Richard D. True
Born in Portland Maine, Richard D. True was foe youngest of the three sons of Maurice and Edith True. After graduating in 1944 from Chevrus Classical High School, he served in the Army Air Force for three years. In 1951, he graduated with a B.S. Ed. from the University of Maine, where he was a member of the varsity tennis team-a team that won both the state championship and Yankee Conference championship in his senior year. While pursuing both his degree and his athletic interests, Dick also wooed and wed Mary Ann Demers in 1948.
After college, Dick taught and was principal of Litchfield Academy in Litchfield, Maine. When a teaching opportunity in Branford arose a year later, Dick and Mary Ann made the trip down together for the interview and to assess the area. They both agreed that it was a good opportunity for him and that Branford would be a good community in which to rear their family. Dick accepted the job teaching math in the junior high school and in 1952 began a thirty-year career with the system. A former student remembers how Mr. True's "Cheshire Cat" smile, coupled with a firm yet warm personality, made his eighth grade one of his best experiences in school.
In 1970 Dick earned an M.S. Ed. equivalency degree from Central Connecticut State College and was the recipient of three National Science Foundation grants-one to Central Connecticut College and two to Boston College-and a Shell Merit Fellowship to Cornell University, Dick also continued to take courses and attend workshops. His involvement with Dr. Harry Haakinson and Dr. Robert Washburn of Southern Connecticut State College led to the development of a new approach to the teaching of math and science at the intermediate and junior high school levels. By 1962, in addition to his daytime classroom involvement, Dick began teaching math in the adult education program, of which he later became director. A former student, later a teaching teammate and adult education teacher recruit, recalls, "He related math on almost any level to his adult students for twenty years with the same warmth and persistence that he had used on me as a student on our students as a team mate, and as a colleague in adult ed."
Among the other attributes that made Dick True a memorable teacher was his overriding enthusiasm for his subject matter. He truly loved math and worked to instill that same enthusiasm in his students. He believed that any student could learn math, and he did whatever it took to engage students in the task at hand. By using games, audio-visual materials, riddles, jokes, and puzzles, he made math fun-and his students learned, sometimes in spite of themselves. Moreover, he loved (one in a mil lion!) teaching seventh and eighth grade, which he always said were his favorite students.
The students, for their part, appreciated that Mr. True seemed to enjoy them, no matter what the level of their math skills. They always looked forward to his class because he made math fun, especially with his wry sense of humor. He taught how to understand math and to think abstractly, not just how to manipulate the numbers. Dick True pushed all his students beyond their grade level and pre pared them well for high school-level math.
Outside of the classroom, Dick found time to serve as president of the Branford Teacher's League (the forerunner of the BEA). He also served as president of St Mary's Home & School Association and president of St. Mary's Parish Council and was a lector at St. Mary's Church for twenty years.
Even after he "retired" from the classroom in 1982, he was still never far from the "students." At the Community House or at any of a host of other education-related events, we can still see Mr. True there working that "Cheshire Cat" smile and his particular "Connecticut a la Maine magic" that is uniquely his and his alone!
After college, Dick taught and was principal of Litchfield Academy in Litchfield, Maine. When a teaching opportunity in Branford arose a year later, Dick and Mary Ann made the trip down together for the interview and to assess the area. They both agreed that it was a good opportunity for him and that Branford would be a good community in which to rear their family. Dick accepted the job teaching math in the junior high school and in 1952 began a thirty-year career with the system. A former student remembers how Mr. True's "Cheshire Cat" smile, coupled with a firm yet warm personality, made his eighth grade one of his best experiences in school.
In 1970 Dick earned an M.S. Ed. equivalency degree from Central Connecticut State College and was the recipient of three National Science Foundation grants-one to Central Connecticut College and two to Boston College-and a Shell Merit Fellowship to Cornell University, Dick also continued to take courses and attend workshops. His involvement with Dr. Harry Haakinson and Dr. Robert Washburn of Southern Connecticut State College led to the development of a new approach to the teaching of math and science at the intermediate and junior high school levels. By 1962, in addition to his daytime classroom involvement, Dick began teaching math in the adult education program, of which he later became director. A former student, later a teaching teammate and adult education teacher recruit, recalls, "He related math on almost any level to his adult students for twenty years with the same warmth and persistence that he had used on me as a student on our students as a team mate, and as a colleague in adult ed."
Among the other attributes that made Dick True a memorable teacher was his overriding enthusiasm for his subject matter. He truly loved math and worked to instill that same enthusiasm in his students. He believed that any student could learn math, and he did whatever it took to engage students in the task at hand. By using games, audio-visual materials, riddles, jokes, and puzzles, he made math fun-and his students learned, sometimes in spite of themselves. Moreover, he loved (one in a mil lion!) teaching seventh and eighth grade, which he always said were his favorite students.
The students, for their part, appreciated that Mr. True seemed to enjoy them, no matter what the level of their math skills. They always looked forward to his class because he made math fun, especially with his wry sense of humor. He taught how to understand math and to think abstractly, not just how to manipulate the numbers. Dick True pushed all his students beyond their grade level and pre pared them well for high school-level math.
Outside of the classroom, Dick found time to serve as president of the Branford Teacher's League (the forerunner of the BEA). He also served as president of St Mary's Home & School Association and president of St. Mary's Parish Council and was a lector at St. Mary's Church for twenty years.
Even after he "retired" from the classroom in 1982, he was still never far from the "students." At the Community House or at any of a host of other education-related events, we can still see Mr. True there working that "Cheshire Cat" smile and his particular "Connecticut a la Maine magic" that is uniquely his and his alone!