Interview with Mr. Shea

by Nina Goldman

Denis Shea, the beloved High School physics teacher, is retiring after many years at the Bronxville School. The following is his farewell interview:

N: How long have you been a teacher here?
S: Six years.

N: What was your first day here like?
S: It was like a typical day. It was a little bit different from where I taught in Clarkstown.

N: How long did you teach there?
S: Thirty-four years.

N: Why did you decide to teach physics?
S: In High School, I enjoyed math and science.

N: What’s your favorite thing to teach in physics?
S: I guess teaching electrical circuits, and talking about Joe Coulomb. I compare it to a truck, picking up sand and dropping off sand.

N: Where did you get all of those examples that you use to explain concepts?
S: Some are from some movies I saw. You try something one year, and maybe its not good so you don’t try it again. And finally you try something that clicks, and you keep on using that.

N: What are you going to do after you’ve retired?
S: I’m not really sure yet. I’m going to sit on my deck for a while, read a book in the morning, have an extra cup of coffee. Also, I have all kinds of stuff in different boxes, so I’ll straighten up my house right. I have to do something, I just can’t do nothing.

N: And what about your family?
S: I have five boys… they go from age 35 down to 25.

N: Did any of them ever show an interest in physics?
S: One became a marine engineer. But the other boys, they liked history more.

N: Have any of your physics students gone on to do great things?
S: This one David Schreiber, he went to MIT or Harvard after. I read in the paper one time, he was the national director of some big government agency. He was a very smart kid though. He went through the whole year, and never lost a single point on tests.

N: Do you have anything that you would like to say to your students before you go?
S: Okay, like, in this school there are so many good students, that some of the students in the middle might feel overshadowed by other students. But in another mix of students, they might be outstanding. And they should realize that. An awful lot of people have a lot of potential, that don’t realize it. The main thing going through life is that you have to work… this is getting to be a long answer.

N: No, it’s ok, keep going.
S: You can have a certain amount of ability, but to be successful you have to work at it. When you look at our presidents, they didn’t come out graduating top of their class, usually. But they were smart. At the same time they worked at it, and that was important.