My First Day as a Teacher

by Joel Heffner

I regularly observed one of the finest social studies teachers in New York City, who was then the Chairman of the Social Studies Department at Hunter College High School, and I later was a student teacher at Stuyvesant High School, one of the most prestigious in the country. My first day as a teacher, back in 1969, was pretty scary and exciting at the same time. And then I encountered Evelyn, who was a bit talkative. When I told her that if she didn't stop disrupting the class, I would have to tell the Dean, she smiled (showing her eight missing front teeth) and told me not to worry because she only came in to see who I was. She never came to school again. Although I was trained by the best, they never prepared me for Evelyn.

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Joel Heffner, who taught us that You Never Know, is the creator of The Story Starter.