I Love Corey : Chapter Five

Mr. Franklin told me how he worked with him and got him to try harder and how he had turned into an A student. He had graduated and was going to the community college. Last night he had been walking home and there had been a gang shooting. He was hit by a stray bullet and killed. I can still hear Mr. Franklin say “I had him saved. He was going to amount to something and now he’s gone.” I couldn’t say anything. It was like the universe had opened and given me a glimpse of how it worked. I suddenly understood what my parents were talking about when they were discussing the school and students. I was in a daze the rest of the day. By the time I went home that night, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to be like my folks and Mr. Franklin. I’ve never changed my mind. I may not succeed but I want a chance to try.” I paused and nobody said anything. I finished up. “You asked me to wait outside while you discussed me and I left.”

Jerry finally spoke. “I guess the rest of the story is mine. In all the years of interviewing prospective teachers we had never had one lecture us on what a teachers job was. I thought the board needed a little time to calm down and so did you. You looked like you were ready to whip everybody in the room. As soon as the door closed Norm told us as far as he was concerned we didn’t have to interview any more candidates. His mind was made up. He wanted you. The rest of the board just gasped. One of them asked him why. He said you had fire in your belly and passion for the job. He told me if I could control you a little bit with out pulling the reins too hard we would have a winner. They all wanted to talk at once. When we finally got order restored, he explained that you were the first one he had ever heard clearly define what a school should try to do. We had a fine group to interview that year. Most had five or more years experience and the first part of the interview had turned us off. You were just saying what you thought we wanted to hear and we could tell it. Norm just kept pointing out that we could hire a math teacher or a real teacher. The board swung his way.” He paused as if not quite sure how he wanted to continue. “I’ll admit I wasn’t convinced. I wasn’t sure I could control you. Norm told me if I couldn’t reason with you and control you maybe I didn’t deserve my job. The normal procedure is to send a letter to the one selected asking them to come back and discuss the final contract. Norm said as mad as you were we had better get you right away because if you had more time to think about it you would tell us to go to hell. They voted and we called you back in. You came back in still looking like you could whip the whole world. I’ve never seen a more stunned look on a face when we asked you when you could start. I was on pins and needles your first term. Every time I switched the intercom on you never seemed to be teaching math. You were arguing with the students and you seemed to have no discipline. While the students all seemed to like you, I was worried about the mid term exams. When the scores from the state came back and they were up, I finally started to relax a little. I guess that about covers it.”

Nobody seemed to want to talk much after that. They all just sat there with a far off look on their faces. Finally people started leaving. I looked at my watch and sent Corey home. He and Mike had been at the computer. The kids looked puzzled by the way the adults were acting. They seemed to know something had happened but didn’t know what it was or what to make of it. When all had left except Vern and Nancy we started picking stuff up and washing the dishes. When they left Nancy gave me a big hug. She had never done that before. I kept wondering what Jerry had on his mind and why he had asked me to tell about the interview. I realized it had been a set up deal but couldn’t figure out why.

The next morning Corey got there a few minutes earlier then usual. I didn’t even have breakfast started. He asked if he could check his bids. So he booted up and checked them out. He had won one. I went over and showed him how to use PayPal and went back to fixing breakfast. When he came in to eat he was bubbling over with happiness. Judging by what I had seen him wear he didn’t have much so guess it was a pretty big deal to him. We ate and I gathered up my stuff and headed for school.

When I got there I was surprised. There were more cars there then I had ever seen before. Some I didn’t recognize. I normally am one of the first ones there. Wondering if I had missed something I hurried into the lounge. Almost all the teachers and most of the school board were there. 

I started to apologize that I must have missed the meeting notice when Jerry stopped me. “You weren’t invited to this part. You’re right on time.” 
Now I was really puzzled. What was going on?
Jerry started off. 
“You’ve been harping away on how we need a counselor program and how it could help the students. We couldn’t get it set up in time for last years budget sessions. The board and I have decided to run a trial version of it and if it’s successful we’ll get the money for it somehow next year. We’d like you to be the counselor.”
“That’s great. What did you expect?”

They started in telling me what they expected of me with Mr. Downie doing most of the talking. I could see Jerry was a little uncomfortable. When they finally finished I thought for a few seconds.
“I’ll have to decline.”
You’d have thought I slapped them in the face. When they calmed down enough to listen I explained.

“First, in order for it to be successful, you have set the rules wrong. You have to convince the students that they can talk to the counselor about anything and it will never be repeated to anyone else without their permission. By that statement I mean you can never reveal what they tell or ask you to anyone including the police, their parents, their other teachers, or any other person under any circumstances. Otherwise they won’t tell you any thing. You can try to talk them in to letting you but if they say no, that’s it. End of matter. Secondly, you also need a female counselor. There are a lot of things I can think of that a young lady would not dream of talking to me about. The students have to know and like the counselors and trust them to abide by the rules. They have to feel free to talk about anything and that includes their possible use of drugs, their sex life, anything, and know that you will not tell. That you will try to help them with their problems and will not condemn them for their problems. That no matter what they tell you it will not affect how you treat them or their grades. Under the program as you have explained it I would be expected to take matters to the police, their parents and their other teachers. Under those rules they won’t tell me anything and it would be nothing more then an academic review. We already have that.”

That set off an uproar. They couldn’t believe what I had just told them. I could see Jerry and a couple of the other teachers grinning. Apparently they hadn’t been too fond of the rules and understood what I thought the program should be. 

They tried to argue with me but I wouldn’t back down. I told them I wouldn’t be part of a program doomed to fail and under their rules it would fail. I really wanted it so I made another attempt. 

“Think back to when you were young. Didn’t you have some questions that you wanted answers to but didn’t feel you could ask your parents? Try to remember what it was like to wonder and have no one to talk to about it. This is what I want the program to be for. Of course there will be things we don’t have answers for but if were honest, the students will understand. They may be young but they are not dumb. My hope for it is that we might stop things like suicide and unwanted pregnancies along with helping them become better people. It can only succeed if we are totally honest and keep their secrets.”
I could see I had gotten through to some of them. They started arguing amongst themselves. When called upon I defended my side but mostly just listened. 
In a surprising short time they came around to my way of thinking. There were a couple of holdouts but they were so outnumbered that it didn’t matter. Now we needed a female counselor. When Julia Hunt volunteered I knew she was the perfect choice. She was two years older then I and so attractive that most of the high school boys and some of our students wanted her to teach them something that didn’t have anything to do with academics and the girls all wanted to be like her. If I had been into chicks I would have joined them. 

We spent some time discussing how and when we could work it in. It got both Julia and I off the lunch detail as we could eat and counsel and they finally decided that the two of us should set up the program and make up brochures to tell the students about it. The board left and we finished the rest of the morning stuff. I turned in the slips with Mrs. Babcock’s signature and got ready for class. 

Things were going along about like normal, chaos in my classroom as usual, when in third period I got called to the office. When I got there Jerry handed me the phone. It was Corey’s mother, Mrs. Babcock. She explained that she needed to be out of town overnight and would it be possible for Corey to stay with me. She explained that she didn’t know many people as she was new in town and that was why she asked me. I told her that I didn’t know the school policy but would ask if she would hold for a few seconds. When I asked Jerry, he got a surprised look on his face and said it had never come up before. He asked me how I felt about it and I told him. (He knew my house and that there was plenty of room.) I said I had no objections and since I was feeding him it wouldn’t be much of a problem. He said that it would be discussed at the next school board meeting but for now to go ahead. I told Mrs. Babcock that I would do it and she thanked me.