Remembering Ms. Goodman

“To teach is to touch a life forever.” -Anonymous

McCoy, James

Beloved Allderdice teacher Roz Goodman passed away in February after fighting liver cancer.

“It’s hard to put into words what Roz meant to me. I taught down the hall from Ms. Goodman for many years. We had a special bond because we usually taught the same students. She was a true example of a decent colleague, always had my back, picked me up when I was having a bad day, and always made me laugh. She would walk into my room every morning and say, ‘What up, Bestie?!’ She truly loved her students, always joking with them but at the same time giving them tough love when needed. I will miss her calling me to tell me which route to take to avoid traffic on the way home. I will miss the way she was always able to make me smile despite how bad my day was. I will miss hearing her voice down the hall as she was teaching. I will miss her hilarious texts. I will miss the way she was with kids, how they were just drawn to her personality. I will miss her motivating me at the gym. However, most of all,  I will miss my friend. She was the type of person that you can only hope to work with each day. Her dynamic character and dedication to students made her such a special part of the Allderdice school community. Each time I walk past her classroom, my heart hurts, because I just can’t believe she’s gone. I never want to forget her. I hope as time passes that we’re all able to keep her memory alive and lift each other up like she did for so many of us. Rest easy, bestie. Sending you love!”

-Ms. Wright

 

“Ms.Goodman was the best math teacher I ever had. She is one of the best teachers at Allderdice, period. She really seemed to understand how students learned and how to make math more approachable. She would always let us play games on Friday where we would be in teams and we went around answering the math problems and if we got it right we would throw a ball in a basket and win candy. She always supported her students, you could always talk to her if you were having a problem in life or with math. She genuinely wanted everyone to do well.  I was lucky enough to have her as a teacher for two years. She gave me a nickname and always called out to me as I passed her class, even after I no longer had her. Her laugh was the best thing to hear throughout the halls. She would always joke around with her students and the teachers in the surrounding rooms. I honestly broke down into tears when I learned she was gone, it happened so fast. I am devastated and I feel for her children and family, I also am sad for the future Allderdice students who will never have the opportunity to know Ms. Goodman. I never expected it, she was Ms. Goodman, she had gone through so much, and she was (is) the strongest woman I know.”

-Anonymous

 

“Ms Goodman was a great way to start high school. I’ve never liked math, and never been good at it, but her jokes in class made me lighten up a little. She was always calling people ‘shizzle’ and had the best way of talking. Her jokes went from anywhere like ‘Nap-time?! You have a better chance of seeing a dinosaur!’ To ‘If you don’t shut up I’ll duct-tape your mouth shut. In fact, what color tape do you want?’ Of course these jokes were all light hearted and funny. She never was super mean to us, you just had to find her soft spot and she would joke with you like that all day. Her last words in class she said to us stuck with me. ‘Ms Goodman, will we be learning about kites?’ Goodman- ‘No, we won’t. But one day, you might see a kite with my name on it. I’m not going down without a fight though.’ We love you Ms Goodman, forever.”

-Ellie K.

 

“I had her for Algebra 1. She’s easily the best math teacher I’ve ever had. Her teaching was well rounded, she was very skilled at grabbing her student’s attention, and treated her students as her own kids. I remember getting the news and having a mental breakdown 20 minutes later. That’s the impact she had on me through her teaching.”

-Adam Andrews