‘Being learning disabled is not as scary as it sounds. The word <i> disability</i> is the bogyman.’
For someone who dismissed his high school years as a “total blank,” Frank Maguire fell into a most unlikely profession. For 13 years, Maguire, 46, has been teaching learning-disabled students, afflicted with everything from dyslexia to severe behavioral problems. Dissatisfied after several years in the restaurant business, Maguire moved from Manhattan to Colorado and began his teaching career at the Denver Academy Middle School. He moved to San Diego two years ago and established the Excelsior Academy, a nonprofit school for children with learning disabilities. Times staff writer Caroline Lemke interviewed Maguire at the academy in Clairemont, and Bruce K. Huff photographed him.
I went into the Army when I was 18. When I got out, I went to a small college in Memphis, Tenn., then I went back to New York City and worked with my cousin in restaurants. I made a lot of money in six years, but I was burned out. It wasn’t very fulfilling.
I have always been a language man, always involved in books, reading and writing. I wasn’t really doing that in the restaurant business, and I missed it. So I left behind the whole scene in New York and moved out to Denver with the intention of changing my career. I was 34 years old.
I drove a school bus for two years before I answered an ad in the paper for a teacher’s assistant for the Denver Academy. When I got there, I saw lots of kids who reminded me of me in high school. High school to me was a total blank. I didn’t get motivated to do anything until after the Army.
At the academy, I was taught a lot about learning disabilities and how to structure a classroom, how to organize information and present it to students in special ways that they were going to remember. To get my credential, I also did my internship at the academy. That year was trial by fire because I was put into a classroom with 10 kids who were the 10 worst behavior problems in the school.
After walking on hot coals for a year, I felt I learned a lot. I rose through the ranks very fast after that.
My wife and I came to San Diego in 1987 to make a break from the academy and get out on our own. Every professional we met here said there was a tremendous need for a school like we were talking about. So, I opened the Excelsior Academy.
Being learning disabled is not as scary as it sounds. I think the word disability is the bogyman there. LD kids are usually above average in intelligence, but they fail in school. They can learn how to compensate if they’re not always fighting the problem.
Something happens and the cycle perpetuates itself. One teacher will say, “What’s wrong with YOU ?” and that’s when it starts. The defense mechanisms take over, and the kid starts hiding away. But so many of these kids are really bright; they just can’t learn in a mainstream setting. They shine, though, if they’re taught correctly.
During our summer session, we did rock climbing to teach the kids that they need to take control of their lives and they need to solve problems. Because, in relationships, in math, in getting out of bed in the morning--I don’t care what it is--you solve problems throughout daily life.
When you’re in the middle of a rock 50 feet up and 50 feet down, you have to learn to trust yourself. It’s called experiential education, and it’s part of our program. We believe that, if you can accept challenges and take risks from the outside wilderness, you can transfer that to the math class. If you can climb that rock, you can climb that math problem. You just have to know you can do it.
Changing a kid’s life to make that quality of life better is very rewarding. I have to make a contribution, otherwise my life isn’t worth very much. I don’t want to die having lots of cars in the garage. Relationships are more important than anything else, and, if I can help people who need me, then I’m living out my dream.
