The Faculty Lounge

In most every school there is a mysterious room hidden from view from the students, a place of great and sometimes wild speculation. The faculty lounge. A place where most students never dare to enter or get invited in.

In eighth grade, I took a course in Practical Business. I was plunged into the workings of the student store, learning how to deal with customers while gaining cash and change skills. The counting of money included feeding the large machine that separated all the coins at the end of the day. What a noise! There was a great deal of change.

I also cashiered at the cafeteria and fondly remember delicious cinnamon buns being as large as dinner plates and still warm from the oven, priced fairly at a quarter. One advantageous day, I was selected to head over to be cashier at the faculty lounge. Their choices of meals looked tastier than ours. They were also given cinnamon buns for the price of 25 cents.

This lounge would not find its way into a decor magazine. Practical metal chairs and tables wove around a few worn couches and books were carelessly strewn across half empty shelving along the walls. Dusty, artificial plants were placed here and there, the lost hope for any ambience. The main focus of the room seemed to be on the big cork covered wall, crowded with schedules and notices that seemed to be competing with one another for attention.

What was most startling to me were the weary faces of the teachers. Some sat together quietly talking while eating, but most sat alone with an attitude of "don't dare sit next to me and engage." I was not sure if this was the norm.

That is why I was interested in reading "The Faculty Lounge, A Novel" by Jennifer Mathieu, hoping to gain some perspective. Her story starts with an 82 year old teacher, retired but working as a substitute. Mr. Lehrer. He was found dead of natural causes upon a tattered faculty couch. A young first year teacher found him. It was the first week back to school. Under those circumstances, I don't think I was given a particularly regular day to day view of the lounge. I did get a look into the variety of people who make teaching a career. Some with a desire to fill young minds with the wonder of knowledge. For most, it seemed not a worthy ambition but rather an accidental choice. Yet, there were miracles where an unlikely teacher imparted great inspiration. Like magic.

The author changes the point of view over and over by making various teachers and the principal narrators of their own stories. What is revealed is a group of people, probably not too much unlike the very teachers that work in our local schools. The challenges of teaching are many and intense, the demand seemingly impossible. And on top of all that, this group has to deal with the unexpected shocking death of a peer.

After Lehrer's death, the staff becomes self-reflective of their own lives and objectives. Many find themselves unfilled, a few wondering how they got there instead of somewhere else, like headlining a successful rock band or raising a house full of kids of their own. Not all teachers see themselves as crusaders, but rather see teaching as a paycheck and a secure retirement formed by a very strong teacher's union. I surmised teaching for the love of educating was a rare treasure, at least at Baldwin High School.

A mix of personalities move in and out of schools, bringing a variety of skills and talents. They teach for multiple reasons. They face both young children and teenagers who want or want not to be there, and a bureaucracy of management that demands as much if not more from teachers than they do students. It can be a thankless job many days and the pay is not in line with their years of education. They often fund their own classrooms and take work home nights and weekends.

Beyond all that, I must believe that most teachers truly care. They are humans on a path like the rest of us. Smile at a teacher when possible and maybe give some well-deserved encouragement. They hold the gems of our world in their hands. Our children. Not everyone is willing or can take that responsibility on, but those that do deserve our gratitude. And if they are hiding in their faculty lounges, perhaps we should let them!

Good Books.

Good reading.

*Midge Lyn'dee is a fictional character used for the purpose of entertainment though the reviews are real and sincere.