HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Brussels Post, 1973-06-27, Page 2Sugar and Spice
By Bill Smiley
•
This year, as I mentioned previously,
my wife taught English in a private
school. It was her first crack at teaching,
aside from kindergarten and music, and
she taught a Grade 13 class, so it was
no cinch. She worked hard at it.
But the strain on me was. something
else. Every day when I got home from
"teaching. 150 students, I had to endure a
two-hour monologue about her itkids"
and what they'd said and done today.
Once in a while I'd try to get in a word
or phrase about what my +=kids" had
said and done, hit it was like trying to
Stop Secretariat, in ful I gallop, with a
piece of thread.
At the first of the year, she was
worried about a few of them, Who gave
promise of becoming -recalcitrant. But
by sheer charm, and her innate interest
in other people she was able to establish
a close and friendly relationship with
every single one of her huge cia.sS of ten.
By the time the last day of Achool
came around, she was almost in tears
as she realized*, the'd probably never
see any of them again, or only as coin-
parative strangers.,
This is tOmething that happens to
most teachers Who really like youngsters,
espeCially when it's a graduating class.
There is generally a mutual warmth on
the latt day of school. The students
suddenly realite that it's their last day in
high school, surely one of the happiest
times of their life. The teacher suddenly
realites that this it' the last day, that he'S
Made it once again Without going around
the bend, and that this is a pretty good
lot of kidt.
some of the youngstera are actually
scared 'when Comes Up On therii that,
a.nOther umbilical cord has been cut and
the great'. big hard world is waiting to
sWallOW. them. Occasionally there are
tears. „
One young lady Wanted to knOW
she wept i etHow did you 1661 when you left
high sack:4100 She obviously meant that she
was almost heart-broken. But she
received ,the realistic atigWef, "Great.
It was the hapOieet day of my ilfe,00
At any rate, the last day of School
usually produces a feeling of fondness
and exchanges of, "Have a good
sir." And the teetionee,."Will do+ you
too. gee you in the fall,o. Or, if they're
graduating, iidonne and see US when you're
Mite- from COlidge.-"- They usually do.„:
bnee,
Of course, the longer you teach, the
tougher you getk In my firSt couple- Of
yeari over a deoade agott I was almost
stunned by the good will On' closing' day..
The class president would advance to
the front, watched by 35 hawklike pairs
of eyes, each pair,q which had kicked in
a quarter, and, after 'a shy, unintelligible
mumble, present me with a handsomely-
wrapped gift.
Now, when the kids are choosing their
class president, at the beginning of the
year, I assure the reluctant nominees
that,, "There's nothing ranch to the job,
except to collect the money for my
Christmas and end-of-year gifts." It
,shakes them a bit, but pays off.
Over the years, I've been the recipient
of dozens of golf balls, a bottle of good
wine, a smart desk set, a lawn chair,
and shelves fUll Of fancy shaving lotion
and exotic talc and stuff I never use.
This year I didn't have a home form.
No present. But I got a, pleasant, stir-
prise. Last claSs-I had' with my four-
year Grade I I , a group 'I would have
considered least likely to do it, they
kicked through.
Marlene came up and.aaid,oiMr.gmiley
this is for you, for being,tuch a nice
teacher." Not. a good techei., mind.
Just a nice one., And speaking Of nice,
it was one of the simplest :and nicest
speeches I have ever heard. •
-Half suspecting a practidal joke) for
this Was a, group I'd tangled -With, -in the
fall, I opened it, 'Standing well, back. No
joke. There was a handsome little book
Of inspirational poems and *prayers. I
thought this.Might be a pointed „suggestion
that I needed both, and Was still slightly
wary.
Then I opened the other package. It
contained an eternal: matdh. This:is a
randy type of cigaretto lighter', you pull
A sort of stick out of a little round
barrel, it strikes a flint, and, yob- have
a leit match-like'' light. it v would be
great fora forpipe-smoker.
titifettlitiately„ It WbUldn't Work When
t tried it. typically, Marlene haditied
it thoroughly tefore wrapping it, so
thoroughly that she'd used all :the Met,
She tried to get it goifig for the, and,
was greeted with hoots of derision when
she Couldn't.)
lloWeVer4 the thought. was there, and
they 'yelled at Me that I could take it back
to the Mete.
A efitall thing, in their busy lives'
and till*, tut warming to knoW
That somebody out there loves you a
little hit, „Oyeti though-yen are teacher;
and is willing, to ante' up a dime or even
a quartet to prove it,
I'd :rather have hat', once a year,
than a gold Watch and a stupid scroll 'at
the e' of t-Wehty4tle years:.
young pe
elp servi
roduce a.
he needs
st summer
put this
and produ
d histori
hip which
nd ,statft
s as pros
rs' sh.opp
ople have
ce for the
question-
of Senior
11 Hay
federal.
ced a 48
cal sur-,
includes'
tics on
s farm
ing habits.
liSrAtjust4re
1172
Brussels Post
WEDNESDAY, 4uNE. 27, 1.97$
ORUSSE4S
ONTARIO
•
-Serving Brussels and the surrounding community
published each Wednesday afternoon at Brussels, Ontario.
by McLean Bros. Publishers, Limited.
Evelyn. Kennedy - Editor Torn Haley - Advertising
Member Canadian Commupity Newspaper Association and
Ontario Weekly Newspaper Association.
Subscriptions (in advance) Canada $4.00 a year, Others
$5.00 a year, Single Copie's 10 cents each.
Second class mail Registration No. 0562.
Telephone 887-6641.
OFY benefits Huron
. In the first two years of its
existence, there has been much criti-
cism of the federal government's
Opportunities for Youth Program,
which is designed to employ young
people in public service in community
projects which they design themselves.
A look at O.F.Y. in Huron CountY,
however, shows that many benefits to
the community 'at large, flow from
the project and that charges of ex-
travagance, uselessness and govern-
ment rip-offs 'have little foundation
here. In Seaforth, five young stu-
dents have an O.F.Y. grant to help
Senior Citizen's maintain their homes
and surroundings, pick up prescrip-
tion,s and provide other services to
the elderly.
Another O.F.Y. project, in Brus-
sels, will support Canadian culture
through a rural center offering NFB
films, crafts and live theatre. In
Morr'is Township, an O.F.Y. grant will
"alloW three youn'g people to work at
constructing snowmobile trails through
unused land. A recreation program
for all ages, involving six young
workers who will provide a supervised
playground and a coffee house with
live entertainment is operating in.
Blyth, thanks to Opportunities for
Youth.
In Clinton, six
developed a home h
elderly and will 'p
natre indicating t
Citizens there. La
Township students
money to good use
page industrial an
vey of their towns
maps, old photos a
such diverse thing
income and cottage
All these projects are' Worthioihile
and give citizens in small Huron ,
County communities access to' services
and .resources which as well, could
not possibly be provided by municipal
budgets. The Opportunities for
Youth Program employs a fair number
of imaginative and resourceful young
people who perhaps otherwise would
be unable to find summer employment
'of any kind .,
A program which gives these people
jobs and enables them to help their
communities while they work tan't be
ail bad. Looking at the evidence.
of the projects, past and present ;
as they are developed it Huron,
Opportunities for Youth seems to bd
doing very