Teacher Photos

From 1972 Yearbook

I HAVE TAUGHT THEM ALL
I have taught in High School for ten years. During that time, I have given assignments, among others, to a thief, a murderer, an evangelist, a puglist and an imbecile. The murderer was a quiet little boy who sat in the front row and regarded me with pale blue eyes; the evangelist, easily the most popular boy in school, had the lead in the Junior Play; the pugilist lounged by the window and let loose at intervals a raucous laugh that startled even the geraniums; the thief was a gay hearted Lothario with a song on his lips; and the imbecile was a soft hearted little animal seeking the shadows.
The murderer awaits death in the state penitentiary; the evangelist has lain a year now in the churchyard; the pugilist lost an eye in Hong Kong; the thief, by standing on tip-toe, can see the windows of my room from the county jail; and the quiet dyed little moron beats his head against the wall in a state asylum.
All these pupils have sat in my room, sat and looked at me gravely across worn desks. I must have been a great help to these pupils — I taught them the rhyming scheme of the Elizabethan sonnet and how to diagram a complex sentence.

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Reflections by Joe Biscaha

My teaching and coaching career began during the Fall of 1961 in Paterson Central HS.

While coaching football there, I befriended Coach Steve Gerdy, Neil Aharrah and Dave McMahon. Coach Gerdy and I would commiserate by phone after football games and we began to develop a stronger friendship. When I left Paterson in 1966 I was invited to interview for a science teaching position at PV. I believe that Coach Gerdy played a prominent role in my coming to PV in the Fall of 1966.

I had heard about the merits of teaching at PV for years before I was hired there, but never could fully appreciate the wonderful experience I had there until these later years. That faculty then was held in high regard for the professionalism they demonstrated in their commitment to the values held by the PV community. This has been continually been validated as evidenced by by the PV alumni’s active participation in community leadership roles.

With the advent of social media, it has been possible to “look into the lives” of some of the students I had taught/coached and shared pride in seeing how their lives have evolved over the years.

The years I spent at PV growing as a teacher and coach were truly a blessing. I was blessed in having the most wonderful students to teach that you could imagine, blessed to have worked with a team of coaches that proved to be the best in NJ, and blessed to have had tremendous administrative and community support for our academic and athletic programs.

All that being said, I left in 1982.I then believed I needed a different situation.

My entire life changed with that decision to find a different place to do the same thing. Karma was involved in bringing me to this now wonderful stage of my life

I look back fondly on my PV days and have even revisited “the grounds” in a somewhat unrecognized fashion. It’s still a very special place in my mind and in the community of the Passaic Valley. I still “bleed green”.

Catch up with Coach on his Blog at Don't Forget Your Playbook

Or send him a note on his PV Page here

Joseph Biscaha

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Reflections..by Joe Mazza

My 32 years of teaching Health and Physical Education and coaching soccer and track at Passaic Valley were fun filled and gratifying. I truly miss the interaction I had with the students and players. Recently, I was contacted by Dr. Gary Jannarone, a former player on our 1970 soccer team. He invited me to join him and a number of other former players at a reunion at the Barnyard Restaurant in Totowa. How rewarding it was to see these men after all these years (43 to be exact). One of them, former captain Mike Gole, still had his soccer jacket from 1970. Now that’s dedication. I can tell you, a good time was had by all at the reunion.

Soon after retiring, my wife Jan, former P.V. librarian, and I moved to Beverly Hills, Florida. We have lived here for 17 years and are extremely happy with our decision to settle here. In 2002 we bought a Honda Gold Wing Motorcycle and joined the Gold Wing Road Riders Association. This is a world wide organization with approximately 70,000 members. We have been involved as officers on the state, region and now national level to educate the public as to our presence on the road as motorcyclists. Our official title is International Director of Motorist/Motorcyclist Awareness. I also write a monthly article on motorcycle safety for the GWRRA E-Newsletter “Wingin’it”. Because of this organization, we have made many friends throughout the country.

We still maintain our friendship and visit often with former teachers Tom Patierno, Bob Sayegh, Frank Reaser, Vin Caruso, Bernie Bender, Cathy Marquis and Ed Dwyer. I always believed in being a role model for my physical education students by maintaining a fitness level they could look up to and still hit the gym three times a week. I call this positive addiction. I will always look fondly on the many years as an educator at P.V. Believe it or not, I still dream about them. Any former student who wish to contact me can do so at jmazza18@tampabay.rr.com.

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1941 Teachers