I am not going to spend much time writing about my teaching, except where it is relevant to The Global Rambler. Suffice to say, I was in the English Department at Grant High School teaching three courses that I developed: Writing, Language & Reality and History of Rock Music. I had many guests musicians, poets, artists and writers which the students enjoyed and the administration resented.
Maybe one event: I had invited a husband and wife folk duet to the History of Rock Music class. They arrived at the school riding their 3 wheeler (trike) motorcycle with a guitar strapped on the back and their baby between them. Remember, this is 1970 - male with long hair and beard, female with long hair and peasant dress, sandals on both of them. My classroom was in the middle of the school on the 2nd floor and the parking lot was on the side of the building, therefore the couple had to walk through the hallways to reach my room. My classroom desks were placed in a U shape with a rug in the middle where students could sit if they wanted. On this day, we had 45 students in class (my class = 27). I introduced the folk singers and they talked about the period music and sang several songs as illustrations.
Teachers were evaluated throughout the year by the Vice Principal who came into the classroom unannounced to observe and write a report. It was this class session, with 20 extra students, the duet singing and the wife nursing her baby, that the Vice Principal decided to evaluate. He opened the door quietly, came in, looked around at all the students, stared at the singing and nursing wife, turned extremely red faced and quickly exited the room. His report was added to the stack about interfering with the school's academic environment. (Note: I was moved to a classroom outside the main building the following year)
In the Fall, several students came to my classroom with a request. They would like to start an outdoor club and asked if I could be the supervisor. Of course, I could.
A small group of 6 students met in my classroom after school to make plans. We would gather once a week and learn backpacking and wilderness skills. Perhaps once a month, we would invite a speaker from a local outdoor store to speak with us about equipment. Within two month's time, we had about 15 students meeting and we decided to add some hiking and other outdoor activities. We named our club Big Foot, after the Sasquatch (I have a Big Foot silver ring on my left hand made by one of the students in shop class via lost-wax method and given to me as a gift). At one meeting, a fellow from Adam's High School asked to join us. Of course, he could. This fellow brought new skills to the group - rock and mountain climbing.
As our group activities evolved, the students would bring their backpacks to school on Friday morning and put them in my classroom. They would line the wall out of the way from teaching. After school, we would put our packs into my International Harvester Travelall 4 wheel drive and leave town for the weekend.
The Big Foot members were straight "A" students and students struggling to pass their classes. The common interest was learning wilderness skills and enjoying the outdoors. During the drives out on Friday and return on Sunday, the "A" students would assist those struggling with homework assignments. I realize that this sounds like a clip from a movie, but the students did work together on school assignments during the drives and, sometimes, at our campsites.
Where did we go and what did we do? Part II next week.
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The historical record of Bigfoot in the
Oregon country begins in 1904 with sightings of a hairy “wild man” by
settlers in the Sixes River area in the Coast Range; similar accounts by
miners and hunters followed in later decades. In 1924, miners on Mount St. Helens
claimed to have been attacked by giant “apes,” an incident widely
reported in the Oregon press. Local Native Americans used this event to
discuss publicly their own knowledge of tsiatko, hirsute “wild Indians”
of the woods, traditions first documented in 1865 by ethnographer George
Gibbs.
Maybe one event: I had invited a husband and wife folk duet to the History of Rock Music class. They arrived at the school riding their 3 wheeler (trike) motorcycle with a guitar strapped on the back and their baby between them. Remember, this is 1970 - male with long hair and beard, female with long hair and peasant dress, sandals on both of them. My classroom was in the middle of the school on the 2nd floor and the parking lot was on the side of the building, therefore the couple had to walk through the hallways to reach my room. My classroom desks were placed in a U shape with a rug in the middle where students could sit if they wanted. On this day, we had 45 students in class (my class = 27). I introduced the folk singers and they talked about the period music and sang several songs as illustrations.
Teachers were evaluated throughout the year by the Vice Principal who came into the classroom unannounced to observe and write a report. It was this class session, with 20 extra students, the duet singing and the wife nursing her baby, that the Vice Principal decided to evaluate. He opened the door quietly, came in, looked around at all the students, stared at the singing and nursing wife, turned extremely red faced and quickly exited the room. His report was added to the stack about interfering with the school's academic environment. (Note: I was moved to a classroom outside the main building the following year)
In the Fall, several students came to my classroom with a request. They would like to start an outdoor club and asked if I could be the supervisor. Of course, I could.
A small group of 6 students met in my classroom after school to make plans. We would gather once a week and learn backpacking and wilderness skills. Perhaps once a month, we would invite a speaker from a local outdoor store to speak with us about equipment. Within two month's time, we had about 15 students meeting and we decided to add some hiking and other outdoor activities. We named our club Big Foot, after the Sasquatch (I have a Big Foot silver ring on my left hand made by one of the students in shop class via lost-wax method and given to me as a gift). At one meeting, a fellow from Adam's High School asked to join us. Of course, he could. This fellow brought new skills to the group - rock and mountain climbing.
As our group activities evolved, the students would bring their backpacks to school on Friday morning and put them in my classroom. They would line the wall out of the way from teaching. After school, we would put our packs into my International Harvester Travelall 4 wheel drive and leave town for the weekend.
The Big Foot members were straight "A" students and students struggling to pass their classes. The common interest was learning wilderness skills and enjoying the outdoors. During the drives out on Friday and return on Sunday, the "A" students would assist those struggling with homework assignments. I realize that this sounds like a clip from a movie, but the students did work together on school assignments during the drives and, sometimes, at our campsites.
Where did we go and what did we do? Part II next week.
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| Ramona Falls -Mt. Hood Oregon (2017) |
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The Oregon Encyclopedia
