Teri Zito didn’t have to come back to school. As a teacher and guidance counselor, she had put in her time. Although she doesn’t look old enough, she started teaching in the Secaucus school district in 1962 and worked in the schools for 36 years before leaving for what she thought would be retirement three years ago.
“I started in the Old Clarendon School and then moved to Huber Street school,” she said during an interview earlier this month.
The old Clarendon was knocked down in the early 1970s to make room for the Elms senior citizen building on Fifth Street. After the new Clarendon School was constructed in 1970, Zito moved to the new school along with the kids and continued to teach until one day a principal asked her if she would like to fill in as a guidance counselor.
“The Middle School guidance counselor took a leave of absence to have a baby,” Zito recalled. It was a new role for her, and a little scary, and yet a sign of personal growth that she attributes to “The Good Lord.” She took courses to get accreditation, then plunged into the new job.
That was 1984, and Zito said she was never the same again. She loved the role so much she was reluctant to give it up when the regular guidance counselor returned.
When she went back to the classroom after the regular guidance counselor returned, Zito felt a little disappointed, as if she had climbed back into a box and was no longer using all those newly acquired skills.
“I was very disappointed to leave there and return to the classroom,” she admitted. “I thought I had found a place I really enjoyed, and I didn’t think anyone would let me do that again.”
Two years later, another pregnancy among the counseling staff opened a position, and Zito applied, finishing her certification so that she could take on the role she loved.
For next 13 years, she exercised those skills, finally leaving the school district three years ago for what she thought would be retirement.
Coming home
Zito came back to the Secaucus school district, because she said she loves the kids. In the 1999-2000 school year, she served a guidance counselor for Hubert Street and the Middle schools. This year she spends all her time in Huber Street School, often traveling to various classes on Fridays to meet face to face with the kids.
Among the things she carries with her is a sign that she would put up in the classroom, describing what she calls “the golden rule.”
“Life is like a boomerang,” this short essay says, “What you give, you get back; give out positive, you’ll get positive — maybe not from the person you gave it to, but eventually someone, somewhere, will do something kind for you.”
The opposite, this essay points out, is also true.
But Zito seems to exude the philosophy of positive she espouses, and admits that she is trying to bring values back into education, like good manners, respect, and pride in self. She says she tries to instill this boomerang theory in each child she meets.
“As the students become more aware of this, their attitudes towards each other will eventually improve, and life becomes a lot better for them, and more meaningful,” she said.
She said the effects of this golden rule takes time to work, as well as patience, understanding, love and kindness.
“Each day I make my rounds from grade to grade, seeing where random acts of kindness could be spread,” she said. “At times, I make my way into classes for a discussion and show a video that has to do with respect and responsibly.”
Self-respect is key to this philosophy, she said
She often starts with the importance of “being who you are,” and emphasizes how unique each person is.
She is currently using a video program emphasizing self-respect, and she often talks to the kids about any problems they might have, and she said she’s available if they need to talk to her.
With Principal Pat Coccuci, Zito will be working on a new project, one that involves building “a wall of kindness,” kids will hopefully write down acts of kindness they have done during the day onto paper bricks, which will be put up in the halls.