Summer is about over for teachers and students – fully over for many. Time to consider the year ahead when one carries the responsibilities of running a classroom.
I believe we do our best work in our classrooms when we consciously emulate those who inspired us to teach in the first place. We need to create our own classroom worlds (more on that in a future essay), as it were, but, much like taking a good recipe and making it our own, it’s helpful to have a list of essential basic ingredients. New teachers may be daunted but what lies ahead of them; reflecting on the why and how of their own favorite educators can create a solid foundation for the year to come.
The schools I attended, both public and private, were good ones, as were the teachers I was provided. Mr. Robert Townsend was Principal of San Antonia School, in Ojai, California, as well as the teacher of 6th grade and half of 5th. I was fortunate to have him for both of those years.
Mr. Townsend was funny, in charge, knowledgeable, organized, and involved. He did not brook disruption or lack of respect. Mr. Townsend gave us responsibility and taught us important lessons about good delegation. As Principal in our small school, I’m not sure he even had a secretary. Faculty numbered five, I believe (so hard to imagine now!). Did they ever really get a break during a school day? I don’t know, but coffee was important. Mr. Townsend taught two other girls and me how to make coffee every morning. One less job for which he or a teacher had to be responsible. I still treasure the sound and smell of a newly opened can of Folgers!
sHe also ensured that two of the boys and I could run all of the audiovisual equipment (movie, film strip, and slide projectors). When another class wanted to watch something, he would send one of us to set up the equipment and make sure it ran smoothly. While I was not aware of it at the time, likely we three were all in good academic standing, since we had to miss some class time. Nothing to that effect was ever said; we simply knew it was our responsibility to make up anything we had missed.
Mr. Townsend played games with us, especially Kick the Can, often with other classes. I can still see him peeking around the trunk of a large tree, waiting for his moment.
My 6th grade year, the class was divided into threesomes to create our own science projects. Without ever saying anything to the two of us, Mr. T partnered Nelson Chase – one of my best friends – and me with classmate Sharon. We knew, on some unspoken level, that Sharon was not born with what I like to call a “school mind.” Long before the years of Special Ed and IEPs, Sharon was simply a full member of our class who must have required extra diligence from all of her teachers. Because of the respect with which Mr. Townsend ran his own classroom and the absolute lack of tolerance demonstrated by all teachers for any bullying on our little campus, there was no need for conversation as to our team makeup. Nelson and I never discussed it, but we knew the privilege of our partnership came with the expectation that we would include Sharon happily and fully. We had fun and worked hard in designing and creating an experiment in erosion that actually failed miserably in the intended sense. Who knew that our dry dirt playing field would not only not erode faster than the grassy comparison plot, but that it would quickly sprout its own grass when watered?
Fall of 1959, my 6th grade year, the newly moved-from-Brooklyn Los Angeles Dodgers played the Chicago White Sox in the World Series. Mr. Townsend was a big baseball fan. All Series games were day games. What to do? Bring his personal television in to the classroom. Create an educational experience by teaching all of us how to keep score. Ten years later, my now-husband was impressed that I could do so. Thirty years after that, I frequently assisted coaches at various schools by keeping the book for their teams, a connection that made the bridge between classrooms and playing fields a far more positive one than it might have been.
I never had a chance to thank Mr. Townsend for the many ways he impacted my life as a person and as an educator. He died far too young. But I thanked him every year as I described the above examples of Good Teacher to my colleagues. I hope that I emulated his respect and his humor and his trust.
Glass Full 