When I responded to this prompt roughly one year ago at this time, I talked about my first day as a father. Today, I’m going to talk about my first day as a teacher.
it was 20 years ago this past winter when I got a job in a Catholic school on the east side of Detroit. In fact, at the time it was one of the very few remaining Catholic schools on the east side of the city. Today the school no longer exists; However, the church from which it was based is still standing across the street.
X1 had gotten a job at the school earlier in the fall; So I had some in-roads getting in there. It was a small school, less than 200 students, and I was teaching across the hall from X1. Words to the wise: don’t work with your spouse, at least not directly in the same building with them. It was nice having someone to carpool with, but when you worked together, went home together, ate dinner together, spent time together in the evening, you really had nothing else to talk about. You may hear some people talk about this idea with the expression. “don’t eat where you shit“ I agree with the sentiment.
The previous Thanksgiving break at the school, a sophomore boy, and the star of the school’s basketball team suffered a heart attack and dropped dead court-side at a pick-up game over the holiday weekend. Being such a small community, the students and staff were absolutely devastated.
To complicate matters further, I was the fourth teacher they had for the school year. I expected the kids to “have their guard up” with me. understandably, they had no confidence that I was going to remain at the school. But I finished the school year, as I told them I would. I just wanted to provide some sense of stability for the students as they were trying to finish up the school year.
I didn’t go into this job with any false pretenses or any of those delusions at first year teachers normally have. I didn’t go in thinking “I’m going to inspire my students! I’m going to unlock their potential!“ Because of the lost they suffered earlier in the year, I was just trying to Weather the proverbial ship. I was trying to get the kids through the remainder of the school year. And if they happen to learn a thing or two along the way, that was just gravy. I taught 10th and 12th grade English, to the best of my ability that year. In addition, X1 and I served as staff advisors, as the students  created their first yearbook in several years. 
Although X1 and I were offered positions at the school again for the following school year, at that point, we accepted teaching positions in South Carolina. X1 and I had made the big move in early August 2004. the Catholic school, which had given both of us our first full-time teaching job, only remain open for one more school year. The building itself was demolished in 2012 
Thanks for stopping by Rebuilding Rob. Be sure to like, comment and subscribe to my blog below. It’s greatly appreciated! Also, feel free to follow me on social media as well! Check out my most recent posts as well as some earlier, related posts:
- Of Training Wheels and Christmas Lights
- Charity Starts at Home (And I’m Back in My Childhood One)
- The Muscle of Empathy
- Where Do We Go From Here? Five Years Since January 6.
- Bugs, Boundaries, and the Art of Not Being Invisible
The article “Educating Rob” first appeared on Rebuilding Rob
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