I
learned such discipline from my mother," Rich said. "There were five
kids in our strong, Italian-American family, and my mother kept us organized and
on track. I learned from her the importance of selecting a task and finishing
it.
My father had been orphaned at 12, yet he still graduated from high
school. He was a factory worker for many years, and then he worked as a groundskeeper
for the school board after retirement-68 years of employment altogether. What
an example of the work ethic he illustrated for me! I've worked ever since I was
14, and I've never taken a dime from my parents since that age."A
desire to help others runs strong in the entire Ruffalo family, and they are all
involved in education in some way, in addition to his father, Joseph's, service
on the Bloomfield (N.J.) Board of Education. One sister, Rose, has taught for
27 years, and Jane, the other, teaches music. Dr. Robert Ruffalo, his brother,
is a physical therapist who teaches at seminars and conferences, and his other
brother, Joseph Jr., is in charge of calling Substitutes for the Belleville School
District. Rose Ruffalo, Rich's mother, was a teacher's aide for many years. My
parents taught us that family was everything," Rich said. "It's gold,
the essence of society and many times teachers are surrogate family for lonely
kids. What a responsibility" Rich met his wife, Dianne, when they were set
up by friends in 1984, and they have been married since 1989. They have one daughter,
Sara, now 6. I've
become a better teacher since we had Sara," Rich noted. "Sara says,
'My daddy kisses me a zillion times.' And she's right. I love her so much. Now
I look at each kid in my classes as someone's Sara. As much as I care for my Sara,
someone cares for my student. And since I'm blind and can't see the individual
faces, I can think of a class as a collective Sara."
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