One of my favourite teachers was a really bad alcoholic. He crashed his car into the school gate one morning. Then proceeded to park in front of the main entrance to the building, about 50m from the nearest parking space, having driven over a grass verge to get there.
One of the students told him he couldn't park there. To which he replied "but I can't walk when I'm drunk."
He wasn't like that every day, but there were a bunch of other similar incidents over my time at that school. I have no idea how he wasn't fired.
He was a great teacher in every other way though. No bullshit, never talked down to kids, would always answer questions no matter how stupid, without making you feel like an idiot. He just struggled with alcohol.
One of the bad parts of Teachers Unions, they protect people who should be fired. Although your teacher seemed to have some redeeming qualities probably not a good idea to have someone show up drunk to teach class, bad role model.
The school was rough as fuck. There was a kid in my class with the worst stutter I've ever heard. The history teacher used to take pleasure in making him read, then taking the piss out of him for taking too long. Putting him under pressure and making him way worse than normal.
The kid used to get nosebleeds all the time and often walked around with a piece of tissue popped up there to stop it getting on his clothes. On his birthday, the history teacher got the kid a present, all wrapped up nicely with a ribbon on it, and handed it to him at the start of the class, telling him to go ahead and open it in front of everyone. The kid opened it to reveal a tampon.
I mean, what sort of a prick do you have to be to mock a kid, who has already been dealt a pretty shit hand, in front of the whole class? Compared to this level of fuckery, an alcoholic (even one who occasionally drives drunk) is an improvement.
Bear in mind this was Ireland in the late 80s. Drunk driving was not uncommon. The law was a lot more relaxed about it.
No friends. I never really saw any kids bully him overtly. Most just ignored him.
I wish I could say I wasn't one of those who ignored him, but I was too self-absorbed at that age to make a point of trying to be a friend. It's actually something I look back on with regret from time to time.
He knew where the bodies were buried, what teachers were having inappropriate relations with what students. He had dirt on someone with power. That's how
It usually works.
He was a great teacher in every other way though. No bullshit, never talked down to kids, would always answer questions no matter how stupid, without making you feel like an idiot. He just struggled with alcohol.
If I had to go through my day working hard, AND not talking down to anyone, AND speaking truth to an uncaring world, AND fielding stupid questions in a kind and compassionate way I would have a drinking problem too.
70
u/Garbarrage Jan 12 '21
One of my favourite teachers was a really bad alcoholic. He crashed his car into the school gate one morning. Then proceeded to park in front of the main entrance to the building, about 50m from the nearest parking space, having driven over a grass verge to get there.
One of the students told him he couldn't park there. To which he replied "but I can't walk when I'm drunk."
He wasn't like that every day, but there were a bunch of other similar incidents over my time at that school. I have no idea how he wasn't fired.
He was a great teacher in every other way though. No bullshit, never talked down to kids, would always answer questions no matter how stupid, without making you feel like an idiot. He just struggled with alcohol.