Echoes from the Classroom

By James G. Devine

Frank Johnson is a teacher. Tonight he is celebrating his retirement among colleagues and friends. As a writer, he reflects about his experiences in the classroom with his students. Echoes from the Classroom is a book filled with adventure, imagination and humour from a teacher`s point of view.
This book includes more than 50 short stories that take you on a journey through one mans life. In part one, Frank tries to readjust to a new life outside the classroom while still clinging to past educational experiences. In part two, Frank reflects on his manuscript of stories and in part three, Frank deals with an assortment of related educational stories. Part four brings us full circle, back to Frank and our original story, but with a surprising conclusion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 4, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465376534

Book preview

Copyright © 2011 by James G. Devine.

ISBN:          Softcover                                 978-1-4653-7652-7

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4653-7653-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

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CONTENTS

Introduction

Part 1

A View From Within

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Part 2

The Manuscript

His Desk

The Kids In Portable 8

Through A Student’s Eyes

The Sacrifice

Process Writing

The Park

School Is Out

A Monster Nightmare

A Visit From Santa

No Tricks For Me

The Last Day Of School

Students That I Have Known

The Christmas Tree

From Within

The Mystery Of The Tidy Desk

Part 3

Chalk Dust Stories

I’m Betting On A New Year

Lunch Hour Reflections

A Teacher’s Environment

Bookworm

Doing Time In A Portable

In Praise Of Teachers

Do As I Do!

Educational Radio

Down Memory Lane

The Voice

The Educational Wall

This Is A Test!

Beyond The Classroom

Conferencing Students

Encouraging Thoughts

A Hamster’s Life

A Letter To Santa Claus

Christmas Lights

Co-Operative Learning

Journal Writing

Reflections Of A Librarian

My Guiding Light

Tricks More Than Treats

Part 4

The Retirement Dinner

INTRODUCTION

The writing foundation for me was laid in the early years of my life. Unknown at that time, the experience of watching TV on Saturday mornings in the early 50’s, reading an abundance of comic books and trying to solve mysteries with the Hardy Boys, were to be the seeds of my imaginative mind and my future desire to write.

My first experience with writing started in my late teens when I kept a daily journal. The local drug store handed out pocket size yearly calendars at the beginning of the New Year. There would be room for only a couple of words and in most cases there were a lot of blank spaces throughout the year. In truth, I only wrote down those events which were significant in some way. Now that I look back on them, I wish I had written more since some of the day’s events had become vague at this point in my life.

As the years progressed so did my journal writing. Simple words developed into formalized sentences and paragraphs and covered more of my day’s events throughout the calendar year.

As an elementary teacher I was approached by a colleague and asked to write an article for a teacher’s magazine. At that time I thought you had to know how to use big words in order to write something of value. My colleague replied with a definite no. He told me to write from the heart and the stories in this book are some of the results of following his advice.

Frank Johnson developed along the way as an example of one fictional teacher who I was interested in while teaching. He became my alter ego and the foundation of Part One in this book. I even entered the Provincial Young Author’s competition which teachers could participate in as well as students. The Last Day of School and Lunchtime Reflections are two examples of these stories and were included in this book.

It was part of the teaching curriculum to assign stories for students to write. These were then individually marked. It was optional for teachers to ask their students to share their work; something I chose to make a habit of doing. My own interest in writing challenged me to write about the same topic and therefore become an effective mentor for my students. When it came time to share their work, I also made sure that my story was heard when everyone else had finished sharing theirs. Why should they have all the work as well as the fun? I wanted to be included. I needed some feedback as well. This was an opportunity I missed in grade school and which now provided for me a second chance of becoming a student once again.

During my teaching career, I spent eight years in the school library reading stories to children of all grade levels. Reading stories by other authors fuelled my imaginative mind and allowed me to express my own thoughts.

Thoughts become ideas and sometimes when you grasp that idea it becomes the thread of a story which, if followed, becomes a creative image that lasts forever for the writer as well as the reader.

I tried writing a novel but a combination of factors like the required amount of words needed, the development of a sustainable character, plot, setting, etc. were monumental obstacles for me to overcome. So, I wrote short stories and learned how lengthen them and on occasion to include dialogue. This, for me, was more rewarding and as soon one story was finished I looked for the next inspiration to stir my interest.

This book is divided into four parts. Frank Johnson is on the eve of his retirement and reflects about his career as a teacher. His life is blended with mine as two story threads weave together to become one. Frank’s life as a teacher blends with stories created in my own classroom and those became as patches on a quilt. In part two, the manuscript that Frank mentions reflects upon the lives of children I taught and the experiences we shared together. These students were my catalyst that allowed fond memories to blossom and my ideas to flourish; at first in pencil and then on the computer. In part three, Frank deals with an assortment of related educational stories. Part four brings us full circle back to Frank and our original story but with a surprising conclusion.

I want to thank those children over the years that I had the pleasure to teach and who inspired me to write. They allowed me to dream and use my imagination and for that I will be forever thankful.

PART 1

A View from Within

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CHAPTER 1

Frank Johnson sat comfortably on the school auditorium stage clutching the award tightly in his hands. Dinner was over and now there would be a long list of speeches given as he thought about how precious this object was. His mind focused on his many years of writing and not on the words spoken by friends and colleagues standing before him.

The day had been a busy one. He had arrived early to have a cup of tea and reflect quietly in his room before school began. There was a sense of excitement when the bell rang. This would be the last time he would go out into the schoolyard to pick up his kids. Once the opening exercises were complete, his anxiety settled down and the normal process of events flowed smoothly throughout the morning.

He had lunch with some fellow colleagues at a nearby restaurant and they presented him with an assortment of writing accessories; paper, gel pens, pencils, erasers, etc. to keep his writing skills sharp and blank greeting cards for personal notes to friends. As one colleague stated on their way back to school, There’s no excuse now Frank. We want to hear more of those stories you wrote. Whenever you finish one, mail it to one of us and we’ll share it over lunch. You hear?

Frank was flattered and eagerly agreed to their request.

The afternoon session at school seemed to fly by. The final bell sounded and the kids rushed out as usual to see their friends and become involved in their own world. There were a few goodbyes, some smiles and a promise to come back and visit them.

Frank left as well because he had to go home, change into his suit, and be back by 5:00 p.m. for the festivities.

The auditorium looked lovely to Frank as he entered the double doors. The walls had a variety of artwork mixed with signs wishing him well in the future. A small stage had been set up at one end of the room with an old antique chair for the guest of honour—him. Chairs filled the remainder of the room; soon to be filled with staff, family and friends.

People would arrive and have time to mingle, the celebration would begin and words of praise given concerning this man, this teacher, Frank Johnson. Finally, he would receive his award and that is when Frank’s adventure into the past really began to unfold.

The atmosphere of the night brought back memories, not only of the gym classes held here and the games won and lost, but of the stories, he was inspired with while in this room for so many school functions.

Favourite stories flashed before his mind as he sat in the antique armchair. He closed his eyes in order to see more clearly the images he had written so long ago; published stories in the monthly magazine for teachers and stories that he shared each week with the students in class. A couple of stories written for a Young Authors competition brought a smile to his face.

Little did the audience know that the facial expressions given by Frank on stage were due to old memories and not a reaction to the words spoken by those presently standing up at the microphone.

One special story came to Frank as he sat there in his blue pin-stripped suit. It made him think of his early days as a teacher and began in the following way.

The weather was exceptional for early October. The days were delightful with an essence of Indian summer. The nights were getting noticeably longer and cooler.

Within one house, on a quiet suburban street there lived a middle-age man. Although his thinning grey hair showed his age, he was, however, in good physical shape. His name was Frank Johnson and he was an experienced elementary school teacher. He was verbally critical of the recent government cuts to various programs and was tired of the constant political game played by government bureaucrats.

It was a few minutes after six o’clock as he watched the news on the portable television in the living room. He was almost finished his micro waved leftovers when the woman reporter mentioned something about the latest school crisis. Frank paused for a moment and stopped eating. He set the plate aside and sat back in his chair.

Then the commercial appeared. It was long enough for him to get a quick cup of coffee and return to his comfortable chair. He just sat down when the female news reporter reappeared. It seemed that the Minister of Education had attempted to create a crisis within the school system and then was going to develop measures that would correct the problem.

Frank almost dropped the hot cup of coffee as he heard the shocking news. He knew things were difficult but this was serious. No one had ever thought that our present educational system was in a crisis. What did the minister really mean by his comments? His eyebrows twitched as he placed the back of his hand up towards his mouth and wiped his lips. His body tensed slightly and his mind raced through a list of possible answers. He discarded everything that came to his mind for one valid reason or another. He would just have to wait and hear more.

While he waited, he got up out of the chair and grabbed the daily newspaper that he had set aside before supper on the kitchen table. He scanned each section in the hopes of finding some clue to this crisis mentioned on the local news broadcast. At last, he found what he was looking for and returned to his chair. He took the TV remote and pushed the mute button.

After reading the article, Frank decided that these issues called for some action on behalf of teachers, students and parents. Someone had to speak up and be ready to act. A new, symbolic character was needed who would establish a cause for educational justice and who was non-violent. This was a job for a SUPER HERO.

Frank left the television on and proceeded down the hall of his house to a small bedroom. The room was an office and was equipped with a variety of books, school materials and a state-of-the-art PC computer. He turned on the light switch to the room and sat down in front of the multi-scan display screen of his computer. As he brought up the required program, the man realized the implications of his actions. Although, what he was about to do was not illegal, it was risky. His concern for change, however, was greater than his own personal reputation. He continued to sit in front of the screen and remained there for hours developing his new educational super hero.

Finally, as the rays of morning sunlight peeked through the window at the side of the room, his efforts were finished and he sat back in the chair filled with a combination of fatigue and excitement. He highlighted SAVE and then shut the computer off. He would continue with the printing the following day after he had some rest. He would also have to contact a publisher once he achieved a final product.

Stretching his arms, Frank stood up. As he walked towards the door of the room, he turned off the light and headed down the hall towards his own bedroom. There was still time for a couple hours of sleep before spending another day in front of a group of eager young children. A smile of satisfaction spread across his face as he prepared for bed.

He felt as if his head had just hit the pillow when the alarm went off next to his bed. Frank had great difficulty getting up and the quick cold shower helped somewhat. There was no time to eat as the doorbell rang and he rushed out to catch his morning ride. He grabbed a quick cup of coffee at work and was ready when the school bell finally rang.

He contacted his publisher and made an appointment after work. All Frank could do then was to wait over the next couple of days for an answer.

Mr. Johnson?

It was the school secretary on the P.A. system.

There is a phone message for you. You can send one of your students down for it if you wish!

Frank’s first reaction was to rush downstairs but he knew he could not do that with the class involved in their Art activity. He sent one of the students down to retrieve his message and patiently tried to contain his excitement. The child returned and handed him the pink slip of folded paper. Frank smiled at the boy and watched him return to his seat.

Opening the piece of paper, he found the name and phone number of the caller. It was from his publisher and everything was ready. Frank could hardly make it through the remainder of that day. As soon as the final bell rang, Fred raced out of the room and drove for about fifteen minutes to a small unit off the local highway. He wrote a cheque for the material, knowing that this would eat up most of his savings, and handed it to the secretary as she printed out his receipt. She then directed Frank to the shipping department.

He placed the boxes in the trunk of the car and shook hands with the publisher, who was there to see him off and thanking him for his attentive detail to the product. Perhaps he would call again if a second issue was required.

Frank did not really pay much attention to the television while he ate dinner that night. His mind was totally fixated on his super hero. Questions flew through his mind and he ate as if in a trance picking first one item and then another off the plate. The boxes sat open on the floor before him and one issue sat on the TV tray in front of him. What would he do now?

His eyes started to get heavy and he fought the urge to sleep. Finally, after a few moments, his eyes closed and within minutes, he remained on the chair sound asleep.

His mind drifted off and he was thrust into the reality of an adventure with his imaginary super hero. The super hero he created was real and Frank Johnson was a part of it.

R I N G!

The