Teacher mourned after lifetime service

The Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School community is mourning the sudden death of long time teacher, Thomas Maguire. Mr. Maguire died of a heart attack on December 30. He had been a math teacher at the Schenectady school since 1967.

Colleagues, current students and former students recalled a man who seemed to be born to teach.

"Tom was a teacher's teacher," said Michael Piatek, principal. "He took a great interest in every one of his students and spent hours working with them. He made math understandable and helped them to understand the rhyme and reason of it."

Mr. Piatek said that Mr. Maguire rarely used a sick day and came in even when he was under the weather because he didn't want to miss any bit of instruction time. He was also known for staying after school to help students. Many graduates shared memories of coming back to visit Mr. Maguire while they were in college because they needed extra help. The extra help was given free of charge.

Patient assistance
Michael Dickerson, a former student who is now a social studies teacher at Catholic Central High School in Troy remembers getting extra help from Mr. Maguire. "He emphasized excellence, but he didn't expect it to happen magically," Mr. Dickerson said. "I remember the hours he spent after school helping me get ready for the Regents and the SATs. And I'm just one of literally thousands of students for whom he did that. I think a good teacher knows that complacency is dangerous. If you want results, you've got to get your hands dirty. You've got to put in the time."

Imani Eichelberger, a 2007 graduate of ND-BG, remembers the long hours Mr. Maguire put in. Miss Eichelberger was a member of the school's volleyball team which had practices in the evening. "He was always at school," she said. "He seemed to be the last one there."

Class vocation
Gert Johnson a former teacher at ND-BG recalled Mr. Maguire's commitment to his students. She taught a class on marriage and family life. As part of the class she had guest speakers come in and speak about their vocation. She had priests, women religious, brothers, and married couples share stories about their vocation. Each year she asked Mr. Maguire to speak about his vocation of teaching and to living as a single person.

"He would only come if it were during one of his free periods," Mrs. Johnson said. "He'd say 'I can't leave my class.' His class always came first. There was a real sense that this was his vocation."

Short in stature, Mr. Maguire was known for his lively personality. He spoke quickly, had a sharp wit, and was a showman. In addition to teaching math Mr. Maguire was the choreographer and co-director of the school musicals. 

"I once told Tom that he should have some posters in his room to keep the students' interest if he got boring," said Paul O'Brien a colleague at ND-BG. "He looked at me, and with a smirk said, "I am the whole show; they can take it or leave it."

Engaged pupils
Mr. Dickerson witnessed Mr. Maguire's teaching act. "He loved entertainment and showmanship," Mr. Dickerson said. "That was probably his avocation. And no doubt he could have been very entertaining had he pursued that life. But he was born to teach math even to students who weren't born to take it.

"I think he mastered the art of teaching. Students who are entertained are not discipline problems. He won troublemakers over by being faster and funnier than they were. Students who are excited to be in class are naturally motivated to perform. He got the most out of us because we wanted to succeed."

Miss Eichelberger agreed. "I never really liked math that much but Mr. Maguire was very inspirational," she said. "His class was entertaining. You didn't mind going even if the topic wasn't interesting. It was one class that always went by fast."

Other teachers who were once students of Mr. Maguire's try to use lessons learned from his classroom. Connie Smith a fifth grade teacher at Lisha Kill Middle School in Colonie said, "To this day, when asked or when telling my own students what teacher was most impressive, the response is always, without hesitation, the inimitable Mr. Maguire. He made teaching upper level math and communicating with adolescents look enjoyable and easy. His dedication to his vocation and memory will live on in his students' stories."

Shawn O'Neil, a former student now director of engineering for Macrosystems in Bedford, Mass remembers being challenged by Mr. Maguire. "I was telling the story to some friends not too long ago that Mr. Maguire gave me a special test in Calculus class that had no solution," Mr. O'Neil said.

"Needless to say I was the last one that left the classroom and did not finish the test. He told me at the end of the class what he had done. He had energy and made you learn. We need more Mr. Maguires in the world!"

Mr. Maguire's funeral was held at Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons on Monday. Counselors will be available to assist students with their grief. The school also opened its doors during the Christmas break for students wanting to share memories of Mr. Maguire.

(1/8/09)