I try not to read the horrible things people post online about the “Old Teachers,” but I looked at a former coworker’s FB site and saw that a local woman had told her to “JUST STOP INTERFERING!” The term "Old Teachers" is thrown around at board meetings as if we were standing in the way of progress brandishing rulers and threatening detention. At one meeting, Mr. Palmer announced that he has "lost all respect for the Old Teachers." (I try not to snicker. Really, I do.)
Look at us. We sit quietly at board meetings. We listen. Often we disagree with The Four, and when we do, we provide our views, sometimes live, sometimes in the newspaper or in places like this blog. People can listen or read and either agree or disagree. That's called free speech, and I'm pretty sure it's in the Bill of Rights. Mr. Abshagen would be happy to explain it.
The Old Teachers are old. The library chairs are hard. We hate driving when it’s dark. Most of us don’t have grandchildren in the Onaway system. The bullies have no filters and no decency. We've been called “satanic,” “liars,” “senile,” and much worse. We could be spending time with our grandchildren. We could be watching *Jeopardy.* At least one of us should be finishing her next book. We could leave the battle for the school to current parents and staff. So why do we stick our noses in and take the abuse?
I heard a line in a detective show recently that struck me as appropriate. Someone asked a rather free-thinking doctor why he'd come back to live in his home town, which was quite conservative, after being out in the wide world. He replied: “This seems like a good place to make a difference, and it’s my home.”
The Onaway School is home. Onaway is home. It’s a good school and a good town. It’s worth fighting for, even after we Old Teachers thought our battles for proper behavior and high standards were done.