In February of 2000, I wrote a column about a high-school teammate and our basketball coach at St. Pius X Preparatory Seminary on Long Island. My teammate was dying of brain cancer, and the coach was organizing a fundraiser to help the father of four.

That was the first School Ties column I wrote. This is the last.

From the beginning, I saw School Ties as a place to explore how and what we learn.

I wanted to look at the complexities of learning and teaching; to put a face on the student who struggles, the teacher who tries; to analyze the education policies that come from Albany and Washington; to look at the families that the children come from, and the culture in which we raise our kids today.

Some columns were personal, stories of my experiences in a family or a classroom. Some grew from books about education that I have, such as Greg Mortenson's "Three Cups of Tea." Some analyzed controversial topics, such as merit pay for teachers or tenure.

My frame of reference certainly influenced my perspective. I was a high-school teacher and a union leader. Those experiences were never far away from how I viewed an education issue.

Regular readers might have spotted other biases, but here are mine as I see them:

▶ I have patience for teachers because of the decisions they make 100 times each day on how to balance the needs of the class and the individual student.

E The best teachers are effective for most of the students most of the time. Nobody is effective for everybody all the time.

▶ Unions can be a very positive force in education, but like every institution, they can become the problem rather than a solution.

E The primary purpose of the public schools is to develop good citizens.

E Where a child lives shouldn't determine the quality of the New York public school he/she may attend. The quality of every school should be the equal of the best schools.

A GOOD LIFE

But beyond the classroom and union experience, another element has shaped my perspective — an appreciation of my own good fortune. Very few have been as lucky as I have.

I have no childhood complaints. I was raised by a good family in a good town at a good time. A few miles away, Willie Mays of the Giants, Mickey Mantle of the Yankees and Duke Snider of the Dodgers played baseball on real grass.

I got a good education, in a Catholic school where we had to wear uniforms, and a college where I had to wear a tie to class. Really.

I enjoyed my time at Peru Central School, surrounded by good people who worked hard for kids. The students were almost always reasonable, behaving just the way you'd expect young people to act.

Our own four children have grown into wonderful adults, and they often make me laugh.

Here at the Press-Republican, editors Jim Dynko and Bob Grady welcomed School Ties. My own editors, Sue Botsford, Steve Ouellette and Suzanne Moore, have all been flexible, supportive and helpful. Suzanne has been especially sensitive and perceptive, and for that I am grateful.

I thank readers who shared their reactions with me. My brother deserves special thanks, and sympathy, for he read and commented on all 251 columns, even when teaching in Egypt.

But most of all and always, I'm grateful for the girl from Rockville Centre who sat in the kitchen and read every essay before I handed it in. She found the typos, talked about transitions, made suggestions.

She was my friend when Duke Snider was my hero. She still is.

Jerry McGovern, the Press-Republican's coordinator of Newspapers-in-Education, taught in New York state's public schools, and now teaches in the Communication Department of Plattsburgh State. He can be reached at gmcgovern@pressrepublican.com or 565-4126. This column is the opinion of the writer and not necessarily of this newspaper.