The one thing I would have to say that makes WJ as unique as it is is the teachers. I’m talking about those crazy-looking people who always try to talk to you all day. These people are the ones who try to make a difference in our lives, for better or for worse. It’s these people who fill up the majority of your educational career, and a good chunk of your life, 46 minutes at a time.
These teachers are about as similar to one another as a bear and a man running naked through gridlock-traffic who is thoroughly convinced he is a Jedi. From the guy who won’t respond to you when you shout his first name to him from across the hall (Yo Steve, what’s up?), to that teacher that you know parties hard, to the everyday normal newspaper advisor who is secretly a superhero, I think I’ve seen every kind of teacher there is in my last four years. There’s even this guy who used to teach here but got demoted to walk around the halls drinking coffee and smiling at people. You know, that guy who pops into class every once in a while just to see what’s up. He usually wears a spiffy-looking sports jacket.
What is that guy’s deal?
But for every time a teacher is sick or just wants to play golf they send in what is called a ‘substitute-teacher.’ Normally when a student hears that phrase their first instinct is to get as far away from class as possible and party, but some of the most crucial help and knowledge I’ve had have been from substitutes.
That one time my first period teacher’s alarm didn’t go off and my teacher didn’t show up, who arrived in time to pull me back through the window I was climbing out of face-first? A substitute. Who taught me how to catch wild trout with my bare (Bear) hands on the Mississippi? A substitute. Who taught me how to hustle pool and survive on the streets? A substitute. Who taught me how to hot-wire a car? I’m sure you can see a pattern developing.
Teachers can also tell you some of the best stories you’ve ever heard, I would share some here but I’m sworn to secrecy(One that most of you probably know involves one particularly violent monkey). Plus if I did that everyone would know that I steal them to tell at parties.
Every student can tell you about a teacher they’ve had who could not control their class. Personally, I’ve witnessed more mayhem in a classroom than most anyone has. I’ve seen classes that make The Lord of the Flies and Doubt look like a children’s movie starring Rosie O’Donnell. Classes that I came out of having to re-learn everything I knew going into it. You’d be surprised how sturdy the styrofoam ceiling tiles are with kids running around on top of them. And take it from me, do not try to run from security by running across the roofs of portables. It looks way too easy on TV.
Not many students probably realize it, but these teachers get taken for granted. Once you go to college and get stuck in a 200 person intro class taught by a Teacher’s Assistant who speaks bad English you’ll miss that wacky science teacher who never quite knew what’s going on. You’ll miss that teacher who took math just a little bit too seriously and almost threw a chair at you that one time. But of course when you try and come back to reconnect, your teacher will be dating a new, more attractive, more fun freshman class. And they will be happy together. It’s something we all have to live with.
