Carol Gottlieb is a long-time Skokie resident and a former teacher at Skokie School District 73.5’s Middleton School. The Skokie Review recently caught up with her and asked her a series of questions.
Q: What did you do for a living?
A: I’m a retired elementary school teacher.
Q: What drew you to teaching?
A: I wanted to be a teacher from the time I was in third grade. I was one of those kids who played school. Later I became fascinated by American Sign Language. My mother put those two interests together. If I taught deaf children I could be a teacher who used sign language. That was my major in college and the first part of my teaching career.
Q: What do you miss most about teaching?
A: Now that I am retired, I miss spending time with children —- seeing the world through their eyes. I also miss my friends at Middleton, where I taught for 20 years.
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: The South Side of Chicago.
Q: How long have you lived in Skokie?
A: 35 years
Q: What book are you currently reading and what book would you like to read next?
A: Currently, I’m reading the second in the Jane Smiley (“Last Hundred Years Trilogy”). There is a lot of rich material with the one chapter/one year way Smiley has organized her trilogy. There is plenty of time for the lives of the characters to unfold. The second book — “Early Warning” — overlaps my lifetime so that’s interesting.
Q: First job?
A: Baby sitting, but my first professional job was teaching deaf children at a Chicago public school.
Q: A movie you’d recommend?
A: “Spotlight.” They told a difficult story with sensitivity and it was interesting. The actors were so believable.
Q: Favorite local restaurant?
A: L. Woods in Lincolnwood, Dengeos, Poochie’s.
Q: What do you like best about Skokie?
A: I love the diversity in Skokie. I love its proximity to Chicago. We have a great library. My husband used to say, “It really says something about a community when there isn’t enough parking at the library.”
