A head of dark curls prowls the halls of Carver Center, small and grinning, adorned with an ominous butterfly pin, determined to greet someone with a chipper, ‘Hi!’
Antonia Gisolfi, or, as she is known to her new GT American Government and AP Psychology classes, Ms. Gisolfi, has hit Carver like the Ice Age, like Newton’s apple, like Woodstock, and it will never be the same.
Gisolfi has been teaching history for thirty-two and a half years now, twenty-four in Baltimore County (before that, she was in New York State). She has taught every grade from sixth through twelfth, except sophomores (interpret her luck as you like), in every ability level from Special Needs to Advanced Placement. Her favorite course to teach is called ‘Facing History and Ourselves’. “It’s about individuals determining what their responsibilities are in society to make sure all our rights are preserved,” explains Gisolfi. “These responsibilities are assumed for every reason from strictly self-serving ones to the more altruistic ones.” It is to impart a sense of responsibility in her students that Gisolfi teaches history.
After ensuring the rights of future generations for ninety minutes in trailer six, Gisolfi peruses the room, pausing to contemplate all the possessions that could be about to be left behind. “I tend to forget things,” she says, laughing at herself. She exits the room and realizes the door she wants to use to get into the building is locked. “I have to walk all the way around when this happens; it’s just awful!” she exclaims. “No, I’m just kidding.” And as awkward as it may sound out of context, the way she says it would make you giggle.
Gisolfi attended Thomas Moore College, a women’s college within Fordham University, in Bronx, New York which used to be strictly male, and attained her BA in history. She then went to Columbia University for her MA, and has since taken classes in Maryland through Goucher, Loyola, and Notre Dame.
Although she has a large extended family (six nieces and nephews and sixteen great-nieces and nephews, to be exact), Gisolfi currently lives with her dog, Piqualo, named for his small stature. Gisolfi salvaged Piqualo from Animal Rescue, and when prompted as to what kind of dog he is, she replies, “Well, there are all these fancy new names for being a mutt…” Piqualo may be a mutt, but he sounds like the perfect dog for Gisolfi, being small and soft, and, judging from the interests of most small canines, sharing her love of hiking and nature.
Gisolfi is also passionate about traveling the globe (Europe, Mexico, and the moderate rainforests of Washington State, to name but a few), gardening, attending Center Stage, the opera, and the symphony, and performing such worldly activities as bicycling through England and Scotland.
Gisolfi certainly has the vivacity for it; in a characteristic outburst, she pauses when thinking about the new projects of her Carver classes to exclaim, like a Columbus just sighting land (sorry, but she is a history teacher), “Ooh, ooh, ooh! The AP Psych classes will be studying the psychology of elections!”
It is apparent just by hearing her speak that Gisolfi, owner of a dancing Buddha who resides on her desk and a ‘funky’, rotating-faced watch (“I think that’s a good thing,” she responds to this not-so-journalistic adjective), is not only well qualified to be the new head of the social studies department, but she is vibrant and excited by her job, and that is something unteachable, something that makes a teacher enjoyable to have.