. Once I finished my course work, I applied for jobs in NewYork City,Westchester County and on Long Island. Only one offer came through: a state-funded, ex- perimental pre-kindergarten pro- gram five miles from my parents home in Port Washington, Long Island, N.Y., in the Herricks School District. I couldn’t believe an inex- perienced teacher (me) was given the position! It wasn’t a job. I loved everything about it and worked re- ally hard on designing the curric- ulum, materials, furniture, training other people I worked with and parent education. I couldn’t have dreamed up a better job than this was. The person who oversaw the program was not the principal of my school. It was perfect for me be- cause I was left alone. Two things that Antioch strengthened was my independence and determination: if I had a clear goal, nothing could stop me from attaining it no mat- ter how difficult it was to achieve. Bank Street and the success of my pre-kindergarten program raised my self-confidence. The grant was for five years. Coincidently, as the school year was ending, I found my- self pregnant. I was so happy in my job that I couldn’t think of starting a family yet. I guess I forgot to men- tion that Stephen and I married on December 26, 1966. So I had three more days to