One of the great joys that I experienced over the course of my career in education was the fact that all three of my children attended the school where I worked. Seriously, the pros outweighed any cons that came our way. My oldest son, Christian, was the first to break the ice. In retrospect, I am not sure that he always viewed my presence as a positive aspect of his day. He was the type of student who was content to be anonymous, if you would let him. He never sought out attention and simply wanted to be “one of the guys”. When your dad teaches most of your friends or coaches them on the soccer field, it is difficult, I suppose, to just blend in. Fortunately, I was never viewed as an ogre or tyrant, so the fallback he received was minimal. In fact, Halloween was never a problem. Instead of worrying about vandalism, I spent the day giving out candy treats and talking to my students. They seemed to really enjoy seeing me in the context of a family man.
Academically, the complications were also minimal. My son held his own in all of his classes, but his Spanish teacher was a stickler for organization. She was a seasoned teacher, and she knew the importance of staying on top of your game. As a joke, I would duck into the men’s room when she would try to summon me from down the hallway. Ironically, foreign language was also my academic nemesis. After suffering through years of Latin, French, and Spanish, I can fully understand my son’s lack of fervor. When I assumed that the coast was clear, I would make my exit from the men’s room only to find Señora M. still outside waiting for me. Her advice was always well intentioned and usually most helpful.
Another aspect of my son attending the same school involved my mode of transportation. At that time, most of the faculty drove vintage (to be kind) automobiles to school. It was not an uncommon sight to see a bumper attached by a wire, a plastic sheet taped in place of a broken window, or a car rusted from stem to stern. How the times have changed! The faculty parking lot is now adorned with showroom style vehicles (auto leasing certainly has its perks). Now, I even drive a sporty, red, 14-year-old Acura Integra. Things are starting to look up! But getting back to my story, at the time, my vehicle was a $600 maroon and rust (literally) Chevy Nova. It was one of those cars with a “great engine” and a “radio that worked” (most of the time). Unfortunately, the lens around the right front headlight was missing. It reminded me a little of an eyeball that had come out of its socket. In short, it was a perfect “teacher car” because it ran in snow, sleet, hail and required very little in terms of expense or maintenance. I never knew it at the time, but this car was a great source of pain for my son. During his gym class, his classmates would run around the car and taunt him with chants of “Nova, Nova, Nova”. At other times, students would hop in the car and hide from their gym teacher. Once, someone even climbed up on the roof just for laughs. My son told my wife that the car was ruining his life. After hearing his stories I ended up selling it to my brother-in-law for $200. He loved the car and drove it for several years. Oh, by the way, he was a teacher in New York City.
Our three years together in junior high moved on quickly. Things went along smoothly and we even managed to laugh about our Nova. My son’s friends were actually mad that we ruined all of their fun by selling the car. Then, one day my son approached my classroom with a look of stress on his face. He told me that he was supposed to have brought in a white T-shirt for a project in his home economics class. They were going to use puff paints to design some sort of logo on the shirt. He forgot to bring his shirt and he was in a state of panic. “It’s okay,” I told him. “Tell Mrs. S that you’ll bring your shirt tomorrow.” He responded, “Dad, that’s what I told her yesterday and the day before. If I go to class without a T-shirt today, she’ll fail me!” Well, desperate times call for desperate measures. I ducked into a small coat closet and started to remove my tie and shirt. Fortunately, my T-shirt was a new one and only slightly damp under the armpits. I folded up the shirt and handed it to my son. I said, “Now, I can truly say that I’ve given you the shirt off my back.” He didn’t laugh, but I think he was relieved. So much water has passed under the bridge since then, but occasionally we like to bring back memories of our days together in junior high. Indeed, the passage of time is swift and we must learn to savor our coffee while it’s still in the cup. Christian approached me one day and said, “Dad, do you know what Nova means in Spanish? It means ‘No Go.’ Promise me you’ll never get another Nova.” I responded, “Sí, Señor.” He then went on to add, “Have you ever considered switching from v-neck to crew neck t-shirts, they are so much cooler (only kidding, lol).”
Addendum: Today, my son only drives luxury vehicles and I often wonder if it’s his quiet protest against those “Nova Nightmares”. Frequently, when I see a Mercedes coming down the block, I hope that it’s our son, Christian, coming to pay us a visit; but no matter what the mode of transport is, it can’t erase our memories of those precious years we spent together in Junior High.