Shortly after my recent retirement from the U.S. government, my wife demanded, er, I mean suggested, that I become a substitute teacher. After all, ten years earlier I returned to school for a Masters of Education degree from the University of Virginia’s Curry School.
My degree is in Social Foundations of Education, which has very little to do with the actual art of teaching. It investigates and explains how societal education evolved and its place in the grand scheme of our lives. Therefore, when it came to instructional methods, curriculum development, or appreciation and understanding of the education industry’s unique specialized vocabulary (manipulatives, and other fancy words and phrases), I was lost.
All I knew was that I loved learning, recognized the need and joy for being a life-long learner, and wanted to contribute in any way I could to educate the masses, so to speak.
Education is big business. Bigger than I ever could imagine. As a substitute teacher for Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools and one private Pre-K through Grade 8 institution, it became apparent that the need is great to fill-in for full-time teachers, who, like anyone else, find themselves missing work due to illness, family matters, etc.
Being excited about my new life as a sub, I blithely offered to be available for any grade, from Pre-Kindergarten through High School seniors. For whatever reason, I found myself most often with the little ones, usually primary grade students (Pre-K through Grade 3).
One thing became obvious very quickly. Second grade teachers are saints. I was working with second-graders most frequently, or so it seemed. Maybe they just made the biggest impression on me. In any case, I learned that special skills are needed to be effective elementary school teachers. Skills that I don’t seem to possess: patience, mothering, cutting, gluing, singing, etc.
What has most impressed me in this first year (and maybe my last!) of my new career is how effective – and necessary – is the socialization process. Robert Fulghum’s All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten is right on the mark. Behaviors taught in early years, and tirelessly reinforced by these sainted teachers, preserve the sanctity of our society and civil interactions that are so critical to our collective well being.
Is that an exaggeration? I don’t think so. Everything that emanates from those early curricula is critical in life, work, and at home. Listen. Be nice. Don’t talk when others are speaking. Say please and thank you. Don’t hit people. Take turns. Do your job well (like line leader, door holder, or whatever it is) and take pride in it. These matters are foundational, and are what we expect from our friends, family, business associates, and even strangers on the street.
Yes, 2nd grade teachers are saints. But they are not alone. All elementary school teachers now hold a very special place in my heart. I am amazed by their patience. By that I mean especially their ability to repeat the same instructions over and over again, as long as it takes, so students will not only learn their appointed studies but also get with the program – the program of life and living.
That’s saintly stuff. Thank God for elementary school teachers.
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Fred W. Apelquist, III, M. Ed.
Approximately 540 words
© 2006