George Serlin was determined to convey to young minds the absolute necessity to learn and respect our history, in both its triumphs and its dark episodes as well.
I always angled to make Mr. Serlin's class my final (7th Period) class of the school day because it meant I could stay well beyond 3:20 and talk with him about anything past, present, or future that happened to be swimming through my head at any given time.
Every day after class while I peppered him with questions, he would go through a strict ritual of first popping a cough drop into his mouth, then loading up his briefcase with papers, then methodically wiping down the blackboard. I always knew how much time was left in our post-class session by where he was in that ritual.
I would test out an opinion on something and he would steer it more toward reason and fact and away from naive sentiment or prejudice. In retrospect I can honestly say that those years with George Serlin marked the very beginnings of my using a knowledge of history to formulate my own unique body of opinion. He was patient, intellectually engaging, and hopeful of the future.
At the thirty-year reunion the highlight for me was the twenty minutes I was able to pull him away from the crowd and express to him my utter gratitude for his lasting influence. He was predictably uncomfortable being lavished with such acclaim, but I had to do it and he left that evening knowing his work in the classroom resonated well into the years that followed.
Pinned to the wall above George Serlin's blackboard was a quotation from the British statesman Edmund Burke. "All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing." Today all those who know me well have heard me repeat this quotation over and over.
Not one of you reading this can claim you signed my copy of the 1969 McClatchy Nugget yearbook. I wanted my copy to be left unmarked and so it is. With only one very special exception. On page 23, next to his photo, is the signature "George Serlin".
Gary Brown
George Serlin was determined to convey to young minds the absolute necessity to learn and respect our history, in both its triumphs and its dark episodes as well.I always angled to make Mr. Serlin's class my final (7th Period) class of the school day because it meant I could stay well beyond 3:20 and talk with him about anything past, present, or future that happened to be swimming through my head at any given time.
Every day after class while I peppered him with questions, he would go through a strict ritual of first popping a cough drop into his mouth, then loading up his briefcase with papers, then methodically wiping down the blackboard. I always knew how much time was left in our post-class session by where he was in that ritual.
I would test out an opinion on something and he would steer it more toward reason and fact and away from naive sentiment or prejudice. In retrospect I can honestly say that those years with George Serlin marked the very beginnings of my using a knowledge of history to formulate my own unique body of opinion. He was patient, intellectually engaging, and hopeful of the future.
At the thirty-year reunion the highlight for me was the twenty minutes I was able to pull him away from the crowd and express to him my utter gratitude for his lasting influence. He was predictably uncomfortable being lavished with such acclaim, but I had to do it and he left that evening knowing his work in the classroom resonated well into the years that followed.
Pinned to the wall above George Serlin's blackboard was a quotation from the British statesman Edmund Burke.
"All that's necessary for the forces of evil to win in the world is for enough good men to do nothing."
Today all those who know me well have heard me repeat this quotation over and over.
Not one of you reading this can claim you signed my copy of the 1969 McClatchy Nugget yearbook. I wanted my copy to be left unmarked and so it is. With only one very special exception. On page 23, next to his photo, is the signature "George Serlin".
He meant that much to me.
GARY BROWN