Description
Irl Solomon graduated from Brandeis University in the early 1960s and immediately started to look for a teaching job in or near his hometown of St. Louis. Without giving it much thought, Irl, who had grown up in the middle-class inner suburbs of the Gateway City, took a job in the public schools of East St. Louis. At the time, this depressed metropolis that looks west across the Mississippi River and stares squarely at the Gateway Arch was a dying city. Always the stepchild compared to its considerably larger Missouri sister, East St. Louis was losing much of its population and tax base. In place of citizens came weeds, crime, and urban blight. By the late sixties, the East St. Louis school system had become one of the most dysfunctional in the nation. While the Sixties produced more than its fair share of idealistic young crusaders, many of whom saw teaching as a way to change the world, most moved on to more affluent schools or even other careers beyond education after just a few years. Irl Solomon did not. For 38 years, he made the long drive from his home west of St. Louis to teach in the schools east of the Mississippi. Over these many years, he changed many lives. This is the story of how one man devoted his career and his life to making a difference. I began my teaching career in an inner city high school in New Orleans, Louisiana. The year was 1979. By my third year, I was named Teacher of the Year, and after earning my Masters Degree in Education from the University of New Orleans, I was given the opportunity to teach a social studies methods course as an adjunct instructor for UNO. This continued until I left New Orleans in 1984 and moved to St. Louis to be closer to my wife’s family. In 1985, I was hired to teach high school history in the Parkway Schools, a district in the city’s western suburbs. I remained with Parkway for the next 27 years. During those years, like most teachers, I stayed incredibly busy. I taught a full spectrum of courses, ranging from American and World History to electives like Crime and Law and the American West. Classes were taught at the regular, honors and AP levels. In addition, I served as department chair, sponsored and coached such activities as the chess team, student council and the mock trial team, and taught additional education classes as an adjunct instructor for Maryville University. The years rolled by as my children grew up and left for college, my hair turned gray and my wife and I celebrated 37 anniversaries. In 2012, I made the decision to retire. My passion for teaching history had not waned in the slightest; I simply wanted to slow down and enjoy the luxury of more time. Shortly after retiring, I landed a position teaching two classes of American history in my district’s Mosaic Academy, a special program designed to meet the needs of exceptionally gifted students. These classes have afforded me the opportunity to try new teaching techniques with my students, and inspired the writing of my first book-Questioning History, as well as my current book- Relearning History.
