By ALEX TAGLIERI

Staff Writer

Walking in to US II history teacher Ronald Klein’s classroom, it is obvious that this teacher has  two passions: history and sports. Klein’s room is filled with movies, books and paraphernalia related to the time periods he loves to teach as well as a red “R” from his alma mater, Rutgers University, clearly displayed behind his desk.

Klein has taught history at Communications High School for 12 years, but said he has loved the subject for much longer. For Klein, it was his US II history teacher in high school who gave him a desire to teach the subject.

“He was very animated when he gave lessons and was really into it, and so I like to bring history into the classroom and make it interesting,” Klein said.

Teaching history is Klein’s retirement job. After graduating from Rutgers and earning two master’s degrees at Seton Hall University, he took a break from his teaching job and went into business. Klein started a telecommunications company called TTI National in the late 1970s.

“It was a great time for private telephone companies to get started, and the company grew into a multi-million dollar company,” Klein said.

Klein retired in the late 90s and started teaching at Communications in 2001.

Currently, Klein is a baritone singer in a doo-wop group, which sings music from the 1950s and 1960s.

However, Klein said he is most passionate about sports, specifically Rutgers basketball and football. Klein is a season ticket holder for both sports and attends every game.

“I sit right behind the Rutgers bench, and a lot of students that have graduated from CHS… come visit me during half time. It’s a lot of fun,” Klein said.

In addition to his passion for college sports, he is also interested in the professional basketball team, the Knicks.

As much as he loves sports, Klein feels most passionate about teaching history because of his experience in life. He says that he is “the best primary source a student could have.”

“I think I returned to education after all those years because I wanted to give back to the students some experience that I [received from] those years… If we understand the mistakes we’ve made in the past, maybe we can correct them for future generations.”