I heard the other students talking about which English teacher they got for their junior year. Some were moaning while others were elated. It seemed like cheerleading tryouts just ended, but people were not shrieking or jumping or anything of that sort. The ones who were smiling broadly were officially the students of Mr. Marone Sr., but most importantly, every year Mr. Marone taught his classes how to write effectively and efficiently; he also gave us many invaluable lessons on life.
The striking quality that, in the eyes of each of his students, set Mr. Marone apart from all the other teachers in that high school was his distinguished yet openly-friendly persona. He treated his students like colleagues. He listened to our thoughts, ideas, concerns, and criticism with the same amount of respect and attention as he did the principle and other teachers. The majority of his students came to him often for advice on social issues, help with homework, or someone to listen to a story they wanted to share. He managed to successfully walk the fine line of being both a teacher and a friend to his students.
When he gave the class a lesson, we listened with open ears and eager minds. We knew that these were the few types of lessons that were learned in high school that would be useful once we were out in the 'real world'. Mr. Marone's lessons usually lead to class discussions where he, compellingly, allowed every one of us to speak our minds. Although the class was very diverse, with an array of cultures present, he always seemed to calmly work through any offense that may have been taken by any of his students. Seldom there was a class period where someone walked out of that room upset. By Mr. Marone providing the opportunity and the environment in which we can expand our ideas and understanding, we had the ability to learn from not only him, but each other and ourselves as well.
It was because of his consideration for our ideas, we felt as though we had a voice in the school and even the community. Many of us began to expand into the various programs that our city provided. We also began to pay more attention to the decisions and topic that were being discussed in the city council, many of which involved the youth directly. As an indirect result of his spontaneous discussions about the latest current events many of my classmates and I became involved in our city's Youth Council which provided an inside look at the way our city was being run.
His attitudes about education and politics were blunt and firm, yet he was always open to an intellectual discussion from an opposing viewpoint. It was these discussions that opened my eyes and caused me to develop a considerable thirst for higher education. He valued a good collegiate education and was often seen looking over student's various applications. When he taught us the proper way to write, he focused not on what was acceptable at the high school level, but rather he pushed us to think and write at the minimum requirements satisfactory for the collegiate level.
One of my most distinct memories of Mr. Marone's third period English class was the number of alumni that returned to give him an update of their lives both their successes and failures. He always took these visits as an opportunity for his former students to provide us young intellects with little insights of wisdom that only comes from experience. He prepared me for the realities that the "unsheltered" world had in store for me. Looking back now I can see how he prepared us so that we would be cushioned the blows when life got rough and he made us aware so that we would appreciate the special things that life had to offer.
-- Kelly Rowland, Florida Atlantic University