Student Perspective: "The Don" of Lakeland High School

If you ask any Lakeland student what they thought of "the Don," you will get nothing but positive remarks and wonderful stories. The Don, of course, is Larry Donahue, who just retired after 32 years of teaching science in the Lakeland school district.

Donahue was never feared by his students, but rather loved for his easy-going personality and caring nature.

"I liked him off the bat because he was so friendly and nice," said Lakeland senior Andrew Ortiz, who was took Biology with Donahue his sophomore year. "I was glad to have such a chill teacher."

Donahue respected all of his students.

"I treated all of my students with care," he said "Whether they were a top-of-the-line honors student or just struggling to get by, I accepted them as they were."

Despite the rigor of Biology, students not only loved, but also thrived in Mr. Donahue's classes.

Donahue's son Patrick, a 2009 Lakeland graduate and Florida State University sophomore attributed the students' success to a balance between work and fun.

"Ask any of his former students and they will tell you, as laid back as my father was, when it was time to teach, his students learned," Patrick said.

Patrick said that the atmosphere of his father's classroom helped create a positive learning environment for his students.

"My father…was known for being laid back," he added. "This wasn't because of a lack of caring for his students, but he knew that's exactly what his students needed. Sometimes they just need an atmosphere where they can relax and learn, and my father created that like no one else."

Ortiz remembered he looked forward to going to class.

"The way he taught made it seem like fun," he said. "But I actually learned something in his class."

Coaching was also a huge part of Donahue's career with Lakeland, who coached wrestling at Walter Panas before the wrestling programs at both high schools were combined. Donahue said he remembers leading the Panas wrestling team to three Division titles and a match at Lakeland, which more than 2,000 people attended.

"The teams were undefeated so it was a big deal," recalled Donahue and said his family, friends, and many others attended the match. "It was a family affair."

Besides wrestling, Donahue also coached football, golf, and volleyball, all for Lakeland.

"The Don" even used some of his coaching techniques to help his students grasp some of the harder elements of Biology, citing "repetition" as a key method.

"It's the same as teaching someone a block or a takedown in wrestling," Donahue said, "You go over and repeat the things they have trouble with."

Donahue's students also appreciated the time he spent interacting with them. He is an avid Jets and Mets fan and often conversed with past and present students about a wide array of sports topics.

I, personally, have fond memories of commiserating with "the Don" about our hapless Mets and listening attentively to his stories about watching the New York Baseball Giants play at the Polo Grounds.

The Don said his popularity amongst his students was due to the fact he genuinely cared about what they did outside of the classroom, and he would help and give advice to his students on a variety of issues.

"I wasn't only a science teacher," Donahue said. "I was a teacher."

Adding to his popularity, Donahue also had the uncanny ability to predict the outcome of storms and their effect on the school schedule for the next day. While no official record was kept, it is common knowledge at Lakeland that he had only been wrong once, predicting a snow day when there was a two-hour delay.

However, every other snow-based prediction by the Don held true. When he told Lakeland students there would be a snow day, it meant that we would have a snow day, no question about it.

For some kids, going to the same school in which your parents teach might be undesirable, but Patrick said for him it was a great experience. His mother, Carol Donahue, was a longtime Lakeland science teacher, who also retired this year.

"It's a very strange feeling having your parents go to school with you everyday," Patrick said. "In my house we all groggily piled into the car at 7 a.m. to go to school together, and you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way."

Patrick said many people have asked him if it was strange that his parents worked at the high school.

"My response was always the same: 'Of course not, who wouldn't like to sneak into their parent's classroom between periods to get some free food?'" he said.

Donahue created an incredible environment at Lakeland for several decades. His laid-back personality and caring ways endeared him to generations of Lakeland-ers while also teaching them a complex science. But it was a two-way street, as the school also endeared him.

"It wasn't a job, it was a family," Donahue said. "We all went to each other's weddings, christenings, bar mitzvah's, funerals, everything."

While the students, whom Donahue said kept him "young, alive, and active," hold a special place in his heart, it is everybody involved with Lakeland, whether it's the teachers, students, or staff, that he would miss the most. As a sign of their equivocated gratitude, the Lakeland faculty pitched in, at the end of the school year, to buy tickets for "the Don" to see the Jets play their first game at New Meadowlands Stadium on September 13.

For the Don, his snow-predicting days have come to an end. After leaving an indelible mark upon Lakeland and its students, Mr. and Mrs. Donahue have now sets their sights on relaxation.

"My parents always had a motto," Patrick said, "'Work hard, play hard.' Now that the work is over…my parents can currently be found at their new profession: spending every day at the beach in Boca Raton."