Mahwah Officials "Teacher For A Day"

Mahwah Mayor John DaPuzzo is used to hearing about the concerns of local townspeople, working with the town council, reaching out to local businesses in Mahwah, and discussing the issues of Bergen County with the township's councilmen and women. But, on Thursday, the Mayor got a taste of something entirely different: teaching middle school students at .

DaPuzzo, along with 20 other Mahwah community leaders, spent Thursday teaching students from the entire Mahwah school system a wide array of subjects from history to math, and English to earth science. It was a day that all involved will never forget.

“When it came to my desk, I found it very interesting and fun,” DaPuzzo said. “When I began to talk to the kids, the first thing ask me about is my background.”

DaPuzzo took over Courtney Levine’s sixth grade Social Studies class, discussing Greek history with the students. He showed a fun YouTube video that parodied the differences between the Athenians and Spartans, before delving into the intricacies of Greek History.

“They came to him and said ‘Hello Mr. Mayor.’ Some even brought autograph books for him to sign,” said Levine. “He was quick on his feet; the kids are really excited they are learning from the mayor.”

DaPuzzo gave the kids an opportunity to ask him questions about his job, before diving into the material. He fielded questions on what it is like to be mayor,where he grew up,’and what he does for recreation.

DaPuzzo and all the other participants in Mahwah’s Teacher For A Day festivities were given three weeks to prepare class plans and do research on the topics they were to teach the students.

During the process, the “special guest” teachers had to meet regularly with Mahwah’s school teachers to go over the classes assignment plans, and to figure out what he or she needed to know before hand.

According to organizers of the event at the Mahwah Education Association, 125 invitations were sent out to prospective community leaders in the area, with 25 responding affirmatively to teach. The goal of the project was to show the community the hard work that teachers put into their profession to teach kids from K-12 and beyond.

 “You really learn how difficult this job is,” said Councilman Harry Williams, who was teaching fifth grade history at Joyce Kilmer Elementary School.

“I am on council to the Board of Education, and one thing we appreciate is the quality of work our teachers do.”

Suzanne Curry, a member of the Mahwah Board of Education, taught second grade at on Thursday was very pleased with the way the day panned out.

 “This is an important day to give people the experience of what a teacher does, and it gives me an appreciation of what they do. It has been a lot of fun,” Curry said.

“I love being able to share real world experience with them, and I love the fact that the kids are open to learning,” said Joe Benevento, a marketing manager at SONY. Benevento spent his day teaching business classes to students at Mahwah High School.

“My goal is to have every kid come out of this class thinking seriously about business,” Benevento added.

Doreen Strauch, a volunteer with the EMT, who instructed kids at , added: “I didn’t realize how much work went into it,” she said. “I made a pulley board, helped them create an Earth Day project, and helped them with math. Teachers deserve everything they get and more.”

 “She has done a great job,” said teacher Jenn Fitzgerald of Mrs. Strauch’s performance. “She did a lot of planning and research into this day. She has the natural ability to teach kids.”

 Mahwah's Finest got into the festivities, as well.

Police Officer Joe Horn is used to working with kids, having served in the DARE program for years at the Mahwah schools. However instead of teaching kids about safety, he was teaching them history at Ramapo Ridge. “I was always interested in history,” Horn said. “Ms. (Beth) Browne shared everything with me, on what the they were working on.”

 As for Ms. Browne, a 2007 graduate of , she really enjoyed having Officer Horn teach her kids for the day.  “He’s a great preparer. It’s nice to sit back and watch, but it’s a little weird because you’re used to teaching your class,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mahwah Police Captain Stephen Jaffe was busy at work keeping first graders at Betsy Ross Elementary in line during gym class.

Jaffe is used to working with kids athletically. He has been a coach for Mahwah Recreation for 20 years, so the class was very easy for him. He had his students practicing teamwork drills using hoola-hoops, as well as a game called Mountains and Valley’s to work on their coordination.

“I want to be that positive role model for kids. I always stress teamwork, and a positive attitude,” Jaffe said.