Lesson Learned

About the Author Joe Geno has been a public High School English Teacher for 25 years. Born and raised in North Syracuse, New York, he lived a very active lifestyle achieving his black belt in karate by age 14 and playing baseball through high school and into college. He is also an avid outdoorsman who hunts every fall. He attended Onondaga Community College and Binghamton University in his undergraduate years. After graduating, he worked menial jobs back in Syracuse before moving to New York City at the age of 24. He was seeking to live a chic writer's life like some of his heroes Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsburg. At Brooklyn College, he was in a master's program in English with hopes of studying with the great poet Allen Ginsburg, but Ginsburg was stricken with cancer. Nevertheless, he wrote his own poetry and finished his master's program at Brooklyn during his first years of teaching. He received another Masters in School Supervision from City College in later years. He now teaches mostly 12th graders in the South Bronx near his beloved Yankee Stadium. He also is a Union Chapter Leader who advocates for his members. He lives in Westchester County with his wife and two children.