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Paula Abboud ’83:
A Tribute to all my English Teachers
We had a teacher of English in my 4th intermediate class
called Mrs. Brenda Saadeh. Our class was in the annex of
Rockefeller Hall and there we had the inspiration for our com-
position writings! One of the topics given was to describe
someone we know using all the sensory details possible. At the
time, I thought I wrote an excellent piece, and felt a strong
sense of accomplishment. My choice settled on the description
of our playground supervisor, “Mr. X.” According to Mrs.
Saadeh, the piece would have been publishable had I not men-
tioned his name in my composition!
I compared Mr. X to an inspector with his pipe always in
his mouth, spitting while talking, and very much like a con-
temporary cartoon figure called "Froggy." What was creative
in my eyes made Mrs. Saadeh send a note to my mother
requesting an urgent meeting. Afterwards, Mom furiously
said, "You would have gotten an A had you left the identity of
your subject anonymous."
Little did my teacher know that the student she reprimanded
would herself become a teacher of English, and one who par-
ticularly enjoys the teaching of writing, always on the look-
out for students with potential to be teachers or even writers.
I cannot explain why I still remember all the names of my
English teachers, from the time I joined IC in 1976 until I
graduated in 1983, but to all of them I express my gratitude
for showing me who I might become, and for being a source
of inspiration and a model worthy of emulation. They are,
namely, Mrs. Mojabber in 1st intermediate accelerated
English, Miss R. Azkoul in 2nd intermediate, Mrs. Ducroque
in 3rd intermediate, Mrs. Brenda Saadeh in 4th intermediate,
Mr. L. Balestrini in 5th secondary, and, last but not least, Mr.
Thomas Weaver in 6th secondary.
My IC Story
4
Mazen Dajani ’54:
Reminiscences
I was a student at IC from 1948 to 1954, joining the elemen-
tary school in sixth grade. I later skipped the second year of
middle school, to graduate in 1954 at the age of 15 with
what was then called a "Recommendation" to join AUB, from
which I graduated four years later with a BBA. During my
career I further obtained a higher academic degree as well as
a professional qualification.
From my years at IC I vividly remember the array of high-
level teachers we had in every field.
Our English teacher, Mr. Richard Yorkey would often provoke
us into thinking, as when he examined our knowledge of
[Shakespeare’s play] “Julius Caesar”, asking students to write
about its theme. In a quiz he once asked us to answer just
one question: how to tie a necktie. On another occasion he
took a number of students to his apartment in Hamra, where
he arranged for each to recite and record a poem with
accompanying
music, which in
each case was
carefully selected
to match the
poem.
Mr. Atef Karam I
remember with
fondness, for not
only was he a
capable math
teacher, but also a
sincere poet who published a collection of tender poems
entitled “Min Hawanall”.
Mr. Shafique Jeha was probably the first to give a Civics
course at IC. He asked students to keep a diary of major
events, which meant we had to keep our minds alert, so that
we might identify and include what was relevant, helping us
to develop precocious maturity in political and socioeconom-
ic matters. It was years later that I learned of the legacy of
the books he authored, for which I admire him even more.
Credit goes to Mr. Wuthier for the little French which I still
remember, and occasionally use. Mr. Wuthier was a gifted
painter as well, and his huge painting of the AUB campus still
hangs in West Hall.
Our art teacher Mr. Fakhoury would take us to a workshop,
more of a carpentry center really, near the school entrance on
Bliss Street. There we would work, among other things, on
designing and making a wooden periscope, well polished
and with proper dimensions.
There are too many reminiscences to include in this brief arti-
cle, and to sum up I would say that in the 1950s IC was years
ahead of the societies it served, and resembled an oasis,
hence its indelible contribution to the region. For me IC rep-
resents a fundamental part of my roots, for which I will
always feel nostalgic.
Mrs. Mishka Moujabber
Mourani
Mrs. Randa Azkoul Sbeih
Mrs. Janet Ducrocq
Mrs. Brenda Saadeh
Mr. Louis Balestrini
Mr. Thomas Weaver
Mazen Dajani in the
4th year 1954
Mazen Dajani today