Barbara and her husband moved to Vermont in 1981 from Brooklyn, NY.  She had just completed her  Master’s Degree in Neuropsychological Learning Disabilities. Crime had begun to skyrocket in Brooklyn so they decided to move somewhere within driving distance to family and friends as well as to a more natural and peaceful environment.

Barbara taught at Mount Anthony Junior High school, working primarily with Learning Disabled adolescents who for years had struggled with reading and/or mathematics. She says that she was as ecstatic as her students when together they were able to achieve a breakthrough.  Years later, a former student became a father and returned to the school to thank her. He said that because of her, he learned how to read and could now teach his child and read bedtime stories to him. Barbara commented, “I guess teachers do touch the future!”

When she retired (from 36 years of teaching–four  in New York and thirty-two in Vermont–she became a lifetime member and was later appointed to the Shaftsbury Historical Society Board. A few years ago, she stepped down from that board and joined the Shaftsbury Recreation Committee.

Barbara reflected on her experiences:

“I guess looking back I feel that I had the best of both worlds. In New York I obtained a superb education in the NYC University System and was a bus or train ride away from magnificent cultural treasures. I was exposed to the arts in The Guggenheim and the Met, the beauty of Central Park and the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, The Hayden Planetarium, and even iconic places like Coney Island!

Perhaps that’s why as a teacher I always advocated for field trips. One year we went to the New York State Museum in Albany and discovered that some of the students had never seen a skyscraper! Along with my colleagues, we also went to Philadelphia, Montréal, Montpelier, Quebec and New York City to expose students to a world of wonder!

Barbara learned about AAUW through her neighbor, Nancy Schoerke, who  invited her to join years ago when Barbara bought the first volume of Scratchings  from Nancy.

Then, when she read about AAUW’s Suffrage Series, she was ready to join and called Claudia Dalton to discuss membership. She also knew Julie Haupt through work with the Southern Vermont Supervisory Union school system. Julie encouraged her to join and told her about our commitment to scholarships for non-traditional women.

To this day, Barbara enjoys visiting art museums, touring historic homes, reading historical fiction, working in her garden, and creating floral arrangements.