That's the bell! You heard it!
All the other teachers are letting them out!
But we must finish the
When the bell rings, we're supposed to go!
Where do we go, assembly?
Please sit down. I'd like toWe haven'tWell. It looks as if you and I are the only ones left. Your name is?
Alice Blake, Miss Barrett. I just wanted you to know how much I enjoyed your lesson.
Thank you, but it wasn't really aYes, young lady?
I'm from the office. She says to announce this to your class right away.
PLEASE DISREGARD THE BELLS. STUDENTS ARE TO REMAIN IN THEIR HOMEROOMS UNTIL THE WARNING BELL RINGS.
I'm afraid they've all gone.
I've got to go too, Miss Barrett. I wish I had you for English, but my program says Mr. Barringer.
I'm sure he's a fine teacher, Alice, and that you'll do well with him.
You Barrett?
What's that, young man?
Late pass.
That's no way to hand it to me. Throwing it like that on my desk
My aim is bad.
There's no need for insolence. Please take that toothpick out of your mouth when you talk to me. And take your hands out of your pockets.
Which first?
What's your name?
You gonna report me?
What's your name?
You gonna give me a zero?
I'm afraid I've had just aboutWhat's your name?
Joe.
Joe what?
Ferone. You gonna send a letter home? Take away my lollipop? Lecture me? Spank me?
All I asked
Yeah. All you asked.
I don't allow anyone to talk to me like that.
So you're luckyyou're a teacher!
2. Let It Be a Challenge
INTRASCHOOL COMMUNICATION
FROM: Mrs. Beatrice Schachter, Room 508
TO: Miss Sylvia Barrett, Room 304
Dear Syl
Welcome to the fold! I hope it goes well with you on this, your first day. If you need help, just holler; I'm in 508.
What's your program? Can we synchronize our lunch periods?
Fondly,
Bea
INTRASCHOOL COMMUNICATION
FROM: Miss Sylvia Barrett, Room 304
TO: Mrs. Beatrice Schachter, Room 508
Dear Bea
Help!
I'm buried beneath an avalanche of papers, I don't understand the language of the country, and what do I do about a kid who calls me "Hi, teach!"?
Syl
INTRASCHOOL COMMUNICATION
FROM: Room 508
TO: Room 304
Nothing. Maybe he calls you Hi, teach! because he likes you. Why not answer Hi, pupe?
The clerical work is par for the course. "Keep on file in numerical order" means throw in waste-basket. You'll soon learn the language. "Let it be a challenge to you" means you're stuck with it; "interpersonal relationships" is a fight between kids; "ancillary civic agencies for supportive discipline" means call the cops; "Language Arts Dept." is the English office; "literature based on child's reading level and experiential background" means that's all they've got in the Book Room; "non-academic-minded" is a delinquent; and "It has come to my attention" means you're in trouble.
Did you get anything done in homeroom today?
Bea
INTRASCHOOL COMMUNICATION
FROM: 304
TO: 508
Dear Bea
I checked off 2 1/2 items from some 20 on the list of things to be done.
A boy fell off his chair.
Nothing in my courses on Anglo-Saxon literature, or in Pedagogy, or in my Master's thesis on Chaucer had prepared me for this. I had planned to establish rapport, a climate of warmth and mutual respect. I would begin, I thought, with First Impressions: importance of appearance, manners, speech, on which I'd build an eloquent case for good diction, correct usage, fluent self-expression. From there it would be just a step to the limitless realms of creativity.
That's what I thought.
What happened was that I didn't get beyond the B's in taking attendance. And I forgot to have them salute the flag, and I have an uneasy feeling that it's illegal.
Syl
INTRASCHOOL COMMUNICATION
FROM: 508
TO: 304
You're in the clear. On assembly days they salute in the auditorium. What's illegal now is the Bible reading.
Bea
INTRASCHOOL COMMUNICATION
FROM: 304
TO: 508
Dear Bea
What does the SS stand for in Eng. SS? Secret Service? Social Security? Sesame Seeds? Super-Slows?
Syl
INTRASCHOOL COMMUNICATION
FROM: 508
TO: 304
You're warm: special slow classes. The new teachers are stuck with the toughest assignments. Don't despairby the time you get to be my age, you'll earn the choicest seniors.
I see by your program you're a "floater"that means you travel from room to room. Insist on a desk drawer of your own in each room where you teach; if not, get a strong-armed boy to lug your things.
You have Hall Patrolthat's a cinch now that we have Aides to help with the non-teaching assignments. It means walking up and down the corridors and stopping kids without passes. It's a higher-class job than Cafeteria Duty, but carries less prestige than the Book Room or Staircase Patrol. All of us have one such "building assignment" a day, besides five teaching classes, a homeroom, and one "unassigned" (don't ever dare to call it "free") period. Those who play their cards right are relieved of homeroom, or even a teaching class, by becoming Lateness Coordinators or Program Integrators or Vocational Counselors or some such thing. We also have a lunch period. Yours, I see, is at the end of the third period, which means we can eat together on Wednesdays. Your gastric juices must start to flow at 10:17 A.M. It's a challenge.
Bea
3. From Miss Barretts Letterbox
(CHECK OFF EACH ITEM BEFORE LEAVING BUILDING TODAY)
_ MAKE OUT DELANEY CARDS AND SEATING PLAN
_ TAKE ATTENDANCE
_ FILL OUT ATTENDANCE SHEETS
_ SEND OUT ABSENTEE CARDS
_ MAKE OUT TRANSCRIPTS FOR TRANSFERS
_ MAKE OUT 3 SETS OF STUDENTS' PROGRAM CARDS (YELLOW) FROM MASTER PROGRAM CARD (BLUE), ALPHABETIZE AND SEND TO 201
_ MAKE OUT 5 COPIES OF TEACHER'S PROGRAM CARD (WHITE) AND SEND TO 211
_ SIGN TRANSPORTATION CARDS
_ REQUISITION SUPPLIES
_ ASSIGN LOCKERS AND SEND NAMES AND NUMBERS TO 201
_ FILL OUT AGE-LEVEL REPORTS
_ ANNOUNCE AND POST ASSEMBLY SCHEDULE AND ASSIGN ROWS IN AUDITORIUM
_ ANNOUNCE AND POST FIRE, SHELTER AND DISPERSAL DRILLS REGULATIONS
_ CHECK LAST TERM BOOK AND DENTAL BLACKLISTS
_ CHECK LIBRARY BLACKLIST
_ FILL OUT CONDITION OF ROOM REPORT
_ ELECT CLASS OFFICERS