THE NAÏVE NOVICE

Shirt, shorts, shoes, “Windsor” knotted neck and belly butterflies: my “day of reckoning” had arrived.

I commenced my working life behind a desk. However, when offered a Teacher Scholarship, I tossed the T-square and headed to college. Two weeks as a draftsman convinced me I would never survive an office existence. Yes, smart move or not, today was my professional debut.

Despite its age, the school at Hay possessed an authentic character unlike the newer city institutions where I had trained. The facade revealed two storeys at the entrance. Inside, several classrooms surrounded an open assembly hall: an atypical arrangement that would prove to have more pros than cons.

The principal, bespectacled and in his fifties, wore a navy suit despite the debilitating heat. The pocket of his white shirt displayed a neat but obvious patch: his fountain pen, the likely culprit. He walked with a bouncing motion and had a peculiar nasal chuckle.

His wife, the secretary, vetted logistical and financial operations with the shrewdness of a politician who holds the balance of power. She resided in a room connected to her husband’s office. A stable-style door, the lower half securely locked, fronted her personal citadel. To me, she appeared formidable in glasses almost identical to those of her husband. I learned, in time, the issue of any stationery from her impregnable fortress, would be akin to squeezing a handful of sweets from the lolly jar.

My introduction to the halls of education could have been timed with an hour glass. The brief meeting, in the upstairs library, revealed half the sixteen staff members were beginner teachers. Following the distribution of timetables and class lists, a bell sounded—the classroom beckoned.

Before the sand had run out, I stood in front of my first students. My teaching career had begun.

On reflection, eight thousand days at the blackboard advanced like a commuter darting for the bus.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Lao Tzu (600-531BC) Chinese Philosopher

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