Friday, March 7, 2003

By Rick Ryckeley
Fayette County Fire & Emergency Services

The first of this month was Career Day at The Wife's high school and yours truly was asked to speak. Needless to say, I was honored to be accepted into the world of academia if only for just one day. That morning, one thing was very apparent from just turning into the parking lot; high school has really changed from back in the day when I attended.

The school's parking lot was as big as the parking lot at Target, The Wife's home away from home. It was filled with BMWs, high-end sports cars, a few Mercedes, and many SUVs. As I parked, my first thought was that they are paying teachers way too much money if they can afford these types of cars. By the end of the day, I had changed my way of thinking - they don't pay teachers nearly enough.

I walked up to the front of the school, only to find out that I was lost, which is not unusual nowadays. Come to find out I had parked in back at the students' parking lot. On my way to the office, I walked around to the front of the school past the teachers' parking lot which was filled with Hondas, Saturns, and many older model cars. Once in the office, the very friendly and busy office staff gave me a guest speaker button. The Wife came in from hall duty and walked me to the room where I would be speaking in. The room was next to the teachers' lounge.

When I was in high school, the teachers' lounge was sacred ground. A place of refuge, were teachers could go for breaks or lunch to unwind away from the stress of the job. There, they could get a second wind for the afternoon of teaching, grade papers or even have a smoke. The teachers' Llounge was also a place that no student was ever allowed to enter. Not so today. The refuge of the teachers' lounge is no more, and no smoking is allowed anywhere on campus.

The Wife showed me to her room and then to the lounge should I need a break. I soon realized, after opening the door to that sacred place, that today's teachers' lounge is anything but a place of relaxation. It was filled with computers, work tables, and a copy machine bigger than some of the cars I passed in the teachers' parking lot. Some teachers were busily grading papers that they couldn't finish in the two hours of nightly grading done at home. Others were working on outlines, preparing reports for the ever-occurring after school meetings or helping students make copies. No, today's teachers' lounge is definitely not a place to get away from the stress of ones job. In fact, the teachers' lounge is no more; it's now called the teachers' workroom.

Teachers don't go to the workroom for breaks; they aren't afforded such a luxury. During breaks teachers often meet with students to offer extra help or with parents to try to explain why their child isn't doing so well in class.

To make sure I was ready, The Wife asked me if I knew what to do if a student misbehaves. "Sure do." I said, "They'll stand and face the corner, just like my kindergarten teacher Ms. Newsome made me."

"No." She said, "You can't do that." Then I said I would just put their desk out in the hallway. I spent half my kindergarten year out in the hallway. She said I couldn't do that either; everyone must participate. I told her if they don't behave I'll just send them to the office. She said I couldn't do that either.

"Things sure have changed since I was in school," I said.

"Welcome to my world," She replied.

In first period I met Saran Wrap Man, a very polite young man. One of the smarter students I met all day. Back in October, to show his school sprit, he wrapped himself in Saran Wrap and duct tape and came to school on Sprit Day as the mythical superhero Saran Wrap Man. Smarter than a thesaurus, does homework faster than the speed of sound, can pass any test with a single glance; that's Saran Wrap Man. Saran Wrap Man has a 4.0 GPA.

Throughout the day I met over 120 students. Most all were bright, polite, and very attentive. A small few were not. I learned that trying to deal with four or five disruptive students during the day can make speaking difficult and teaching almost impossible. They could take a tip from Saran Wrap Man.

I passed The Boy in the hallway on the way to lunch and told him to catch a ride home with friends. I had to go buy a case of Saran Wrap and a few rolls of duct tape. He wanted to know why. I told him I'd show him when he got home.

By the end of the afternoon, I came away with a high respect for what the teachers and administrators alike go through during the course of a day. Just trying to do their jobs, always asked to do more with less, is almost an insurmountable task. (Doing more with less, an insurmountable task ­ why, this could be a job for Saran Wrap Man!) Never again will I complain about high school taxes, and if you do, might I convince you to be a guest speaker next year?

[Rick Ryckeley is employed by the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services. He can be reached at firemanr@bellsouth.net.]

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