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After school, I got a lecture from the principal about vandalism. In the same month was the smoking-on-campus incident and the first of two times I was late to school. (I was, for some reason, concentrating more time on the job that was actually paying me!) Upon my second time late in November, I quit working the full-time gig at The Company Store... after my school pay had resumed and things money-wise looked like they'd soon be under control. With all these "egregious" violations working against me, what did the folks out in the community think? They couldn't get enough of me. Their kids came home with stories of actually liking math class. My lines at parent-teacher conferences were by far the longest, filled with folks who wanted to meet and talk with me. I even had parents from the year before stopping briefly to say hello and how their kids were doing in other classes. Even more amazing, I had three parents of kids I hadn't even had yet who were scheduled for second semester stop by to say how glad they were that they were going to have me be their teacher next term! It was unbelievable. Shortly after parent-teacher conferences, a copy of a letter found its way into my hands... one written by a parent to the principal. It had stated how professional I was and how much I cared for his son, Dan. Dan was having problems turning in homework in all his classes second term. I sent a letter home during the second week, and his scores in my class quickly improved. By midterms and conferences, mine was the only class in which he was getting decent homework scores. I was the only teacher who'd written home early enough in the term to catch the problem and make a difference. Another of my students, J.J., was spending time in my class as a staff assistant. I'd had him the year before in Geometry and Algebra II, and watched him grow from a slightly undisciplined student in first semester Geometry (also didn't do a lot of homework at first) to one of the finest minds I'd taught in Algebra II. I challenged him and never lowered my standards... he came out with flying colors. That December, he'd learned that I hadn't had any plans for Christmas Eve at all, and actually invited me to join his family dinner and party. I accepted and was welcomed into the home of his uncle. During that term, I was also invited to dine with the families of two other students on which I'd had an impact. I think it's fair to say that the community of Holmen was thankful for my being there and wanted me to stay quite some time. |