I have fond memories of so many of the teachers who led me through our city’s public schools – at PS 29 in Cobble Hill, MS 51 in Park Slope, and at Midwood High School. The one who sticks out in my memory is my fifth grade teacher, Mr. Cohen.
At 6’3’’ I thought Mr. Cohen was the tallest man in the world. But his height is far from the only thing that impressed me. He introduced us to Shakespeare, tailoring his instruction to make the works accessible to our ten-year-old brains. In math, he pushed us to learn algebra far before anyone would have suggested we were ready, and it worked. He taught me how to play chess and succeeded in getting me out in the schoolyard to play softball – something few people were able to convince my less-than tomboy self to do.
Most of all, he taught me to always ask questions and to push myself further than I thought possible. I will always be thankful to Jeff Cohen.
-Katie Appel
PS 29, Class of 1992