Finally, there is a journalist who isn’t out to get us. Washington Post reporter Alec Klein (’85) in his book “A Class Apart,” nationally released August 21, 2007, follows the lives of some of Stuyvesant’s intriguing characters as they worry about grades, college, drugs, love, administrative policies and math. Though overly nostalgic at times, the book offers some fascinating perspectives on our school, its place in American public education and, of course, its amazing students and faculty.
The book explores the school during the Spring 2006 semester, which was an eventful one. The arrival of ID scanners, which many students felt symbolized an erosion of trust in students, the excitement of SING!, the Cuddle Puddle controversy, the deaths of sophomore April Lao and junior Kevin Kwan—through these events, Klein analyzes both the disparate emotions and vulnerability of Stuyvesant students.
Of Stuyvesant’s approximately 3,000 students, Klein focuses on four, though other stories and opinions are interwoven throughout. Do these students—Romeo Alexander (’07), an ambitious Harvard-bound athlete; Milo Beckman, a 10-year-old boy genius in math; Mariya Goldman, a sophomore in love whose Ukrainian parents want her to live the American Dream; Jane (’06), a drug addict whose poetry displays a rare depth and maturity—represent our multifaceted student body? It’s hard to say, but “A Class Apart” shows they are also typical teenagers, complex and forthright.
Klein declares that Romeo, the football team captain, is an anomaly: unlike your typical jock, he is also a “math whiz.” But to us, it doesn’t seem paradoxical. After all, Stuyvesant students took a grueling entrance exam for a school specialized in math and science. But in other high schools, Romeo could be the archetypical role model for student athletes. As we read the intimate details of his life, thoughts and desires, we discover that even as a child, Romeo learned from his parents to push himself to do better—something to which all Stuyvesant students can relate.
Klein’s astonishment at the coexistence of athleticism, beauty and brains at a math and science school, however, is excessive and gets old fast. When Becky Cooper (’06) delivers a cheesy science joke, Klein writes, “Becky can get away with such a typical Stuyvesant joke because she’s not only a nerd. She also happens to be a beautiful cheerleader whom many of the boys love. So she can be forgiven for going Harvard.” Needing to be “forgiven” for being both beautiful and brainy is ridiculous.
But when Klein relates the academic world to another, more physically demanding world, “A Class Apart” becomes an interesting, though somewhat exaggerated, portrayal of our school, and makes high school life look exhilarating. He likens senior and math whiz Danny Zhu’s victory at the annual New York State Mathematics League contest to a grueling athletic competition. Klein also describes students getting upset over near-perfect test scores with equal intensity, and calls the sale of escalator keys a “black market.”
Students and faculty alike say the students make Stuyvesant what it is, but Klein shows that Stuyvesant’s teachers are just as remarkable. Assistant Principal English Eric Grossman, for example, sees potential in Jane’s poetry and her insight in his English class, and tries to guide her back from her addiction. At the same time, he serves in the principal’s “kitchen cabinet,” affecting administrative policy.
“A Class Apart” also features former Assistant Principal Mathematics Danny Jaye, school aide and former unofficial math research teacher Jan Siwanowicz, student social studies teacher Jennifer Lee, social studies teacher and former Coordinator of Student Affairs Matt Polazzo and Principal Stanley Teitel—all of whom interact in unlikely ways.
Jaye, a passionate advocate for the downtrodden, breaks rules by employing Siwanowicz as a math teacher even though the college dropout is unlicensed. He also butts heads with Assistant Principal Organization Randi Damesek, who, though notorious for strict discipline, according to several sources in the book, is a caring and sensitive administrator. Jaye is also a close friend of Teitel (“such is their mutual admiration”), and Klein depicts the ups and down of their relationship poignantly.
That Jaye is connected to so many people—even Lee, who, with Jaye’s help, hopes to secure a permanent teaching position at Stuyvesant—is astonishing. Throughout the book, it is difficult to follow one character’s story without meeting a handful of other equally fascinating people.
Lee’s story is riveting, too. Her father had left Korea to find success in America but did not find it in his business endeavors. Like many immigrant parents, he transferred his hopes to his daughter. As a child, Lee studied hard in the hopes of attending Stuyvesant, but ended up at the Bronx High School of Science. Wishing to not disappoint her parents again, Lee applied to Columbia’s Teacher College, through which she came to Stuyvesant.
“A Class Apart” expertly weaves these stories together, emphasizing the interactions between students and faculty—though the stitches aren’t always so smooth. Klein’s writing style can be disjointed and stale. The transitions between different threads are similar: one character experiences an emotion, then another character feels the same in an entirely different situation. Case in point: Lee, realizing she must consider other schools if she isn’t offered a job at Stuyvesant, says, “I’m going to surrender.” In the next paragraph, Klein writes, “Romeo is surrendering as well. He’s giving up on his bet […].” Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t.
The book excels, though, in exploring trends in public education. Klein poses tough questions: What do we do with gifted students—should they be placed into selective schools like Stuyvesant, where they can be challenged, or should they be left in their neighborhood schools as role models for the less diligent?;Is the specialized high school exam fair in creating a meritocracy—or does it discriminate against blacks and Hispanics and favor those who can afford elite prep schools?.
Klein lays out the facts, leaving readers to form their own answers. Despite the unpopularity of elite entrance exam schools, Klein hopes other schools can learn from Stuyvesant (see Q&A).
“A Class Apart” is a time capsule: the story Klein captured only a year ago is a thing of the past, but is also a lasting picture of the Stuyvesant community. Let’s hope his optimistic account of Stuyvesant remains a perennial one.