Nominees for a teachers’ hall of shame
The University of Kentucky honors great teachers. But does it have a teachers’ hall of shame?
No. 1. Forget the learning here; this is life and death. Shop teacher, early 1970s. My apron string caught on the wooden leg I was lathing. Next thing I knew, my face was down near the leg and just lucky for me it was slipping. I finally was able to reach the off button.
I looked back at the teacher 20 feet away and he was red-faced from laughing. If that apron string had moved to the metal vice holding the leg, my neck would have snapped.
No. 2. Coaches let a dodgeball game get out of hand. It finally turned into a fight and finally a knife was drawn. One guy was cut, another had his eye knocked out of the socket before they did the right thing and broke it up.
No. 3. Let’s go back another decade now, fifth-grade elementary school, before the middle-school garbage began. Teachers were at the water fountain. There was clay in the fountain, teachers’ clothes got messed up.
All the boys received a paddling to make sure the culprit was caught. If he was a boy, that is. Maybe the girls did get paddled.
Yes, Kentucky teachers are great.
Floyd C. Shipley
Georgetown
This story was originally published February 18, 2016 at 7:21 PM with the headline "Nominees for a teachers’ hall of shame."