Lakeside High School 1963-1964

As I progressed through my decades of teaching, coaching and counseling, I remembered many successes and many failures on the part of myself, my colleagues. Many days we would drive home thinking that we should have done something differently to turn around a child, stop a fight, follow up with a conference with counselors, parents, or administrators. Those are learning experiences that help even the best of us.These are children. They are not plants. We just don't walk up to them with a watering can, give them a little water, and expect a well-behaved, motivated individual to grow and develop in that chair. They are human. Their intellectual levels are different. They may come from broken homes. They may be hungry and have all the other influences on their lives. We can't forget that. Yet as I pass two other high schools on the way to work, everything on the outside appears orderly. Students file through the doors and get to their classes. I wonder if these schools have the same knuckleheads, drug dealers, troublemakers that my school does--and I know that they do. I want to take you to a year in my teaching past that was particularly unique. Mind you, a vast majority of the students followed the rules, got to class on time, did their homework, etc. Most teachers also did the right things.But from time to time, the wrong mix of students and the wrong mix of teachers have educators questioning their career choice. There are students that economically have more than others. Drugs from one group to another is increasing. Drinking is rampant, and some teachers need to brush up on their professionalism. Parents too have found the need for improvement.

-- Bob Walkotten