Herod's Always Out There🎶 Or Thanks, James Taylor

 Like all of us there have been times in my life in which I actually wondered, "Will I get through this, and how?"

In the late 80s I decided to return teaching, and to apply in the county in which we lived and where our three teenaged children were in school.  Being on the same schedule would make things a lot easier.  I had let my certification lapse and so had to take 33 credits to be re-certified.  While taking these classes at Loyola and Johns Hopkins I was also long-term subbing in a Baltimore County middle school for a friend out on maternity leave. Taking all this on was an, shall I say, 'energetic' decision on my part.

But I did it.  There were times I was so tired that I got onto the Baltimore Beltway going in the wrong direction.  Blessedly, I have a husband who is a wonderful co-parent, and our kids helped out a lot.

What I did not expect however, was my reception by Human Resources in the county in which I lived.  My interviews went well; and I got enthusiastic feedback.  The head of the department had said, "If you get an offer from another county, don't sign; let me know immediately".  I did, and I did.  The response was shattering.  "Teachers like you are a dime a dozen", and even more heart-breaking, "I wouldn't hire you if you were the last teacher on Earth."

Winded from the punch and devastated, I did not know how to come back from this or to even understand what had happened; what I had done to provoke this?

One day when I was feeling particularly down, I grabbed a CD and heard this:

… Those magic men, the Magi
Some people call them wise
Or oriental, even kings
Well anyway, those guys
They visited with Jesus
They sure enjoyed their stay
Then warned in a dream of King Herod's scheme
They went home by another way

… Yes, they went home by another way
Home by another way
Maybe me and you can be wise guys too
And go home by another way
We can make it another way
Safe home as they used to say
Keep a weather eye to the chart on high
And go home another way

… Steer clear of royal welcomes
Avoid a big to-do
A king who would slaughter the innocents
Will not cut a deal for you
He really, really wants those presents
He'll comb your camel's fur
'Til his boys announce they've found trace amounts
Of your frankincense, gold, and myrrh

… Time to go home by another way
Home by another way
You have to figure the Gods saying play the odds
And go home by another way
We can make it another way
Safe home as they used to say
Keep a weather eye to the chart on high
And go home another way

… Home is where they want you now
You can more or less assume that you'll be welcome in the end
Mustn't let King Herod haunt you so
Or fantasize his features when you're looking at a friend

… Well it pleasures me to be here
And to sing this song tonight
They tell me that life is a miracle
And I figured that they're right
But Herod's always out there
He's got our cards on file
It's a lead pipe cinch, if we give an inch
Then he realized it'd take a mile

… It's best to go home by another way
Home by another way
We got this far through a lucky star
But tomorrow is another day
We can make it another way
Safe home as they used to say
Keep a weather eye to the chart on high
And go home another way

It look me a good while to recuperate.  I accepted a job in Baltimore County, but decided I would apply for a job in my county every year for the rest of my life just out of principle.  Three years later I got the job I wanted at my dream school, and became department head.  I retired from teaching in 2007.

I went home by another way.

Fruits of Labor

The first time I ever saw Kevin was when he was roughing up a 9th grader trying to extract money the younger had placed on a bet.  It didn't help the presumption I'd made about Kevin, a junior, much earlier in the school year.  There are some kids I would just take an instant disliking to, God forgive me.  This didn't happen very often, but it did occur and I'd have to fight to swallow these prejudices all school year, sometimes successfully, and others not so much.  I'd have additional dealings with Kevin in the two years until he graduated, none of them very positive.

Twenty years later, Kevin walked into the school where I was still teaching.  This time he voluntarily sought me out. " Ms. A, Do you remember the first time we met?"  he asked.  "I sure do!" I said smiling at the two little girls standing behind him.  He introduced me to his daughters.  He was so proud and so sweet with them.  "I was an idiot," he said.  "No, you were a teenager.  Mistakes were in your job description."  And tolerance was in mine, I thought to myself.

Me, Myself, and I

A few weeks ago, I enjoyed reading Mo's (Living the Life - Mo on the Go) interesting list of 25 things about herself. I've been hard pressed to think of more than a few items about myself -- maybe some will come to me as I'm writing.

1. When I was a young teen attending an all girls' school, I briefly considered going into the convent. Then I discovered boys/men, at which time I transferred to public school. I've never regretted either decision.

2. I had never wanted to marry and have children. Maybe I couldn't picture anyone falling in love with me and it was easier to declare this as a purposeful choice than to be 'left alone'. This whole concept bit the dust when I met my now husband when I was 18. We married two years later and have been together since.

3. I began teaching when I was 15 years old and taught beginning swimming at the YM/YWCA in Lansdowne, PA. I continued to teach swimming for several years and then coached a swim team. I also volunteered at the Y where we did one-on-one swimming with special needs kids.

4. People think I'm extremely extroverted, but while I love talking to people, meeting new people, and talking in front of small and large groups of people, I guard my solitary time stridently; I am an introvert at heart.

5. I began my teaching career in Baltimore County Public Schools in January of 1973 when I was assigned to teach eighth grade English. I was the fourth teacher the kids had had. (The others had been institutionalized, I heard). At the end of my first day, I went home, sat on the couch, and by the time my husband walked in to ask, "How was your day?" I was drinking Jim Beam from the bottle. He noticed this and didn't wait for an answer.

6. After our second child was born, I did not return to teaching English, but worked toward certification to teach childbirth education. I did my training in a local OBGYN office and hospital. I've 'had' many babies over the years and have cherished each birth and the relationships formed. I also, coincidentally, taught high school English to some of the children I helped bring into the world. I still teach an occasional class.

7. I returned to teaching in 1989 first at the middle school and then in 1992 at the high school -- the school my children attended. I taught our youngest in 11th grade English. Hers was the ONLY parent I ever slept with :). I had one of the assistant principals grade all her work, so no one could claim favoritism. She was a hoot to teach.

8. From 1984 - 1988 I served as an elected official in my community. Keeping my mouth shut and being diplomatic did not come easily. The highlight of this time was when during the 25th anniversary of our community, during a parade, we on the Council ran into the street to help 'unstick'a huge pink elephant float from under a bridge. The picture ran on the cover of the next day's Washington Post. Suffice to say the photographer did not capture my best side.

When a Good Plan Comes Together

The high school where I began teaching in the early 90's was an 'Open Spaced,' horse shoe-shaped environment. The library was situated in the middle of the second floor surrounded by a hallway; the classrooms (also open) were along the outside of the horse shoe separated into 'areas' by full or half walls. This was good for lots of reasons: the library was the center of the community and we could hold meetings there with the student body (we had only about 600 students) standing along the rail; we held concerts in the library and again all could attend and participate or not. It was also good from the stand point that we (the teachers) could see almost the whole school at a quick glance. Teaching is largely a solitary profession--one closes the door and deals with goals, lessons, disciplining within the four walls of the classroom. In an open space school, I never felt that sense of isolation: I was part and parcel of a powerful community of educators. Moreso, we were one large family. The open space obviously had negatives as well, but the negative aspects are for another blog. I loved teaching there and have many fond memories.

One time my ninth-grade English students were working on research in the glass enclosed research section of the library. After working with a few individual students I began to realize there were more kids in there than in my class -- a lot more! The stinkers had invited friends! I stood by the entrance taking a quick mental roll call and then in my best teacher voice (they used to ask me to do announcements when the PA system went down) I said, "Many of you do not belong in here. Those of you who do have work to do; those of you who do not have five seconds to depart before I begin handing out consequences!" Sternly, I pointed up to their exit route and with that gesture, as if to punctuate the end of my sentence, there occurred the loudest, earth-trembling clap of thunder we had ever heard. The kids all jumped; somehow I retained my outward cool, standing my ground pointing with both arms to the exit. As the last student hurriedly filed out, she turned to me and said, "You're good!" It's great when Mother Nature backs us up...