Special Teachers

Background: This excerpt was part of a larger "pot pouri" (a little bit of everything) column published October 25, 2006. I'm still debating whether or not to post everything from my columns. Does anyone care about "Halloween 2006" or how the Oakland High School "Academic Challenge" team fared that year? But I have to think that some writings, such as this one on special teachers, should always be remembered.

     It's probably safe to say that every high school teacher goes beyond the call of duty and often does thankless deeds for their students that often go unnoticed. During my travels, however, I've come across several high school faculty members who have especially stood out.
     Former Oakland High School coach CAL SZUEBER was one. I've encountered some coaches who refuse to call in scores from games. Their attitude is that when a game is over they have too many hectic issues to deal with, than to worry about doing the media any favors by making a bunch of phone calls to different newspapers and broadcast stations.
     Szueber came from southern California where high school sports were never mentioned on the local news. He once told me he was astounded by the amount of air time local stations gave to high school sports here in southern Oregon. Szueber considered it free publicity for the kids. It was promoting a positive message and athletes deserved all the time they could get during the local news.
     While I worked at KPIC-TV, I could count on Szueber not only to call in scores from the sports that he coached (football), but any other athletic event that he happened to be attending. Even away games on the road did not deter him; While I was producing the 11:00p.m. news on KPIC, I would often get a collect call (the station paid for long-distance calls when scores are called in) from Szueber at a pay phone from some far-away town where the Oakers were playing. [2014 note: Obviously, cell phones and the internet have changed the way sports scores are communicated during the past decade.]
      What prompted this week's column was another high school teacher whom I encountered earlier this month. Former Glendale High School teacher STU BURGESS now teaches history and government classes at Hidden Valley High School at Murphy, outside of Grants Pass. Back in the late 1990s, I did a story when Burgess helped launch a low-power radio station at Glendale High School. This time, I bumped into him at a candidates forum in Grants Pass.
     Very few Grants Pass residents bothered to attend the forum of city council candidates, which is why Burgess' presence especially stood out to me. After talking with him, I learned it was all about his students.
     Not only does Burgess attend candidate forums, but he records the special interview segment during KOBI-TV's 5:00p.m. news and he incorporates that into his curriculum. As part of one class assignment, Burgess' students submitted twenty questions to KOBI's 5:00p.m. producer, to consider asking the gubernatorial candidates, when Ted Kulongoski and Ron Saxton appear during a live debate on KOBI Tuesday, October 24th.
     I'm sure there are other coaches out there who take the time to call in sports scores. And I'm sure there are other civics teachers out there who take the time to attend candidate forums and incorporate hands-on projects into their classroom discussions. But it's refreshing for me to see first-hand the dedicated individuals who commit selfless acts to help promote their students.