About a month ago, the children in Wisconsin returned to school for another year. So did the teachers. But for the first time in 54 years, Scott Oftedahl did not. I have moved in a new direction, driving trucks, and no longer hear bells, kids chattering in hallways, and feel my days pulled in one way or another by the emotions of teachers and students. It started out feeling odd, moving around the community while instruction was going on in classrooms. I felt as though I were doing something sneaky, unethical. I was never one to skip school as a student, and as a teacher, I had an outstanding attendance record, as well. Unless I was deathly sick or had a medical appointment, I reported to school and worked hard. Last year, something changed. The year began normally, but I noticed I was beginning to grind against the decisions made by a newer superintendent. Many of her decisions were based on incorrect information, but she didn't respond when gi...
The author is no one of significance. Just a person who has time to reflect that life looks and feels different today, and writing might just be a way to help him sort out whether the world has gone to hell, or whether advancing age has a way of forcing a new perspective on you.