The Letter Nobody Opened

It’s amazing that I taught for 30 years, but it was my first year that shouldn’t have happened!  Here’s why ……

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Transcript

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Welcome back to Hang On Keep Cool. I'm Mr. S, and today I'm going to tell you about how I actually got hired to teach when I probably really shouldn't have. It was March of the year, March in my senior year, and I heard about a job opening for a fifth grade science teacher. So I wrote a letter and asked if I could be considered. I'd like an interview. And I got a letter back inviting me to come down to meet the principal and the superintendent and then interview for the teaching position. So I went down there, I met the principal, and by the way, the principal happened to be the squeeze the Adams Apple principal. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, go back and listen to episode six, The Principal at the Pets and the Candy Bars. You'll get a kick out of that one too. But anyhow, I went down there, I had my interview with the principal, I met the superintendent, and all he was concerned about was when he asked if I was sure I would have my college degree by the end of the year. And I said, of course I would. So I went back and waited, and a couple weeks later I got a letter in the mail congratulating me on the job offer. They were pleased with the interview and said I should consider myself employed for the next school year. And so about a month after that, I suppose it was April, I received a contract for teaching in the mail, and they told me to sign one, keep one, and send one back. And they also had a letter in there saying they would also need a copy of my transcript and my uh paper that told that I successfully completed my student teaching. Well, I wrote a letter back to the superintendent with my contract, and I said that I will have my degree, and I'll have everything I need except my student teaching. I was married then in college, and I didn't want to go beyond another year just for student teaching. So I never heard back. That's the last thing I heard about it. So when um August came and it was time for the new teachers to show up, I went, we had our staff meetings, we got introduced, and everything went fine. And actually, that's all I ever heard about anything. And so the school year went by real smoothly as far as teaching goes, I had no problems, and toward the end of the year, uh the board approved teachers for the next year and everything. So I received a two-year contract, and so I signed it and turned it in. And just before the end of school, I got a letter or a note from the superintendent's secretary saying they misplaced a copy of my teeth uh student teaching certificate. Would I make another copy and send it over? Right then I go, uh-oh. So I went down, I talked to my principal, and I told him, I said, I don't have, I didn't take student teaching, I don't have a teaching certificate. He said, You what? And I said, I don't have a teaching certificate. I sent a letter to the superintendent explaining everything, and I never heard back from him. So I thought everything was okay. So he immediately said, We're gonna walk over and you gotta tell him this. So we did, and the superintendent was in the same building. We had our middle school and the high school, everything was connected. So we walked over to his uh office, he was there, and my principal and myself, I sat down in his office and he wanted to know what was on my mind. So I explained, I said, um, well, I wanted to come over and tell you that I said, as you know, I don't have a teaching certificate because I didn't take student teaching. And he went nuts. He said, You what? What are you talking about? You wouldn't have gotten hired. And I said, last April, when I sent in my contract, I also sent a letter explaining all of this. And I never heard back from you. And he said, You never sent me a letter. And I told him I did. Well, he called his secretary in there and she said, Go get his file. So she went, she brought my file in, and there was my letter in the file, still in the envelope, and the envelope had never been opened. So, in front of me and my principal, he opened that envelope, and there was the letter. And so he looked kind of funny. Uh, you know, I was kind of giggling inside, haha, you didn't even read that letter. Well, anyhow, back in those days, if you taught three years, you could have student teaching waived and get your certificate. So he communicated with the uh with the state board of education and told him I had successfully taught one year, and I just signed a two-year contract. So, could we count that as his three years of teaching? And luckily they agreed, and I got my teaching certificate, and I went on for 30 more years. So that's the story of how I became a teacher, and kind of in an unusual way, but if you keep keep hope up and everything, usually it will turn out. Now, today that probably wouldn't happen. They'd probably say tough luck. But back then it worked, and I had a real nice 30 years. So thanks for listening, and I'll talk to you again real soon. And until then, don't forget to hang on and keep cool.