Deja Vu

                                                                    "I`m back in the saddle again."

                                                                                            -Gene Autrey

I am newly re-retired. Although I said I would never substitute teach at my old school, I just finished up a two-month stint there, teaching band and choir. Though a lot had changed, a lot was still the same. That is both good and bad. It is like the educational equivalent of Schrodinger’s Cat.

It all started in November of 2017 when I received an email from the young lady who replaced me when I retired three years ago. She explained that she was expecting her first child, and that her due date was early April. She wondered if I would be interested in directing the final couple weeks of the musical. After considering this massive lifestyle change, I agreed.

Within a week or so, I received a phone call from the high school principal asking me to come out to school to talk with him and the band director. Apparently, the teacher and/or her husband and possibly her doctor thought that the stress of the high school musical might be too great on the mom-to-be, and I was asked if I might be interested in splitting the musical. This was fine with me.

Next, the principal said, “While I have you here, would you at all be interested in subbing?” I thought that yeah, I could fill in for six weeks or so while she was bringing new life into the world. Then I was informed that this subbing gig would be for the rest of the year… a two-month return to my old job. The school offered to pay for my background check and for my substitute teaching license. The current band director would take care of a concert in March, so I would not be concerned about performances. After all, I would only get sub pay for 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. I agreed.

A couple of weeks later, I received another call from the principal, asking to me to come meet with them again. This time, the band director said that the kids wouldn’t be ready for a concert before she went on maternity leave, and would I do a May concert. This would be for grades 5-12. With a sigh, I agreed. The principal said he would get me a gift card for doing the concert.

The musical was a lot of fun. I realized how much I missed directing the high school musical. The kids in the show really wanted to be there, they took direction well, and had a lot of fun performing. I had spent the last 12 years of my directing career in the control booth. I spent this show backstage and saw firsthand what a great time these kids were having.

I later discovered that the current occupant of my old job hated doing the musical. It was very stressful for her, and I learned that just before she went on maternity leave, she resigned from the position of musical director. At the May school board meeting, I was hired as the musical director for next year’s show!  Two hours per night, four days per week for seven or eight weeks… yep, I can do that!

I had taught all of the kids currently in grades 7-12 in some capacity during my teaching career. However, I had not had any of the 5^th or 6^th graders. As always, my favorite class was high school band. The kids played well and worked hard. Since I had high school band first period, the day usually went downhill from there.

The 6^th grade band members were a great bunch of kids to work with. Every student in the 6^th grade was still in band. They were hard workers and just fun to be around. The 5^th graders were a little more challenging, but still did a good job.

The high school choir met twice a week before school. Obviously, I wasn’t getting paid extra for this group. The 7^th and 8^th grade choir was a new class for me. It met twice per week on the days that the 7^th and 8^th grade band did not. It was comprised of a few volunteer band kids (girls), plus all of the junior high kids who were not in band. There were a couple of boys in that group that thought it necessary to share whatever notion popped into their heads. Some days, that wore a bit thin. As a group, I enjoyed working with them.

This brings me to the one class I really didn’t miss in my retirement. 7^th and 8^th grade band was all that I remembered, and more (or maybe less is more accurate). Since all junior high kids were in band or choir, there were a lot of boys in this band who were there simply because it was perceived as less lame than choir. This band had 54 members. Now, I had groups that large during my career, so that wasn’t a biggie. However, there were 12 percussionists! Most of these 12 were 7^th grade boys, and their talents certainly didn’t lie within the realm of the musical arts. A couple of the male 7^th grade wind "players" simply held their horns and faked it. The last couple of weeks I was there, the 7^th and 8^th grade band was a class I did not look forward to.  

The spring concert went very well. I saw a lot of parents and grandparents who told me it was great to have me back. It really was good to be back, and while I enjoyed the concert experience one more time, I was relieved when it was over.

The timing for my return to my old job was excellent, since it was also the final couple of months for the district’s long-time French teacher. We have been friends for close to 30 years, and she told me several times how great it was to have one of the “old guard” there for the close of her career. She was also the National Honor Society sponsor, and I had the high school choir sing at the induction ceremony. They had not done that since I retired. I also played piano and sang for the first time ever at an NHS induction, performing Michel Legrand’s “The Hands of Time.” Madame was very pleased, and I was glad to make her final NHS induction a little more special.

The concert had come and gone, and I had yet to receive a gift card. I must say that I felt a bit slighted by this. That is, until I notice that my substitute teacher pay had increased by $20 per day for the entire month of May!  It turns out that I ended up being paid $320 for the concert. Wow – that is pretty good wages for three hours work. However, I am guessing this included teaching the before-school choir class, NHS induction, numerous instrument repairs, financial record keeping, etc. Still, it was a very nice gesture and certainly made me feel appreciated!

They say doing something once again that you haven’t done in a while is like riding a bicycle. It comes back to you pretty quickly. My bike was a little rusty and needed air in the tires, but I got back into the groove within a few days. By week three, it felt a little bit like I had never left.

I also did a little substitute teaching before the long-term gig at my old job. One of the elementary principals I had during my teaching career called me a couple of times to teach fourth grade at his new school. Another old colleague is now a high school principal. He called me a couple of times, too. Who knew high school English was so much fun?

Next fall, I look forward to doing a little bit of subbing. One or two days per week would be just fine. It turns out that while it’s good to be “back in the saddle again,” it is better that I can get off the horse anytime I like. After all, who needs saddle sores?