Why I Left High School Teaching

By Elton Camp

Actually, I had planned all along to move to college, but the following
are factors that went into the timing of my decision.

A typical day, while living in Columbus, went something like the following. I got
up about seven, dressed for work, ate breakfast with Mrs. Smith, walked to school,
arrived fifteen minutes before start of homeroom, carried out classes, ate lunch in the
school dining room, relaxed during planning period, stayed thirty minutes after the
dismissal bell, and walked home and had supper with Mrs. Smith. The early school
arrival and late departure were school policy. Sometimes I’d watch TV with her for a
while with her, but left plenty of time to read or goof off. I had no television set of my
own, although I could’ve afforded one. The radio I bought at Sears broke down almost
immediately. I didn’t purchase another.

I got exercise mainly by walking through the neighborhood. Sidewalks were in

every block, so that made it easy. Wildwood Park was close, so I often walked down
there. Parks were family places, thus safe in those days. Their illicit use as a sexual
rendezvous was years ahead.

Sometimes I’d go back to my office at night to work on school matters, but it was
always hard to get into the building since they didn’t trust any of the faculty enough to
issue keys. I could only knock until a janitor heard and let me in. Finally one of the
janitors provided me with an illegal master key, but I was always felt uncomfortable to
use it. I left that key nailed to the front of the barn at Mountain View. It was still there
when the place was sold, but the barn is now gone.

We had regular meetings of departments, grades, and the entire faculty.

Particularly odious were faculty meetings where Herman Dollar presided. They ran on
endlessly. We had to listen to his inane comments, often the very same words and
phrases, on each occasion. “It’s spring and the sap’s rising,” he said each year as if it
were a new expression. I supposed that he referred to sexual urges on the part of
students, but he never explained it. I surely was glad to avoid such general meetings
when I moved to college work. College faculties rarely meet as a group, but carry out
their business through committees.

I easily located another job and left at the end of my fifth year. It was a sound
decision that I should’ve made sooner. Few of the faculty members were happy in that
school system so a huge turnover of teachers took place each year.

One of the main reasons that I left Columbus High was the way Principal Dollar
treated a young teacher, Mr. Wilson. Wilson’s students made up money without his
knowledge and presented him with a gift-wrapped bottle of whiskey during class. Taken
by surprise, he accepted the present. “I’ll make use of this at the proper time and in the
proper place,” he said. “Thank you.”

When Dollar learned of it, he came down on him hard. He called an assembly of
the students and publicly fired the hapless instructor. Wilson should’ve sued, but that
wasn’t done much back then. Neither the faculty nor students had sufficient courage to
come to his defense.

No doubt being fired created a blot on Mr. Wilson’s resume that dogged him for
years to come. One thing like that can make it difficult to find employment. He got a
dirty deal. I didn’t want to work any longer where teachers were treated that way.

A variety of other problems motivated me to leave Columbus High School. It

was too far from Marshall County, in the absence of tenure and anybody could be fired at
any time for reason or no reason. I was irked because the principal said we couldn’t
leave campus during lunch even though it was a duty-free time.

The final straw was something that may seem minor. I took pride in having a
nice-looking room and had established a well-balanced aquarium. Some student–some
rich bastard– slipped a huge chlorine tablet into the aquarium. It was the type used to
sterilize an entire swimming pool. Of course it killed the fish and everything else in the
aquarium. I found the fish swimming about in torment with the tablet fizzing away. I
tried to save them, but to no avail. I cleaned the aquarium and put it away in the storage
room. I thought, “I’m out of here as soon as I can arrange it.”

The student’s cruel act solidified my determination to depart. Without any such
intention, he actually did me a favor. If that one act hadn’t taken place, I’d have stayed
another year in Columbus, thus wouldn’t have been employed at Northwest Junior
College, and so wouldn’t be sitting in Russellville writing this material. Small things can
have tremendous impact on the course of a person’s life.

I said nothing to anybody at the school. It isn’t wise to give up one job before
having located another. I began to search immediately and soon lined up a new position.
It was an intense pleasure to notify the principal that I’d leave shortly. Temptation to
vent was there, but did it in a courteous way. It’s best to depart on cordial terms. I’d
already agreed to return for the next year, so I had to submit a formal letter of resignation.
I filled the letter with insincere expressions and regret at leaving. In addition to the
standard letter sent to faculty who resigned, I got a courteous, cordial handwritten note
from R. Brice Carson, the assistant superintendent in charge of personnel who had
recruited me.

After I’d already resigned but was finishing out the academic year, I got the only
hateful phone call from a parent I’ve ever received. Steve Brown’s father called me
where I was staying although I’d given the school that number only on the condition that
it was not to be revealed under any circumstance. The parent was surly and obnoxious,
but I was courteous to him although I didn’t give in to whatever it was he wanted. I can’t
remember the nature of his complaint. When he saw that he wasn’t getting his way, he
asked in a threatening tone, “Do you want me to call the principal?” “I think that’s a real
good idea,” I responded. “Would you like his home phone number?” That rendered him
almost speechless. He stammered a few seconds and hung up without asking for the
number. He could’ve caused me any trouble at that point, but of course he didn’t know
it. The principal didn’t mention it, so I suppose the parent let it drop.

I was careful to leave the biology lab clean and orderly and to have all work
completed in a professional manner. It’s a sound principle not to burn bridges on the way
out. To return to that school was far from my mind, but I didn’t want to close the
possibility by my conduct. Life sometimes takes unexpected twists and turns.

I have heard that Mr. Dollar remained at Columbus High School until his
retirement in the 1970s. He died at age 84 in 2007. He continued to be praised up to and
even beyond his death.