Back in 1979 the USSR was invading Afghanistan, the Sugar Hill Gang released “Rapper’s Delight,” the graphing calculator had yet to be invented, and calculus teacher Edmund Mahoney began his career at PHS.
Famous around campus for his dry sense of humor and his unique grading system, Mahoney will become Piedmont Unified School District’s (PUSD) most senior faculty member next fall.
“It’s cool to say that I’ve stood the test of time as so many other teachers have come and gone here,” Mahoney said.
Since the late 1980’s he has taught strictly calculus. Prior to teaching calculus, he taught other courses such as pre-calculus, physical science, and even an 8th grade math class at Piedmont Middle School. Additionally he taught a class called consumer math, where students learned every-day arithmetic like how to balance a checkbook. As a teacher, he implemented new styles of instruction.
“Mr. Mahoney was one of the first teachers I remember who moved away from using the textbook as a primary resource,” said friend and fellow mathematics teacher Doyle O’Regan.
Mahoney’s calculus classes also feature a unique style of grading in which the entire grade in based on tests with the addition of a 10 percent grade boost pending assignment completion and class conduct.
“The first year of teaching you’re struggling with what your identity as a teacher and even getting respect from the students,” Mahoney said. “I’m pretty comfortable now so it’s just more fun.”
When Mahoney started working in PUSD times were quite different. Slide rules had come and gone, and basic scientific calculators cost over $100. Many teachers were also smokers, with the old faculty room, now room 39, and the English office being open areas to smoke cigarettes.
“I would hang out in there because I smoked and got friendly with that group,” Mahoney said.
“I’m not saying it’s not fun now, but faculty meetings were more interesting back then in terms of personalities and comments made,” Mahoney said. “They were flamboyant and also managed to help me become a better teacher, I think.”
Mr. M’s life has not been strictly centered around on derivatives and integrals, however.
“I like math, but honestly it’s not my passion,” Mahoney said. “I like teaching it and working with students, but I also have other interests.”
Some of these interests include attending Cal football and San Francisco Giants games, working on carpentry projects around his house in Danville, and painting.
“At UC Berkeley, where I went to undergrad and where I received my teaching credentials, I majored in math. But in high school I took art and almost went down that path,” Mahoney said.
Around the house, he periodically refinishes furniture, paints acyclic pictures to decorate the walls, gardens, and builds things.
“Mr. M is quite the handyman. He likes to build stuff,” O’Regan said. “It seems he was always working on a home project. From what I hear, he is also a pretty good poker player.”
Since getting hired to be a teacher at PHS in the fall of 1979, certain moments stand out to Mahoney. On a rainy Friday the 13th in 1981 an AC Transit bus crashed into the side of the 20’s building, close to his classroom at the time.
“It just sort of lost its breaks and rolled down,” Mahoney said. “The building wall is made of thick concrete, so there ended up just being a crack. Still, it was a weird day.
Other memories include the introduction of block scheduling in the early 2000’s and participating in faculty-student basketball games at rallies.
“I would sort of huff and puff down the court and do my best, but it was fun,” he said. “I kept it to just a couple slam-dunks.”
As his career at PHS progressed, Mahoney quit smoking and started to become good friends with gym teacher Mike Humphries, math teacher Jackson Lay, physics teacher Glen Melnik, and O’Regan.
“Around here they’re known as the Good Ol’ Boys,” junior Wes Dunlap said. “They’re like the Foxy Five, but just a couple years older and cool.”
