Brooklyn Bookbeat: Teacher with global career credits Brooklyn roots
Like Betty Smith’s “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,” Albert Mazza’s “A Teacher Grows in Brooklyn” is a coming-of-age story that traces a young individual’s roots and life-changing encounters in Brooklyn and beyond.
In Mazza’s opening chapter he recalls riding the ferry from Sheepshead Bay to Breezy Point on summer evenings. He goes on to describe the 1940s Brooklyn he grew up in as “magical.” Mazza enjoyed living just two blocks from Coney Island, playing sports on the beach with friends, and hanging out with peers in front of the local candy store.
While his book is filled with nostalgia, in the preface Mazza explains that he hopes his book will be read as instructive rather than simply as a memoir. He writes, “I want to make it clear that I don’t want this book to be considered my memoirs. I would prefer that the reader learns how I was able to take advantage of opportunities that faced me and directed me along a career path that resulted in the most unusual experiences.”