My time as a school teacher Part 2

I wrote a lot of this a few years ago and have not read it to often in the interim. Please understand this is not a traditional public school, but is a very effective "magnet" school. My first substituting job at the school was for the Phys Ed teacher. Years later I was still called Coach by a few of my students. One week and your name is set.

When I visited the school I was asked to observe some classes, watch a class change and speak to some students. I visited several classrooms and was pretty astounded to see that the students were well behaved and orderly. Teachers were not traditional by any means, but they had their students’ attention. Class change was a different experience. It was pure pandemonium. While the halls were noisy and the students animated, they were respectful of the adults. Many greeted me as they walked by and several stopped and introduced themselves to me, shaking my hand and making eye contact. I also noticed that the teachers stood at their doors, shaking the hand of each student as they came into the classroom and speaking to them.

Interestingly, the students I spoke with were not the children who were stars but young men and women who were in trouble for various infractions. I asked them about their goals and the school. I wanted to know what they wanted from their teachers and how they liked them. None of the students had anything negative to say about the adults in the school. I found it interesting because an adult had written an incident referral to send them to the Assistant Principal to begin with. It was obvious to me that the students at the school liked it there.

After meeting with the students and getting a snapshot of what the culture was like I met with the principal who asked me many questions about what I had seen and my thoughts based on those observations. He then scheduled another interview with me at the end of that week. Prior to the interview, he explained that all staff additions were a two-part process. While he was a representative of the local public school system, there was a corporate entity that had to approve all new employees. I went into an interview with the founder of the school, the board of directors and the principal.

At the beginning of the interview, the principal explained that he was guilty of meeting new teaching candidates and “falling in love with them,” oftentimes missing important details that may prevent them from being successful. From that point the school’s founder conducted the interview. He was direct and his questions were probing. He asked about my experiences in the military, what I experienced as a senior enlisted man in the military and what I thought about the educational levels of incoming recruits. I shared my disappointment in the reading and logic abilities of young military members and told him that the drop off between college students and incoming military members was inexcusable. We discussed the role of public education in the community and he asked about my spiritual life and health. I was asked about my family, my goals and my future in the educational profession. It was a shocking interview in light of the public school connections I knew were in place. I never expected to be asked about my spiritual life. At the end of the interview I noted that everyone in the room shook my hand and made eye contact. I was beginning to get a feeling for the culture of the school. Monday morning I attended an orientation for new substitute teachers. That afternoon I had my first job. The principal of Anonymous scheduled a meeting with me on Tuesday morning.