Teachers deserve respect and support

By Murray Montgomery
- Staff Writer

In my opinion, the teaching profession has got to be one of the most meaningful jobs there is.

I know in my life, schoolteachers made impressions on me that I carry to this day. Some of those impressions were bad, but most of them were good and left me with some wonderful memories.

When is the last time you picked up your high school annual and thumbed through the pages? I looked at mine (circa. 1961), and the memories of those bygone days came rushing back; the youthful faces were all there, just as I remembered them. I recall how we all had big plans for the future and how we would conquer the world.

And in those days, it was the teachers who made us believe we could make our dreams come true. They could be a good-hearted mentor when you were doing well and yet scare you to death if you did bad.

Back then if you violated the rules, punishment was swift. You see, in those days a teacher was actually permitted to spank a student. We called it getting "licks." The teacher or principal would administer the punishment at school and, more likely than not, the parents would dispense a little more when you got home. Guess what? It worked!

In my junior high school days, the man who was called upon to deliver the licks was Coach Scarborough. He was the assistant football coach and taught health science. Best I remember he was 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighed 290 pounds. His weapon of choice was a paddle that resembled a short-handled boat oar. It had holes drilled in it; I guess that made the instrument somewhat aerodynamic, but what I remember most was the horrible whistling sound it made as it was coming down on my bottom. That air-cooled boat oar was very effective.

I always prayed that my parents wouldn't find out that I got a spanking at school. Because if they did, I would get it again when I got home. Daddy's weapon was a board made of yellow pine. It was 2 feet long, 2 inches wide and 1 inch thick. It wasn't air-cooled.

Daddy always said I ought to kiss that board every chance I got. He figured that it was the only reason I obtained a high school diploma.

I can honestly say that during my youth, I never had a teacher who would rather give a spanking than a pat on the back. But you always knew that if you needed an attitude adjustment, you were going to get it.

And I guarantee you that if there was a bombing incident at school; it was because some kid set off a firecracker in the girl's restroom. As for guns on campus, every family I knew back then had a gun in the house. But the horrendous thought of bringing one to school and killing a classmate was out of the question. Kids, in those days, knew what would happen to them if they got caught anywhere near their daddy's gun without his permission.

As for policemen being called to the school, it didn't happen. There wasn't any problem that Coach Scarborough couldn't take care of. The only police we ever saw were lurking around the corner waiting for us to "burn rubber" out of the high school parking lot or "rack back" our loud exhaust pipes. Yep, there were laws against that too and they were enforced back then.

During my teenage years in the late 1950s and early 1960s, kids obeyed the rules (most of the time) and this allowed teachers to do their job. Teach and motivate.

My eighth-grade history teacher inspired my love for Texas History. Her name was Bess Brannen and I'll never forget her. Miss Brannen was the first person to tell me about Gonzales and its role in the Texas Revolution. She was a great lady. I don't know how much recognition she received for her efforts. I remember they named a school after her, but Miss Brannen wasn't in it for the glory. She just loved teaching and she took a personal interest in each of her students.

Teachers these days have their hands tied by rules and regulations. They don't have the authority that Coach Scarborough had. They can't discipline a student for fear of a lawsuit, or worse. This has got to be very frustrating for them.

I still believe the good kids far outnumber the bad - they need and deserve a good education. Our educators should be allowed to teach and discipline them.

A good teacher can guide, as well as, educate a student. It is likely, in some cases, that they will be the only ones to teach kids right from wrong. Our school teachers deserve all the respect and support we can give them.

They have a wonderful opportunity to mold and make good citizens of our greatest natural resource, our children.