6-26-19 in New Jersey

New Jersey's own Meryl Streep is staring in a Netflix adaption of the musical Prom. We have no idea what that is, but as it happens Ms. Streep went to Bernards High, where we were a sub for seven years.

There were still some teachers around who had Meryl Streep including one social studies teacher named Don Ferry. Here's his obit:

Don spent over 50 years as an educator at Bernards High School as a teacher, coach and athletic director. He was a longtime football coach at Bernards, Chatham, and Mountain Lakes high schools. Don also founded and coached the varsity ski team at Bernards High School. After retiring from coaching, he stayed active in athletics by volunteering with the Bernards High School ice hockey and lacrosse teams and was the Bernardsville Rotary track meet starter for many years. Mr. Ferry was a longtime resident of Bernardsville, N.J., and an active member of the Methodist Church of Basking Ridge. 

Mr. Ferry once told us that when he started in 1955 he made $5000 a year and becuase he coached football the board gave him an extra $100.

When subbing for Mr. Ferry once he had us show a teenager oriented environmental video. We recognized the presenters right away, these were MTV DJs from the 80's - in 2006.

Anyway, here's some pics of Meryl Streep at Bernards High.

Old Building, Old Teachers, Old Bernards

We've written before about our gig as a high school substitute teacher at Barnards High School in Bernardsville, NJ. 

[One should pronounce Bernardsville in the English fashion, 'Bernids' -Ed]

Bernardsville is an old ritzy town with lots of old families and old money. One could read the memorial plaques in the park going back to the Great War and recognize the names because their great grand-kids were in the high school. There were some nouveau-riche too, and for some reason a large Paraguayan population.

We got there in 2002, ten years out of high school ourselves. That seemed like a long time back then.

As it turns out Bernards High was built in the 1930s as was our own Hen Hud, and we're willing to bet they were designed by the same architectural firm. Both original buildings had the same feel and layout with classrooms the same size. Yes it was a little weird at first.

Bernards High had teachers going back to the 30's too. Ok, ok, only back to the 1950s. That's right, there were guys who had been there for 50 years. One such teacher, in his mid 70's, told us that in 1955 the board paid him $5000 a year, and because he also coached football, they gave him an extra hundred. Another teacher also told us how early on they dated students, and how they used to take hard cases out into the back stairway and rough them up.

In seven years we learned a lot about what really goes on with teachers. To a man and woman they all bitched about how difficult the job is and how unappreciated they were. Parents are often the enemy for failing to see eye to eye with the teachers. From a lesson plan perspective lots of teachers were mailing it in, teaching the same thing year after year and year after year. One day in 2006 when subbing in civics class we were told to show a video aimed at young people. I popped it in the video and say a bunch of MTV VJs from my youth.

By the time we were getting ready to leave, this writing thing was heating up, lot's of those older teachers were getting ready to leave to.

It was time for us both.

Hot for (substitute) Teacher

Via The Daily Caller, we have a case of a hot twenty something substitute teacher schtupping one of her male students.

We do not understand this phenomenon. If she were average looking at best, and wanted to get revenge on the pretty girls for being prettier than she, this would make some sense. But really, what does a hot 25 year old want with a 17 year old boy?

Get yourself a man, honey.

Actually, we were a substitute teacher at Bernards High School, Bernardsville, NJ for seven years. It was an easy gig, six hours, $85 a day. The key was to always pick up the phone and say yes. Always. Once they realized you never turned them down hey'd keep calling. Most mornings about 6 AM the phone would ring, Robin the school secretary was on the other end, 'Hey Will...Joe Foglia...' That's all the info we needed. We're proud to say lots of teachers requested us. I guess they were 'hot' for us. Thanks folks we'll be here all week.

[clap...clap...clap-Ed]

Subs weren't really expected to do much. Hand out an in class assignment, show the movie. Very rarely was one expected to teach.

We always brought our laptop and got a ton of work done. Large swaths of A Line Through the Desert were written and edited within Bernards High. Actually, the Jess character, fiancee to Jake's gunner and best friend was based on a girl there. At least two chapters in To Defend the Earth were begun there as well.

Anyhoo, by the time we left in 2009 Bernards High was getting some new young teachers as the oldsters, and man were they old, were finally retiring or being pushed out. Some of the new teachers were cute too.

[Men or women? We're not judging-Ed]

We never heard anything about the new girls, but man, the stories you'd hear about some of the oldsters back in the day...