INCIDENTS IN MY TEACHING CAREER

1. “The Tin Can”

2.  
3. It seemed that most of my follies occurred the first year of my teaching
4. in the old Wainwright High School, situated where Denwood School now is.
5. At the north end of what is now 9th and 19th Avenues was the old High
6. School, with the Elementary school upstairs – not a great system at all.
7. The buzzers were never synchronized, and the elementary school bell went
8. off at a different time from the High School bell, and this just added to
9. the confusion.
10.  
11. I don’t know why it was – I guess because I couldn’t say “No,” but I was
12. called into the principal’s office one Monday morning. I thought to myself:
13. “What have I done now? My room is clean. I haven’t been late, and my
14. lesson plans are up to date. I wonder what it could be?”
15.  
16. With a touch of fear and trembling I entered the office. The principal had
17. his back to me when I came in. He turned and I saw on his face, a large
18. grin from ear to ear.
19.  
20. He looked me straight in the eye. “Mr. Laird,” he said. “How much do you
21. know about Math?”
22.  
23. I wished he had not asked me that, for “me and Math” were foreigners. But
24. I thought I had better lie gracefully. Better a white lie than a black mark
25. from the superior officer in the institution.
26.  
27. “Yes,” I said hesitantly – “I have taken a little Math.” (I really meant high
28. school math).
29.  
30. “Very good, my boy,” he replied, “because the Grade 8 Math teacher is sick,
31. and there are no substitutes.” (In those days there were considerably
32. fewer substitutes than there are today). “I want you to go across to the
33. Junior High school, and take this teacher’s Grade 8 class for a half day.”
34.  
35. It was just my luck. I had most of my SPARES (or PREP. Period as they
36. are now called) on this particular day and bless me, I was going to miss
37. them all. Fate certainly was not too kind to me.
38.  
39. But duty called. So, swallowing my pride, and muttering some unkind
40. euphemisms under my breath, I packed my briefcase, and walked the two
41. to three hundred steps south to the Junior High school, which was
42. separated from the Elementary-High School by a vacant lot. It was an
43. overcast day, but not quite as downcast as I was when I entered the Junior
44. High building and reported to the principal. The principal was very glad to
45. see me, and remarked on how this was a good sign of the Junior High and
46. High School co-operation.
47.  
48. “You will find the room down at the end of the corridor, Mr. Laird,” he said
49. with apparent glee. “I will take you down there myself, and introduce you
50. to your little charges.”
51.  
52. “Thank you,” I replied without too much enthusiasm.
53.  
54. There were 35 of the little people, in all shapes and sizes. They grinned
55. at me, and I grinned back at them. “Mr. Laird is your teacher for the
56. afternoon,” the principal said. There were three basic subjects: Social
57. Studies, Language Arts and Mathematics.
58.  
59. I worked my way painfully through the Social Studies, which I knew well
60. enough to keep them interested. Language Arts was a little tougher to
61. maintain interest. However, a quick assignment, and a rest period for me
62. allowed me time to set out the Mathematics.
63.  
64. They were in the fourth chapter of the Mathematics book, and this dealt
65. with Areas of Various Objects. No problem, I thought. After all area is
66. simply length times width. This will be a piece of cake! No problem.
67. That’s what I thought. I didn’t reckon with the chubby little fellow who
68. sat right up in the front row.
69.  
70. With all the gusto I could muster I placed the all important Math question
71. on the blackboard. FIND THE SURFACE AREA OF A TIN CAN WHICH HAS A
72. DIAMETER OF FOUR INCHES AND A HEIGHT OF 12 INCHES. I chuckled to
73. myself. “That will keep the youngsters busy for most of the period,” I
74. thought. “It’s easy to find volume, but the entire area of the tin can’s
75. surface, is tougher to do.” I had no sooner got the words out of my mouth
76. when the chubby little character in the front row, waved his hand
77. vigorously in the air. “What do you want, young man?” I asked. “Mr. Laird,
78. sir,” came the timorous reply, “I have the surface area of the ordinary tin,
79. but it isn’t right!”
80.  
81. “What do you mean – not right?” I asked with a degree of authority.
82.  
83. “Well,” came the reply, “you really have not got the whole surface area of
84. the tin can, unless you allow extra for the lip on the top and the bottom!
85. That is surface of the can too, you know!”
86.  
87. What could I say? I was caught in my own trap. As gracefully as possible
88. I coughed and said that it really didn’t matter, because it was only a
89. theoretical question anyhow. My face was beet red, and I stuttered and
90. stammered a bit, particularly when he insisted on giving me the revised
91. answer complete with the lips on both ends of the tin can. I thanked him
92. for pointing it out.
93.  
94. Just at that moment I was saved by the final bell. Here was one teacher
95. that packed his briefcase in a hurry and took off. I even forgot to give the
96. Grade 8 class its daily work assignment for homework.
97.  
98. When I told my story to the High School Principal he just roared. “You
99. know,” he said, “that son of mine is getting smarter every day!” I
100. retreated without saying another word, but even today, every time I see a
101. tin can, I think of the mess I made of the Grade 8 Math lesson, so many
102. years ago.

The Tin Can
By Washburn Laird

152-155