Alton2

So, there I was in my first ever full time job, responsible for a class of students and for the first time ever, responsible for myself too. No more would I have the luxury of a cleaner who not only cleaned my room and made my bed every day, but who also brought me morning tea. I often wonder what happened to her; I guess that she has long since passed away.

Now i had rent to pay, food to choose and cook, washing and ironing, as well as gruesome work like preparation and marking to do. One of the hardest things to do was getting up early every day and getting to work on time. It wasn't like college days when, if you didn't fancy going in, you could stay in bed. There were implications should you not get there on time. Only once was I late for work, and that isn't bad in 34 years. It was in my first year, there in Alton, and I awoke one morning at 11.30. I had no excuse at all, i just failed to wake up and that is that. I ambled in at lunchtime to meet the wrath of my colleagues who had had to cover for me and none of whom had any sympathy for me at all. I was chastened and that lesson stayed with me always.

I settled into a routine and made a few good friends. Caroline and Di were new teachers too, and they had a house some miles out of the town. Di also had a van - a green Austin A35 which she allowed me to drive from time to time - amazing really as i had not passed a driving test at the time. I learned quite a lot about driving then and am grateful to Di to this day for her trust and generosity.

The students at Alton were a mixed bunch really, most of whom were nice kids but most of whom had got all they were ever going to get from being in school. Our job was to contain them and probably entertain them for a year, so that they could eventually leave and become pillars of the community. I had to teach some Rural Science (gardening) of which I knew almost as little as they did, games, and Drama. Fundamentally it was all about bluff. I needed to convince them that I knew what I was doing, and it seemed to work. I must confess that I enjoyed the Drama lessons most of all. To say that they were structured and informed would be an exaggeration. To say that the kids learned much about drama would be a lie, but they did have a whale of a time.

Having got to know the students quite well and making sure that the psychopaths were not present that day. I decided to allow the group a little more freedom than usual, and split them into groups with the task of improvising small plays that would be performed later in front of the rest. They scattered to various parts of the old building in order to prepare, and I wandered around trying to locate them all and to offer words of encouragement or advice. I did find one group who seemed to be getting on ok. They were the misfits who had aggregated as misfits often do, but of the rest I could find no trace. They were quiet - too quiet and for a moment I believed that they may have absconded. However, before long I heard a cheer and applause. MIsguidedly I thought that they were really entering into the spirit of things, and so I followed the cheers which were coming from the old library.

I went in and sure enough they were all there standing around one of the old oak tables, and there, gyrating like experienced pole dancers, were two of the more "popular" girls doing a strip tease. Both were down to their underwear as i entered the room. I was almost speechless but did manage to overcome a moment of panic and broke up the party. The girls grabbed their clothing and vanished into the toilets to get dressed. That was the last free drama lesson they had.

That same year I learned many lessons. I am not a very scary person as those who know me will agree. One day I had a class of second year students, who had been bussed to the annexe for a science lesson. Second years were 12 yr olds and this class were fairly docile apart from one lad called Damian. (Cue scary music!) Damian didn't really have much awareness of where the line was and had crossed it far too many times that day, so i kept him back after the others had gone and decided to let rip at him. I didn't actually lose my temper but he thought that I had, and as I watched the blood drain from his face, I also became aware of a puddle forming on the floor beneath his feet. I was mortified and whatever anger I did feel was turned to pity in an instant. Poor lad had to go back to the main school on the bus with wet trousers. I never had to speak with him again after that day.