A friend passed along an old photograph from a Civics class during our senior year, 1977, at the incomparable Miami Senior High [MHS]. I spy myself [whoa], friends I remember and others, who sadly I do not. That leaves only the guy in the red coat, thick glasses and a perpetual [trust me] smile unaccounted for.
His name was George C. Dorste. My limited googling turned up only one reference, the fact that he served as a Lieutenant in the Army during WWII. I know he passed away in 2003, because a search of the Miami Herald's obituaries confirmed the date. What's more I remember seeing his obituary in the paper awhile back and setting it aside. Of course, I have no idea where it may be now. Over the years, I would spot a letter to the Editor from him in the Miami Herald every now and then.
Here's what I remember about him in reverse order of importance.
- He showed me great teacher-mercy. My inability to recite the steps in 'how a bill becomes a law' was correctly deduced by him to be attributable to the fact that I was pelted by crumpled papers, gum and one sock during the actual presentation.
- He gave me my favorite grade in high school, A-3-F. The latter two marks denoted effort and conduct. Wait, correction, he didn't give them to me, I earned them.
- He loved his country.
When you look up the word civics, it speaks of the importance in the role of the citizen to government. Mr Dorste--possibly a 2nd generation American himself, like many of his MHS students--served in WWII, went to college on the GI bill, carved out a career as a public school teacher, and then found himself smack dab in the middle of teaching civics in an area with one of the greatest influxes of immigrants in American history. George C. Dorste was a great citizen and a great example to his students. This is one belated thank you.
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3 comments:
I, too, remember Mr. Dorste's Government class. You are right: he loved his country and he inspired us -- especially those of us who had come here from Cuba and were fortunate to now live in a free society -- to value that freedom and to love our new home. I remember the mad dashes to the wastebasket in search of the Op/Ed section of the paper on Mondays. (Back then a lot of us couldn't afford the "English" paper, and Diario Las Americas was way too difficult for us to translate!) I didn't mind it at all when he called each of us girls a "lovely tomato" because he just didn't do it with any malice intended. I hated having to memorize the names of all the cabinets and who headed each one. I have since forgotten all of that; however, there are two things that, after all these years, I fondly remember from Mr. Dorste's class: the story about the dog who ran into the tree and split into two (LOL) and, every Friday, his famous pre-quiz admonishment (in, according to him, Japanese): Eet-chee-key-nye-us (Don't cheat!) Hey, that's what he'd say, and if Mr. Dorste said it, then it just had to be true! He must have done something right -- I became a teacher, of all things, of Social Studies, and what would I tell my students before every quiz? You guessed it: Eet-chee-key-nye-us! Rest in peace, Mr. D, and may God bless you.
Tere Peruyera Figueras
MHS Class of 1971
Teachers never get enough credit for their work! But! As I read your thoughts of your teacher in high school Jorge, it speaks volumes about the gift teachers have on our children!
God bless and see you real soon!
with warm regards,
Willie Chacon
I too remember Mr. Dorste with great fondness and admiration. His stories about his experiences as an officer in WWII influenced my decision to join the Army. I also remember the story about the "dog that split in two" his admonition in Japanese (eet-shee-kee-nyuh)and the sad story about how he inadvertently offended his Japanese translator when he gave him as a gift a set of dishes engraved with the Imperial emblems unaware that such a gesture meant a "reprimand" to the Japanese. I last spoke with him over the phone when I came across a story in the Herald about how his home had been burglarized. He remembered me and asked me if I had "learned anything" in his class. Yes, Mr. Dorste I did learn something, how to be a good soldier and a citizen. It's gratifying to see how many of your former students remember you fondly. God bless you.
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