December 2001 / January 2002 Edition

Tough Love and Lasting Results by Michael I. Morgenstern (1997 Fair Lawn High School graduate)  Rocky Lorenc’s influence still shows today, five years after I graduated from Fair Lawn High School. Her demanding, yet innovative teaching style uniquely prepared me for college, but more importantly, opened my eyes to the field of international affairs.    Ms. Lorenc teaches, and has taught, American History, Political Institute, and Comparative Government. She also makes time to coordinate and administer a yearly trip to Washington, D.C. for her students. In D.C. they interview politicos and dignitaries, and compile research for a lengthy paper – many times the first exposure High School students have to a true research paper. Indeed, I decided my junior year in High School that Washington was the place for me. That belief shaped my college decision and my life goals.   Despite her somewhat tough demeanor in the classroom, her former students still remark about how much we truly took from her classes and how much she helped prepare us for the real world. She was a tough and sometimes stubborn teacher.    Many of us did not realize the importance of her lessons, or of doing things “her way”. Rubrics, tables, essays, reports and a tremendous amount of reading, all to prepare for an AP exam?     In addition to making time for period relevant movies, role-playing projects, and classroom debates, she covers a semester of college level work and introduces High School students to the new learning styles that will be necessary in their coming years.   A short vignette should put her dedication in perspective. In 1996, I was out of high school on medical leave for several months. I had school-supplied bedside tutors for each of my classes. Ms. Lorenc, knowing that there were no qualified AP American History tutors, decided in the very beginning to tutor me herself. After school, twice a week, she would come to my house to ensure I learned the material. Few teachers go to such great lengths for a single student.   In college I used to go back to my AP comparative government rubrics and use them as crib sheets.    Thank you Ms. Lorenc.   Michael I. Morgenstern is Vice President of Russell J. Wilson & Associates, a lobby and advocacy firm in Washington, DC. He is also Principal and Managing Partner of Global InterSec, an international computer security firm.