In Thundered a
Familiar Face
by Don Drewniak
After
being discharged with a rank of Sergeant E5 from
the U.S. Army in 1970, I opted for a sixth grade
teaching position in a town located a few miles
from Worcester, Massachusetts. I taught English,
history, reading/spelling and two math classes
each year through the close of the 1977-1978
school year.
Beginning
with the1979-1980 school year, my teaching load
consisted of five math classes per day.
It
was shortly after the close of school in late
November. I was sitting at my desk preparing the
lesson for the following day. The door to my room
was closed, but unlocked. Protocol dictated that
someone who wanted to enter should knock first.
The
door opened without a knock and in thundered a
familiar figure. With a voice a decibel or two
less than that of a howling coyote, he waved a
report card and bellowed, “What the hell is
this?”
(Note:
The language used by the “invader” was
far stronger than that which follows.)
“A
report card.”
“You
know damn well why I am here. Why did my son,
Timmy, get a grade of fifty?”
“His
quiz and test average was thirty-two. No other
student in his class had an average less than
sixty-two. Not only were his quiz and test grades
low, he more often than not failed to complete
homework assignments. I gave him a fifty to give
him a chance to get a passing grade before year's
end.
“Why
wasn't I notified that Timmy was failing?”
“You
were. In compliance with school policy, I sent
home a failure notice at the end of week five.
Timmy's was signed and returned the following
week.”
“Let
me see the damn thing,”
Per
school rules, it is on file in the office.”
“Then
you should have known that it was forged.”
I
stood up and said, “This conversation has
gone far enough, Professor. I suggest you take
your complaint to either the assistant principal
or principal.”
“It's
Doctor Goosen, not Professor.”
I
suspected that he didn't recognize me as we had
last seen one another in 1963 when I was a
college student in an economics class that he was
supposed to be teaching. Not only had sixteen
years passed, I was sporting a short beard.
“Well,
Professor, it's obvious that you neither
recognize me nor does my last name ring a bell.”
“Why
the hell should it?”
“I'll
let you be the judge of that. I was a student of
a college economics course that you were supposed
to be teaching in 1963.”
“What
the hell do you mean by that?”
“Permit
me to describe how I conduct my classes. I am
never late. I either stand in front of a class
when presenting a lesson or walk around the room
helping the kids.”
“Get
to the point.”
“Gladly.
You arrived fifteen minutes late and carrying a
cup of coffee to each of the first three classes.
After sitting at your desk sipping the coffee for
a minute or two, you tossed out a few questions
and then gave us the balance of the class to
complete a reading assignment. Ah, but then came
class four. You arrived on time carrying a felt
board with felt lettering that spelled Economics.
He
attempted to interrupt me at this point. However,
I ignored him and continued.
“You
then proceeded to hold up and read from a
bookmark you anonymously received in the mail.
Ring a bell?”
The
red turned a deeper shade of red.
“The
bookmarks came with the textbook students were
required to purchase. The snippet that I remember
was something to the effect that a textbook was
only as good as the professor conducting the
class. To your credit, the balance of the class
was excellent. I was not the only who thought
that you had turned over a new leaf.”
“You
b...”
“I'm
not finished. As I am sure you remember, come the
next class you reverted to the fifteen minutes
late routine. To the best of my knowledge, every
student received an A or a B. I could be wrong,
but I assumed that was insurance designed to
dissuade students from complaining to the college
administrators.”
“I'm
going to report you to the district
superintendent.”
“When
you do, please tell Alexander that poker is at my
house next week.”
Professor
Goosen stormed out of the room. I never had the
“pleasure” of dealing with him again.
Timmy began completing homework assignments and
by the end of the year raised his grade to
seventy-six.
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