THE NEW TEACHER

The young teacher just out of college was cocky and brash, and it took Jay Holmes almost a year to discover weakness in the teacher that he might use to control him. Several times a week, the P.A. would demand his presence in the principal's office. Sometimes the calls would come in the middle of a test, and the session might last from a few seconds to two or three class periods. The discussions centered on many different topics, but always the older man seemed to be probing into the mind of the young teacher trying to understand his thought processes. Once he understood the teacher and felt he could control him, he bothered him no longer. Later that year the new teacher was given a gentle reprimand, because a mother at the sophomore tea complained to Mr. Holmes that the new teacher was not always in his class.
 

SUBSTITUTE

Students love to bedevil substitutes. One sub with a rich foreign accent never seemed to be bothered, no matter how unkind the students were when she subbed in our school. Once when she was writing on the chalk board, several boys bounced bee-bees off the wall beside her. When she finally noticed, she picked a bee-bee from the floor and holding it up, she asked in a thick Russian accent, "Who has zee balls of steel?"

A boy in the back of the room yelled, "Superman!"
 

THE BEST TEACHER

One night while sitting around the campfire on a fishing trip, several Wilbur Wright teachers decided to pick a faculty all-star team. They could agree on only one man. Their choice, Mr. L, was completely devoted to his profession. Even though this all-star teacher lived on a farm thirty-five miles from school, he was seldom absent and never late. On several snowy occasions, he covered classes for teachers living only a few blacks from school who bad been delayed because of bad weather. His classes were interesting, and he failed few students. He was very positive and always saw something right when a student replied to a question in class, no matter how wrong the answer might be. Only once did anyone hear him bawl out a student. And even then he immediately apologized. If the bell rang while he was chatting with teachers in the hall between classes, he stopped in the middle of a sentence and went to his students. Every student received a note from Mr. L at the end of the year which related some incident that had occurred in class and wished the student success in the future. He treated everyone as an individual and as a human being.

When Mr. L retired, he received a form letter from the superintendent thanking him for the many years of devoted service and wishing him a happy retirement. Two months later he received another form letter from the superintendent commending him for serving five straight years without taking a sick day and wishing him success in the coming school year.