Brett Berk

teaching Archive

Monday

10

March 2008

Reunited

Written by , Posted in G.U.G., General & Random, teaching

lmdn.jpgTo celebrate the publication of his book, the Gay Uncle held a reunion yesterday at the school he used to run in Manhattan’s East Village. He wasn’t sure what to expect. He’d left the classroom some years ago, and since people move around quite a bit, he worried that his address lists were hopelessly out of date. Plus, he wondered how many (now) sullen/hip New York City teenagers would actually want to spend a sunny weekend afternoon hanging out in their old preschool? Well, not only was he amazed by the 50+ person turnout, he was riddled with absolute GLEE in talking to the kids, who had transformed from amazing little people into super-cool, intelligent, interesting and iconoclastic musicians, artists, animators, political activists, skaters, filmmakers, dreamers, and students. Plus, for someone whose own hair made the journey from black, to blue, to green, to orange during his years in the classroom–and who once held a poll in which his young charges voted on what color he should dye it next–Gunc was pleased to see that virtually every shade of Manic Panic hair dye was represented. His hat is off to all the LMDN grads. You kids are AMAZING.