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Boston, Books, and Big Dreams: A Conversation with Mr. Pisacane
By Kayla Smith and Kenisha Patel
Photo by Kayla Smith
Some school years come and go, but others leave a lasting impact—both for students and teachers alike. In this exclusive interview, we sit down with the always energetic and insightful Mr. Pisacane to talk about his favorite memories, hidden talents, and even his dream car (spoiler: it’s not what you’d expect!). From unforgettable field trips to his love for books, movies, and adventure, Mr. Pisacane shares a glimpse into what makes teaching—and life—so rewarding.
Get ready for some laughs, deep thoughts, and maybe even a dolphin impression.
Kayla: What’s your favorite memory from last year?
Mr. Pisacane: That’s really hard, um. Boy, um..I remember really liking going on the Boston trip with you guys. I know a lot of you kids complain about that trip, like what’d you guys think of it?
Kayla and Kenisha: I liked it.
Mr. Pisacane: Right! A lot of kids really liked it, and then there were all these kids who were complaining about it, we’re not even going to Boston this year. We’re doing a different trip because there were so many kids who complained.
Kayla: That’s so weird, that was one of my favorite field trips.
Mr. Pisacane: They did this thing where kids wrote memories about last year and we actually got a form that had it, so many kids said the Boston trip and I thought wow. We heard so many people complain, we never heard all the good stuff. Honesty Kayla, and I don’t know if you can put this in The Eagles Nest, but I loved your class last year. That class was so fun to teach. It was just a really easy going atmosphere. There were no discipline problems.
Kayla: Yeah, I feel like we all got along really well.
Mr. Pisacane: Everyone got along, I only have Ms. Bellucci in my class every other week now, but she was there everyday. We have this real community. You guys were a fun group to teach in general. Like I remember, because last year towards the end of the year I remember saying to a couple of the teachers how happy I was that I had you guys as a group of students. Because, there are a lot of years as a teacher that you just wish the year was over, you know what I mean? And with you guys, it was just a joy to come in everyday and just hang out with guys. You don’t become friends with students, that's just not the dynamic that exists between teachers and students, but as much as you can become friends with students I felt like that's what happened last year and I really really enjoyed that about it. Because, it made it feel really nice coming into school. Does that answer your question?
Kayla: Yeah.
Mr. Pisacane: It wasn’t a specific event but I think it was just a lot of little things.
Kenisha: Okay, what’s your favorite book and why?
Mr. Pisacane: Alright! Right, well, I have two favorite books. I’m gonna tell you about one of them. So one book I really love is a book called Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of The World, and it’s by this Japanese author, who I really really love. And, the guy's name is Haruki Murakami. And the book is basically two stories. They’re told and it alternates back and forth, you see that a lot in books you know where it tells two peoples stories. But what it is, there is this guy and his job is transporting information from one location to another. And uh, the way he does is he memorizes it. He had a surgery to memorize huge amounts of information, um, like way more than any person could ever do, like a computer. And the thing is because it is in his brain it’s completely secure, there’s no one anyone could get it. So it’s a way of transporting information. It can’t be hacked or anything like that. But, what he doesn’t know is that the surgery is basically like ruining his brain. And so what happens is one story is him, the information carrier transporting information and the other is the story of some sort of world that exists inside the half of his brain that had the surgery, that part of his brain is basically shutting down and dying, and the world itself is also dying. And so he’s actively dying, and so you’re hearing, it’s like, one side is almost like a fantasy and the other side is a real life story and they basically go back and forth as he’s dying. It shows the side effects of the story, it’s a really interesting. Man, I love, it’s really good. I remember I read it a loved it, and then I wanted to re-read it, and I have a really vivid memory of being in north of France and being on a trip and I got a little bit sick, and so I had to go back to wherever I was staying, and I just sat in France with this beautiful weather looking out over the countryside and reading this book. So I had this really awesome experience even though I was sick, it’s this magical experience.
Kayla: Would you ever move back to Japan?
Mr. Pisacane: Sure! I love Japan. It was amazing um, but you know it’s hard. When you guys get older you’ll see. Being an adult has all kinds and responsibilities and all kinds of things. I own a house, and there’s all kinds of things that make it almost impossible. But my wife and I have talked about, when we are both retired, like going for a long stretch. Like renting a house in Japan and living there for six months. Really, not just going for a vacation but actually living there for a little while, which is something I think we’ll definitely do after I’m done teaching.
Tune In to Tune Out: Why Students Should Be Allowed to Listen to Music in Class
By Emma Cristino
Students should be able to listen to music in class. If you are bored in math, or not focused on your work, or even stressed out, music can help. It can motivate you, help you focus, and calm you too. Many students deal with these struggles, and I think if students were allowed to listen to music in class, it could help very much.
My first reason on why students should be allowed to listen to music in class is because it can help you focus. For example, many students in class can easily zone out, especially when there's a paper in front of you that you don’t want to do. I think if your teachers allowed students to put on headphones or earbuds while they are working, it could help them focus more and feel more motivated to do the paper in front of them. Music is proven to reduce distractions and motivate students while studying or working quietly.
My second reason on why students should be allowed to listen to music in class is because it reduces stress. For example, if you have a lot of missing work to do or need to study for an upcoming test, you would probably be stressing out. According to Music and Studying (By Healthline), the article states, “Music can motivate you, improve your mood, and help you relax.” This proves that music can help you, especially if you are stressed. So if teachers let you listen to music, they could help students reduce their stress.
Finally, students should be allowed to listen to music in class is because it makes class more enjoyable. Many students have classes that are boring or just aren’t enjoyable for them. If your teacher let you listen to music, it could make the class more fun and make you pay attention to the teacher so you aren't so bored. Every student has a class they don’t like and if they could listen to music it would be way much better for their enjoyment.
In conclusion, students should be allowed to listen to music in class because it helps you focus, reduces stress, and makes class more enjoyable.
More Sleep, Better Students: Why School Should Start Later
By Zakaria Ardolino
Waking up early is one of the most annoying parts of going to school. You have to rush your breakfast, make sure you have everything you need for school that day. Everybody knows once you get to school halfway through the day you can’t focus. That’s why I think we need to push back the school start time and let students get the rest they need to perform at school.
First, not getting enough sleep disrupts your focus and performance in the classroom. We are expected to focus, listen and learn on barely any sleep. For example, when I wake up on weekends I sleep in till 9:00 and wake up rested and ready to play in my sporting events. If they gave us the chance to gain an extra 30 minutes I guarantee you grades would be up by a lot. Kids and buses would most likely be on time, and not be late everyday for class too. A study done at the Stanford Center on Longevity better quality, longer duration, and greater consistency of sleep correlated with better grades. In fact, they found that nearly 25% of the variance in academic performance was attributed to sleep.
Second, students are more moody earlier in the morning making them less likely to participate in class. For example, I know during my earlier classes that I am less likely to engage in class. I do recognize that in my earlier classes less hands go up when my teacher asks a whole class question. If students are moody all the time in the morning it can affect their mental health in the long term future. National Library Of Medicine says studies reviewed later school start times were associated with greater physiological health.
Lastly, buses are always late earlier in the morning, pushing back startime would help buses and bus drivers be ready to pick up all the students in the right amount of time. Students wouldn’t always miss the bus if the bus driver was not in a rush and didn’t forget about them. Students missing the bus also attribute them to being absent because they don’t have a ride to school. Pushing back startime would probably help the bus driver shortage too.
I understand that it would be hard to start school later considering after school activities and athletics. Also considering students' parents have to get up early in the morning for work. In my opinion though I think it would be very beneficial to students if they just got an extra hour of sleep. This would help with focus, and overall mood and the bus situation.
Let’s let students sleep in! It will benefit everybody.
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