Adam Blake - 32. Chapter 32

Dr. McMillan’s office is more like what I expected. It was large and very comfortable, putting me at ease. There was a sofa where she indicated for me to sit. She was impressive, tall, grey hair, and slightly overweight. Her most distinguishing feature was her green eyes that seemed to be smiling as she looked at you. I would guess a grandmother who was loved by everyone. “I apologize about the mix-up but your time wasn’t wasted. I would’ve introduced you to the staff after our interview but it seems you have gotten a head start.”

“I apologize for not noticing the difference in the last names. When I asked the young man where Dr. McMillian’s office was located he indicated the small building. I should have checked my letter and made sure I pronounced your name correctly.”

“Nonsense, you’re here now and please call me Arlene. We are very informal here unless we are in front of a student. Should we get started?”

After about 2 hours and a very much different interview, Arlene introduced me to the other faculty. I was impressed with the staff and my short conversation with the young student, Johnny. She asked if I would mind having her secretary show me around the building and grounds. Of course, I said that’d be fine and Jane did an excellent job showing me around.”

“I understand that you are interviewing for Director of Education.”

“Yes, but are all the positions here titled as Director? I’ve met the Director of Medicine, the Athletic Director, and the Director of Personnel and Student Affairs. What do you call the teaching staff, Director of English, Director of Math?”

She began to laugh, “No the teaching staff are called by their name. The senior staff or head of departments are called directors because they are members of the Board of Directors of the school. If you became Director of Education you would be a member of the Board as well as head of all of the teachers. The school is very prestigious and caters to those students who come from wealth or political connections. For example, we have students from all over the world, princes, politicians as well as wealthy industrialists. Our subject matter is inclusive of standard requirements but also additional requirements for a world market. We teach 10 different languages, we teach world economics, and we teach political science. Most of the students continue their education at prestigious universities. I know I’m sounding a little pretentious but this school was founded by several important people worldwide.”

“Ergo, any teacher here becomes well known. So why would a teacher stay here when after a few years they could get their dream position anywhere they want?”

“To be a teacher here you must be committed to teaching. If you are committed to teaching then you will experience the joys of seeing someone excel. You have to be a committed teacher to teach here as well as be the best.”

“How do you handle the student who doesn’t grasp the subject matter? Dr. McMillan said there are special classes to help the students excel.”

“There are special tutors for students who need it. The class sizes are small, with no more than 12 students in a class. The class is structured in such as way as to allow the teacher to present the material and then workgroups are formed to do the homework assignments. Class instruction is limited to 30 minutes. Workgroups are generally 45 minutes. Classes start at 8 in the morning and end at 5 in the evening. Study groups form at 7:30 till 9.”

I thought I should have interviewed Jane. I got more down-to-earth information from her than I did at the formal interview.

“I understand that you wrote a book about your teaching methods and experiences.”

“Yes, but it won’t be released for a few weeks. If you are interested I’ll see that you get a copy.”

“Yes, I would be interested in having a copy. Thank you.”

We ended back up at the entrance to Dr. McMillan’s office. I thanked Jane for the guided tour and headed to my car while looking around for Billy. As I rounded the corner, he was sitting in a grassy area with a few boys sitting around him. They were talking and laughing, he was having a good time and I was glad. I thought back to what his father told me about him having problems in school, he isn’t having problems anywhere at this school or the one back home. He’s a more mature and confident young man.

Walking up the boys looking at Billy, “You ready to go?”

“Yes, thanks guys for the run. Johnny, keep in touch and I hope to see you all again.”

I put my arm around his shoulder as we walked to the car. “Are you glad you came with me?”

“Yes, did you know that some of those boys came from Europe? One of them is the son of a king.”

“That’s what I heard. What led to the run?”

“The boy Johnny asked me if I wanted a quick tour since you were being interviewed. I said sure better than sitting in the car. As we walked around I spotted the sports arena, which led to a discussion of their sports program which led to running. He said they have a team but mostly they ran against each other. I mentioned I liked to run and missed my run this morning as I came here with you. He asked me if I wanted to run now, I said I didn’t have my running clothes, he said he had it covered. We went to the locker room, he had an extra pair of shorts and shirt so I changed and as we were walking toward the track some of the other boys came and joined us. I think they thought they were going to teach me a thing or two.”

“I saw you finishing your warmups. What were you telling them? I noticed few boys were listening and did change their warm-ups.”

“They were doing it in a different sequence, I suggest they change the order and that is what they did.”

“When you won, what were their comments?”

“They were congratulating me. Johnny told me that they didn’t think I knew how to run and they were going to show me. He said after the first lap, they just concentrated on keeping up.”

“I think the coach was surprised.”

“It’d be nice to go to school here. The guys are very friendly and you’d be exposed to guys from all over the world. Now, that's what I’d call a world’s eye view.”

“Yes, can you imagine a class where discussions would include each student's opinion of a subject or ideology? I think I’d be interested in sitting in such a class.” After saying that I realized that maybe the most important part of this school isn’t teaching a subject but forming relationships that would allow different nations to be able to dialogue.

“Does it cost a lot of money to go to school here?”

“I don’t know. Would you consider going to school here if your dad could afford it?”

“In a heartbeat. I’m doing ok in school, but to think I could be sitting next to a future king, or diplomat, or someone who can make a decision that has a far-reaching impact on thousands of people. I could influence their thinking by becoming a friend and making my views known. I could maybe affect a change for the betterment of the world.”

“Hey slow down, I think you’re on a power trip.”

“Yea it’d be a power trip. Not that I’d want to force my ideas on anyone.”

“No, but there’s something to what you say. You’re a good kid Billy and you have your head screwed on right. People just knew you would walk away thinking favorable thoughts and maybe that would be enough. Friendships are important and these boys may not agree with every idea but they’ll not forget their friends which will allow dialogue.”