September 8th, 2025

     A shout out goes to all teachers as the new school year has begun. My daughters Kara and Rose (along with her husband José) are teachers in challenging situations doing the most important work in our society. I was a teacher for 20 years and I know how difficult this job can be, and how much responsibility is on the shoulders of teachers and how seriously they take their occupation. Once, many years after I had left teaching, I was working out in the gym.  I heard a couple of guys complaining about salaries that teachers were paid. They were making some disparaging comments about one teacher in particular who is at the top of the salary range. That teacher happened to be my homeroom teacher when I first started school. His name was Mr Foley and he had started teaching at McQuaid Jesuit, but had to leave because it just did not pay enough money to support his family. Within a couple of years he moved over to the public school system where there was a much better salary, and for some reason, the local paper published the top salaries in the district. He was at the very top of the list. These guys were making very disparaging remarks as they said teachers only work 10 months a year and with his kind of salary, he should be doing much more. I turned to them and said this man has been in his career for 40 years. He has a masters degree and he is in charge of the lives of 150 people, their lives and their education. You show me any middle management person in industry who has a masters degree and is in charge of that many people and they would be making twice that amount. Embarrassed, they turned away from me because they knew I was right.

    Please remember, there was a time when education was only for the most wealthy and aristocratic families. It wasn’t until Horace Mann in America launched a drive for public education. The idea that all people should be educated, became widely accepted. So, if you want a society of educated people who can make intelligent decisions, then please support your schools and the teachers who work there….AMEN!

With peace,

John Bernunzio 

We had a family reunion of sorts on Saturday, for my brother’s birthday. This is the first picture that all six of us have taken together in many many years. All my siblings lined up according to age yes, I am the oldest.