Stories From the Self-Help Therapeutic Community - Ted Dibble's "First Day in First Grade"

Ted Dibble was one of the most remarkable humans to pass our way. This man-for-all-seasons was a card-carrying member of the Synanon Communiversity. If there is ever a Mount Rushmore erected for the founders of the self-help therapeutic community movement, Ted’s likeness would be carved below the founders, holding them up as they took credit. Every social experiment conducted to inspire insights in the minds of troubled recovering addicts was managed by Ted. As a Director, Trip Guide, Tribe Leader, Bootcamp Manager, Wizard of Wisdom, Seminar Guru, Dissipation Facilitator, Public Relations Front Man, Elementary School Educator, Fundraiser, Teen Counselor, Sales Manager, Ted invested creativity, humor and zest into every performance.

This is the first of several articles about Ted (many written by him), that provide snapshots of the man who loved making people laugh at the folly of their ways.

Corpus Christi Church and School in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, New York

“First Day in First Grade”

For Danny Dibble, written by Ted Dibble

Whenever I feel afraid

I hold my head erect

And whistle a happy tune

So no one will suspect I’m afraid

From the musical “The King and I”

Sometime in the fall of ‘42, I warily walked into the classroom of Sister Vitus. This room, with buffed hardwood floors, is strange. It’s clean, neat , bright, colorful, vibrant and airy. The light maple tables and chairs are portable and built kid-size. Mapes, charts, fish tanks and glass tanks with salamanders dot the room. To top it off, it’s got a balcony. This is a duplex!

The adult in the room is a five foot worman, only slightly taller than the kids. she wears a pressed white linen dress from head to toe, with a black veil and cape. Under the veil, her white cap covers her ears, forehead and throat. Around her waist is a black belt. Attached to the belt are a long string of black beads hanging down to her shins.

In my parish nobody went to “kindergarten”, “pre-school” or “day care”. School started at first grade when your turned six years old.

So this is my first contact with other kids indoors. I may romp in the streets-but never in a closed-in room.

It scared me. The setting, the kids, the penguin woman, the whole thing.

I pretend to look cool and calm. Hiding my hands in my knickerbocker pants pockets, I sashay around the room WHISTLING as loud as I can.

The five foot nun quietly ambles alongside of me, gently grasps my arm and whispers, “Teddy, we don’t whistle in class. Please join us over here.” She introduces me to a group of kids. This has got to be my first lesson in finesse. Also in good manners - - “Mary, Tom, Larry, this is Teddy. Please give hime some crayons and show him how to do it.”

Everything she does is a caring and kind. She is the first adult I meet who consistently smiles, laughs, shows up on time and seems glad to see me.

I found all the nuns at Corpus Christi Grammar School to be this way. Eight years later at my graduation ceremony, I state: “Aside from my father and brother, the nuns are the best friends I ever had.”

Written by Ted Dibble

Having Nun of It: Another story Ted often told about the nuns and their no-nonsense approach to child-rearing. Ted’s dad, a single parent with a drinking problem, would from time to time forget to pay the bills. One day Ted comes to school without his homework. “Where is your homework Teddy?” Ted responded with what seemed like a legitimate reason, “My dad did not pay the electric bill so we had no lights in our apartment.” In a quick, unsympathetic response, the nun said, “Are the lights working in the hallway? I no longer want to hear unacceptable excuses for not completing your work.” From that point forward, Ted spent many a night in the hallway doing his homework.

Ted Dibble

Stories From The First Self-Help Therapeutic Community

At this site you will find stories people have shared about experiences before, during and after their 24/7 Synanon experience. What began as the first self-help live-in therapeutic community in 1958, evolved over thirty years to include people from all walks of life, in search of an alternative lifestyle. During one brief era of its existence, this community of over 1,000 members was known as a communiversity, a college where people were exploring better ways to live together. Hopefully the stories shared will shed some light on the fun, the folly and lessons learned from this experiment.

View Group