In an era when many people become so bored with their careers that they change jobs every few years, it s downright refreshing to learn of someone who has worked at the same job in the same place for four decades. Mary Jane McCormick is enjoying her 40th year as a teacher at St. Matthew s School in Mayfair.

McCormick came to St. Matthew s in September 1958. She was 18yearsold, and was graduated from Little Flower High School. She attended grammar school at the nowclosed St. Edward s School.

Her entry at that age into what was to become a lifelong career was made possible by an archdiocesan program which allowed high school graduates to teach in parochial schools while they attended college. The program has since been discontinued.

McCormick has fond and vivid memories of her first day in the classroom. She explained that, in that era, the first day of school was a full day, unlike the halfday sessions which mark the opening of most new school years today. This meant that many of the students, who lived on the blocks adjacent to the school, went home for lunch that day, then returned to school.

One little girl came back with some Mary Jane candies for me, McCormick said. That was my welcome to St. Matthew sincerely.

The girl, she said, had purchased the candies at Heller s Drug Store on Cottman Avenue, then a popular spot for the schools students.

And in fact, McCormick was called Miss Mary Jane by her students for the first several years she taught. But the Archdiocese eventually changed that.

About eight years after I started, the diocese decided lay teachers should go by their last names only, McCormick said. They thought it sounded more professional.

After that impromptu welcome on that longago opening day, McCormick knew she had a big job ahead of her that first year. Her class contained 78 students. But in some years, she had an even larger load, and once taught English to 300 children.

This year, in contrast, she is teaching a secondgrade class of 35. When she started at St. Matthew s, the school had about 1,000 pupils in all. Some 1,400 attend now.

It s the second largest Catholic elementary school in the city after St. Martin s, McCormick said.

During her time at St. Matthew s, McCormick has seen a definite change in the attitude of students toward teachers, and not necessarily for the better.

They thought teachers walked on water then, she said, referring to the pupils she taught early in her career. But students are more resentful of authority now. It s a much more difficult job than it used to be.

McCormick says that changes in family life which have occurred during the past four decades have played a part in this.

There is a different family orientation now than in the 1950s and 1960s when most moms stayed at home, McCormick said. But despite this, she sounded an optimistic note.

In the majority of cases the parents are interested in their kids, and that makes it easier for the teacher, she said.

During her career, McCormick has seen the educational process itself undergo change. Yes, the computer revolution has arrived at St. Matthew s, and yes, she has met the challenge.

We have an excellent computer lab, McCormick said. We have 40 computers.

Moreover, she and several of her fellow teachers at St. Matt s recently became students themselves. They took a course in Windows 95, for which they received graduate credits from Textile College.

I think it (the course) helped us all, she said.

Besides using her classroom skills, McCormick coached CYO sports for 29 years at St. Matt s. But she gave up coaching in the late 1980s.

It was time to stop, she said.

McCormick, who never married, is currently active in St. Matthew s parish life. She is a Eucharistic Minister and is a member of the parish s pastoral council.

I m doing something to keep busy, she said.

And, after 40 years on the job, she says her students do not think of her as a tough teacher.

I think they think I m fair, she said.

This very dedicated educator also offered a very valuable lesson for anyone who just might want to follow in her footsteps.

It s hard work, and it s not always rewarding, but you are making a difference, McCormick said. The teacher makes the difference for the children.

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