I recently read about the closing of Paradise Knoll School which triggered an outburst of great memories. In 1962, I was a senior at William Paterson University, (Paterson State College back then) when I met Leo Hilton, who was recruiting teachers for West Milford. During the course of our conversation, he asked me if I was interested in teaching in his district. When I said yes, I didn’t realize that it was the best decision I ever made.
The following September, I found myself in a K-4 school called Paradise Knoll. It was aptly named as it was a paradise for me. The building housed ten teachers, two for each grade including kindergarten. The principal was Ed Oskamp, who instilled in me the confidence I needed to have for a successful rookie year. I was 21, but looked more like fifteen. On day one, a bell rang at 9:00 and the students entered the room. I remember looking at my knees to see if the shaking was noticeable. As two girls passed me, I heard one whisper excitedly, “We have a man!” I later learned that I was the first male to teach at this level in the town.
As the first few days rolled by, I realized that a special relationship was developing between the children and me. Since I was single and lived with my parents, I was usually the first car in the parking lot and the last one to leave. In September, I had had about 25 students, which grew to over 30 during the year. I taught from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. without a break. All the teachers were required to eat lunch with their classes. An art teacher came every two weeks and I had to stay in the room so that I could finish whatever project she started. The same was true for music. On rainy days, I taught square dancing. I was given free reign to do just about anything I wanted to do without worrying about test scores, gender issues, screen time, cell phones and all the other modern day teacher concerns. Once, after a huge snowstorm, we built a long tunnel with three entrances. It took the better part of two days. Although the kids loved it, I doubt I could do that today. After school, I began various clubs and activities such as chess and kickball. On Saturdays, we played touch football on the front lawn and took field trips using my van and volunteer parents. I was invited to the homes of several of my students where dinner was sometimes included. I was crazy in love with my new extended family. And to top it all off, I received a paycheck of a whopping $90 per week. Life just could not get any better for me. It was a magical year and one that I still treasure as I will be celebrating my 86th birthday this fall.
My belated thanks to the West Milford Board of Education and the wonderful students and parents who gave me a gift of a lifetime.
Bob Blumenthal
Pompton Plains
