Teaching Elementary, My Dear Watson

14 - League Ends

14

League Ends

Monday, October 24

It was the last year Veteran's Day would be on the fourth Monday of October. In 1975, President Ford signed a bill moving it back again to November 11. Kevin should have been with Monica, finishing a magical three-day weekend. Instead, he spent most of it at Valle Grande, catching up. At least on a holiday, he could show up in tennis shorts and a Jimmy Hendrix t-shirt. No kids, so he and a few birds sang in the warmth.

He found the school office open. Some workers were re-painting the lounge. Instead of meeting with Mr. Smith on Tuesday to debrief, he saw the envelope in his mailbox, a copy of his evaluation from the principal's observation last Friday. He saw that neither the distinguished nor the proficient level was checked. The mark was next to "needs improvement", a below-average score.

About a D on a report card. It says I was disorganized as if I had no detailed plan. True. His long meeting ensured a lack of prep time. But what about the progress with reading groups? It says I had poor management, citing the vomiting incident with Brendan. Okay, it happened, but what about the good student behavior otherwise? It mentions my home visits, and commends my extra effort, but makes it clear that they are outside of school hours, and this evaluation is only on work within the classroom. Coaching got me the job but won't keep it for me if I don't improve in his eyes. This sucks.

Dejected, Kevin walked back to his class. He got a few things in order and felt prepared for the whole week. Work helped take his mind off his principal and Monica. When done, he headed home.

*****

Monica didn't answer the phone when he called.

She's probably getting extra sleep. Good.

It was around four, so there was time for a run before dinner. That night he opened up a book to read. Johnny's coach at UCLA had written an autobiography entitled "They Call Me Coach".

He won ten national titles in twelve years. Coach Wooden is someone I can learn from.

Kevin enjoyed it, especially the parts about imparting values. College athletes, just like younger kids, needed character-building. He read till he fell asleep.

Tuesday, October 25

A beautiful day with mild, sunny weather. Same kids, same subjects, same job for Kevin.

I like the unpredictability of working with humans up to a point. I prefer spontaneous humor to improvised misbehaviors. But I am happier when we finish what we start, and when we progress on our goals together.

Kevin watched as the boys lost their game, played today since yesterday was a holiday. The girls won, as expected, having only the assistant coach with them. Kevin heard they looked solid and seemed to cooperate.

*****

Back at the apartment, Kevin tried calling Monica early, again with no answer.

Hope she's okay, and not in bed still sick.

He left and played basketball with Miguel. It felt good to focus on the basketball game, work up a sweat, and be totally in the moment while running fast breaks or hustling back on defense. After a shower, they had a bite to eat at the Boar's Head. Candy was not working, so Miguel told Kevin a little about one other woman he had met. "She is a nurse in the Intensive Care Unit. Perfect, no? Kevin, I think I deserve a lot of deep caring. Yes, intensive care from at least one woman."