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.

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 [email protected].]