School Pranks (4 page)

Consolidation

     Maintaining five (5) separate high schools in Grande` was difficult.  Funds were low, programs threatened.  Operational cost must be reduced.  The shrewdest move to make was consolidation of the five high schools.  After several meetings on that matter an agreement was reached.  The largest of the five schools, Dromedary High, would accommodate the expected large number of students.  Representatives from each school carried out their duty as required.

     Preparation for consolidating the schools was painstaking.  Course assignment required unbiased thinking and action.  Will the teachers be satisfied?  Teachers might outnumber teaching positions.  For example:  Miss Forest was not assigned chorus, only history.  Adjustment was easy for her.  While at Patterson-Stanton High School she placed Chorus and history in mutual relationship in the classroom.  Students understood how the courses interrelated and enjoyed Miss Forest’s instructions.  Would all teachers work for unity?

     When Dromedary High was completed and classrooms assigned, teachers began moving in.  Miss Forest began packing boxes in preparation for the transfer to the new school.  Over the years she had collected quite a number of boxes of assignments students had submitted.  She took the choicest materials which was gathered from the three schools she had previously worked and packed them in three large boxes in preparation of her move.  After school one day she loaded the boxes of materials into her car to take them to Dromedary.  Mr. Grey, the headmaster, came to his car which was parked close by.  He asked if she was going to Dromedary High.  She said “yes.” Then he answered, “You don’t have to. I’m going.  I’ll carry those boxes for you.”  Miss Forest thanked Mr. Grey.  Wished him a safe trip.  Together she and Mr. Grey put the material in his car.  Miss Forest never saw the material again.  A check within the Social Studies Department and the headmaster’s office was negative.  Three boxes of Miss Forest’s choicest teaching materials disappeared.  What a loss!  That was the pattern of his help in dealing with Miss Forest.  The results of his helps’ were always unpleasant, detrimental.  That loss could not be recovered!

     Some co-workers thought Miss Forest would retire.  After all, they reasoned, she had already completed thirty-six (36) years in the classroom.  Many teachers were doing that.  The anticipated hassle of classroom discipline could not be tolerated if effective teaching was done, they reasoned.  But Miss Forest considered this move an adventure and welcomed the opportunity to apply some of the skills learned earlier in her career.

     Shortly after the 1989-90 term (consolidation) started, the discipline skills learned throughout her career were needed, plus others.  Class assignment included a class which was different.  It consisted of eighteen (18) football sized boys and five (5) girls.  The boys were boisterous, rowdy – noisy all the time.  After a while (several weeks) Miss Forest got the conduct of the class conducive to instruction.

     The following spring one of the young men made a confession.  “Miss Forest, we thought getting rid of an old teacher like you would be easy.  We gave ourselves two (2) weeks, at the most.  We thought we were tough,” he said.  Miss Forest answered with her usual smile, “you might be tough but I am tougher”.

     Relationships between Miss Forest and that unusual class grew friendlier, each regarding the other with respect.  Was this class established to force her retirement?  After all, she had requested a chorus class but was denied.

     Normality was rare at Dromedary High School.  Suspicion abounded. Mr. Grey was named an assistant headmaster.  Early in the first year of consolidation on a Friday after lunch Mr. Grey summoned Miss Forest to the headmaster’s office.  In attendance at the meeting were the headmaster and the chairman of the Social Studies Department.  Miss Forest had failed to submit a copy of her course syllabus (a brief statement of the main points to be covered in courses that were being taught.)  He scolded Miss Forest harshly for that negligence.  She admitted the oversight and apologized, taking full responsibility for the problem.  This was a new situation – the consolidation of five area high schools – brought much pressure to bear, from students and some administrators.  She just completely forgot.  But Mr. Grey knew Miss Forest very well.  He was fully aware of her punctuality record.  Her previous assignments had been submitted on time.  Her service to Mr. Grey when he was headmaster of Patterson-Stanton merited better treatment.  A friendly reminder was more appropriate.  On April 21, 1989 Mr. Grey evaluated Miss Forest’s teaching as
Superior
.  Had he forgotten?  Had Mr. Grey forgotten coming to Miss Forest’s classroom, in distress, asking her help with a discipline problem too difficult for him to handle, and how Miss Forest supported him with that problem, continued supporting him until consolidation came into effect?  Now, for this first class service he gives her a shabby payback.  So, why was Mr. Grey carrying on like that before persons who did not know her?  Was this fanfare used to send her superiors the wrong impression?  The “poor thing” worked as hard as he knew how! Phew! Obviously Mr. Grey was in charge of course syllabus.  He did all the talking; the others only sat and watched the show.  The purpose of this escapade was to demonstrate before the headmaster and the department chairman Miss Forest’s “unfitness.”  Furthermore, Mr. Grey said “A student had expressed dissatisfaction with her teaching to his mother.”  Miss Forest responded by stating the student referred to was rude from the beginning of the course and was keeping his class work at minimal.  After failure to influence others to participate in his unbecoming conduct a change was noticed and his class performance had improved remarkably.  After the ranting he, Mr. Grey, did an about-face.  Using superlatives, Mr. Grey praised Miss Forest’s work in the classroom while at Patterson-Stanton.  That was odd, indeed!  So within minutes, her career soared from the lowest of the low to among the highest of the high (superior).  The due date for course syllabus was extended until the following Monday (the next school day).

     Within a week, Miss Forest received a letter from the headmaster.  He had scheduled a parent conference, citing unsatisfactory work.  The student in question was reserved and scholarly and with exemplary character.  He came to class early – most times the first to arrive.  One day in “small talk” before class, Miss Forest mentioned the conference scheduled with his mother.  His reply was; “Miss Forest, mama didn’t ask for a conference with you.  They called her and asked her to make a complaint against you.”  Miss Forest was startled!  Had the first young man complained to his mother about her teaching or was he told to do so by administrators?  How many parents were contacted and asked to lie about teachers?  Another cause of the education problem in Grande`.

     This is but a few of the gruesome acts carried out on the administration level headed by Mr. Grey, who is still employed by the board of education.

Mr. Allen Reece

Administrator

     When Mr. Reece became headmaster of Dromedary High School, students were well disciplined.  Students assigned to Miss Forest’s classes had thoroughly investigated her teaching style and couldn’t conceal the results of their labor.  They questioned Miss Forest concerning course requirements for history and seemed satisfied with the response.  She was pleased with and approved of the getting acquainted-with-teacher’s effort of these inquisitive students.  Undoubtedly Mr. Reece respected her professionalism; one of his daughters was enrolled in her history class.  Several educators’ children were enrolled in Miss Forest’s classes and nobody complained of her teaching method.

     Then without warning, this friendly spirit stopped.  Unexpectedly, Mr. Reece’s theme seemed to be “the children’s interest comes first.”  Everybody was aware of and agreed with this thought.  But many times his action instigated discipline problems.  He would use his authority as headmaster to demand the teacher to do whatever a student desired.  One such incident is presently recalled: a college preparatory student entered Miss Forest’s classroom during instruction and asked to see his test paper.  The test was taken earlier that day.  He was told to come back after class.  He expressed his displeasure and exited the room.  A few minutes later, Mr. Reece, through the intercommunication system threateningly ordered Miss Forest to let the student see his test paper.  Later the student returned and the teacher showed him the test.  After school the student spoke with Miss Forest as she was leaving the building.  He apologized to her for his and Mr. Reece’s actions and attitude.  He said, “Mr. Reece carried on terribly in his office, and if he (student) had known things would happen as they did, he would not have gone to Mr. Reece in the first place.”

     But why did Mr. Reece react in such a negative manner against a female teacher in the presence of a teenage male student?  This student had foster parents.  He (Mr. Reece) encouraged class disruption and disrespect of a teacher.  This student had falsely gotten permission to leave his assigned class to come to Miss Forest’s class. Since the student in question had falsely gotten permission to leave his assigned class to come to Miss Forest’s class, that student got away with lying.  The class under Miss Forest’s instruction lost valuable time also.  By going along with this scheme, Mr. Reece assured the student, who was aware of his fault that he (Mr. Reece) was in authority.  He further demonstrated that the student could get what he wanted and the teacher could not prevent it from happening.    These students were encouraged to “order” their teachers at will because the headmaster supported
them
, (students) regardless.  By the way, that student did not pass the test.  He (student) knew that already.  Well, he should have known and he could have passed.  This was a means of harassing the teacher, with the assistance of the headmaster.

     Truth telling is not a virtue of Mr. Reece.  This was brazenly brought to Miss Forest’s attention by this unflinching boldness of bringing whatever farfetched statement he chose to make into fact.  The following is one of the most astounding!  During the spring of his last year as headmaster of Dromedary High School, a regular faculty meeting was held in the library.  Visibility in that room is great; the upper half of the walls on three (3) sides is glass.  Miss Forest entered the room several minutes before meeting time.  Mr. Reece immediately came over and asked “when are you going to retire?”  She answered, “I hadn’t thought about it.”  He became angry and said “But you promised me that you were going to retire at the end of this year.”  Mr. Reece had never discussed retirement with Miss Forest.  The conversation continued; many unpleasant remarks were spoken to Miss Forest.  Mr. Reece continued to look in a certain direction.  He seemed in communication with somebody.  Miss Forest looked in that direction and saw Ms. Green and Mr. Grey in the hall watching of Mr. Reece and Miss Forest.  Both persons had used tactics for making Miss Forest’s work uncomfortable in the past.  It was clear what Mr. Reece was doing.  The three of them had conferred earlier on means of dismissing Miss Forest from the Dromedary High School system.  So, Mr. Reece was putting on a grand performance for two of Miss Forest’s bitterest adversaries.  What a performance!  Mr. Reece carried on with anything he thought was insulting.  He said to Miss Forest, “I don’t’ see why you don’t stop teaching.  Nobody don’t want you anyhow.”  Her reply was, “has it occurred to you nobody might not want you either?’  He jerked as though he had been shocked.  To Miss Foster that reaction was funny.  It seems that thought had never occurred to Mr. Reece.  At that moment the area supervisor of education entered and joined Mr. Reece and Miss Forest.  The conversation suddenly changed to regular school small-talk.  Evidently the supervisor was unaware of this vicious plot.

     Mr. Reece and the two administrators had setup an observation post to determine Miss Foster’s reaction to his persistent retirement questions.  Clearly, plans were in operation to retire Miss Forest – whether voluntarily or by force!

Teacher Evaluation

     The teacher evaluation process is painstaking.  It required professionalism as well as integrity.  On the contrary, the panel of educators assigned the task of evaluating Miss Forest lacked both of these obvious qualities highly admired by governments which promote freedom.  Instead, members of this panel were made up of area administrators, seemingly self-appointed. Conspired?  The only qualification(s) needed was a strong dislike of Miss Forest in the classroom and a willingness to deliberately make false statements against her professionalism.  Both of these qualities were boldly exhibited.  No effort was made to conceal their attitude concerning Miss Forest.  The panel was staunchly against every act Miss Forest was committed to inside and outside the classroom.  The panel desperately wanted her to retire.  Retirement would avoid the possibility of expressing their deceitful (lie) practices.  Each time she was approached concerning retirement the answer was the same “I am not ready yet.”  She considered teaching to be a gift.  In return, this profession was rewarding, challenging, and was used as an intellectual exerciser.

     But their decision was
retire
.  In a meeting with an assistant to the area supervisor and the headmaster of Dromedary High School,               Mr. Stone Murphy, Miss Forest was told the benefits of retiring.  They agitated, looking at each other, grinning.  In other words, clowning.  Miss Forest reiterated,

“I am not ready to retire, yet,”

She enjoyed her position.  There was very little strain in her classroom.  Didn’t the administrators know that?  What was their problem in desiring her retirement?  Her classroom evaluations are ranked among the highest.  That was puzzling.  Then all stops were pulled!  She was going – regardless.  In carrying out this resolve, a rotten, irrational, and horrendous side of them was exposed.  She would be removed from that teaching position through the use of fabrications, exaggerations and impractical assignments.

     The following pages offer a sharper view into these administrators’ audacious pranks.