Teaching School

After graduating from college, I taught physical education for two years.  Looking back, one of the best things about teaching was wearing shorts or slacks at work.  I did not care for teaching.  A couple times, I had a nightmare dream about teaching.  In the dream, my class and I were in the gym.  The girls were shooting baskets, which they usually did before class started.  I told the students to line up so I could take roll, but they ignored me.  They just kept shooting those baskets.  It is a shame that I spent four years getting a teaching degree and spent only two years teaching.  But I have a degree, which cannot be taken away from me.  That means a lot to me.

Like my practice teaching, I taught middle school girls.  As a whole, that age group was good to teach because they were old enough to care about their appearance but not so old that they didn’t want to participate because they would mess up their hair or clothes.

I taught subjects such as basketball, softball, volleyball, tumbling, balance beam, archery, health, and personal hygiene.  I also had two periods of study hall, which I didn’t care for.  Also, I was the cheerleader sponsor.

My first year (August 26, 1968, to May 30, 1969), I was paid $4,500.  My second year, I was paid $5,150.  If I had stayed the third year, I would have been paid $5,200.  My first monthly paycheck was $450 with the following deductions:  $22.50 for teacher’s retirement, $19.90 for social security, $68.30 for federal taxes, and $4.43 for state taxes.  So the net amount that I received was $334.97.  When I saw my check, I sat down and cried.  It seemed so little.  (In January 1969, social security went up to $21.60, so I netted $333.17.)

Below are two school photos.  The one on the left was taken in November 1968 and the other in November 1969.  I still wore glasses in these photos, but I wouldn't have them for much longer.