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| H.L. Bourgeois High School 1977 |
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| H.L. Bourgeois High School 40 Year Reunion
After 35 plus years, returning to the scenes of my youthful teaching experience brings tears of joy to my aging eyes. I seek out these opportunities because I like reflection. Steve Giroir wears his name tag proudly and our smiles tell a larger picture.
The photograph of me on the left side of this page tells a story in mismatched plaids and prints. After posting this picture of myself, I have come to realize that this is worth a thousands words. I am still playing the fool to many visible and invisible masquerades!
The colors are missing from the yearbook photo on the left, but I will fill in those missing mystique blues, and marauding purples with triumphs and failures.
I was able to create and improvise learning opportunities all those years ago, because a teacher was allowed to respond to the needs of her students.
Here is one tiny example; these students were from a mixed rural-urban environment where hunting, farming, fishing, and trapping were taught to toddlers. When it was time to learn about colonial America in out senior high school American History class, I created a unit by having students research and learn about early cooking habits and techniques. They compared these to those of their ancestors, and we had a per-dawn simulation in the large front lawn of H.L. Bourgeois High School.
Yes, we decapitated live chickens, skinned animals, and cooked over an open pit which the students dug on the front lawn!
Imagine pulling that off today! There would be so many legalities necessary that the activity would be impossible. We would have had to notify the parents, call out the fire department, the paramedics, and have stand-by emergency vehicles available. Not to mention the fact that an ax was involved!
How I miss those more carefree teaching days. Some of my ideas were wonderful; some not so great.
There was a time when I was teaching psychology and the big rival football game between South Terrebonne High culminated in a Spirit Week to rival all others.
I was teaching about mob psychology and had the principal announce, only to my class, that the big pep rally had been cancelled. I requested that the principals all wait about 5 minutes, and than show up in my classroom.
Tempers were flaring and voices rising when the administrative team walked into the class.
The response was as predicted. The students and the principals all enjoyed the experience. This could never happen today; we would be too afraid of the fall out.
We simulated the Great Depression in Economics class, and some of the students were jumping off of their desks.
I taught Systematic Training for Effective Parenting to the psy students. This was NOT part of the curriculum; nor on any standardized tests, but, I had a student tell me at the reunion that he still uses these techniques with his staff and family!
Now, I call that success. We took risk, we made mistakes, and we all had fun while learning. The fool in the photo on the left is grateful for the opportunities.
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