My Teachers Saw Something in Me I Couldn’t See Myself

I guess I was looking through a lens that knew me much differently!

Jerry Harshman
9 min readJan 13, 2021
Photo from American Legion.Org (https://emblem.legion.org

Have you ever heard your name called aloud unexpectedly? Have you ever been signaled out for an award you didn’t think you deserved? I was shocked when it happened to me!

Most small Indiana towns celebrate “Hoosier Hysteria” every Friday during basketball season. Rossville Jr./Sr. High School was no exception. It started the weekly celebration around 3:00 when the entire school gathered in the gymnasium for a pep session. For about a half-hour the varsity players shot baskets, the high school cheerleaders led the students in chants, and the band played. The coach usually capped it off with one of his fiery speeches.

As a junior high boy at the height of puberty, I enjoyed watching basketball, but those cheerleaders swinging their pom poms, jumping high in the air, and doing the splits really distracted me. Who knows? Would this be the day I would see a bare midriff or peek at a cheerleader’s panties?

It was a sunny, early May afternoon near the end of my 8th grade year, and basketball season was only a memory. As the entire school filed into the gym, I thought it was just going to be another one of those boring assemblies. Finally, the annual Awards Ceremony was underway and every student sat fidgeting on the gym’s hard wooden bleachers.

This year’s winner is Jerry Harshman.

I was about to drift off when I heard the school counselor say the next award is the American Legion Award, which is given each year to a student who demonstrates the strong qualities of character and good citizenship. I was very shocked when I heard her say, “This year’s award goes to Jerry Harshman.”

The last thing I ever expected was to hear my name called! Did they call the wrong name? No doubt, I WAS a character, but surely not one with character!

According to Character Counts, the six pillars of character are trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship.

Did they forget my first grade teacher caught me cheating on a spelling test? One word I just could not remember I wrote very tiny on my desk’s nametag. It provided the perfect setting for my first crime. Unfortunately, my teacher detective uncovered my plot and rewarded me with a big fat “0”.

Then there was the time a student reported to the bus driver that I was cursing. Believe me. I did not say, “Shit!”

Arguing with my sixth grade science teacher earned me a trip to the principal’s office. He finally had heard enough of my debate about whether his answer or my answer on the test should be correct. Some battles just are not worth waging.

I guess only my friend Jim realized that I never filled out the answers in my seventh grade-spelling workbook. I knew how much my mom enjoyed doing crossword puzzles so I allowed her to fill out the vocabulary pages of the assignment. The teacher had students exchange books to grade our answers. Jim would write notes back and forth to mom on the pages of my workbook! Hello! I may have received more grace than I deserved.

I never received poor grades, but I certainly was not near the top of any of my classes except maybe physical education and I never considered myself as a leader. My classmates or teammates never selected me as an officer or captain.

In the classroom, I was overly shy, rarely raised my hand and cringed when a teacher would call on me to give an answer. I was easily embarrassed anytime I gave a wrong response. I remember once in sixth grade our class was studying about Utah. I said that Brigham Young and the Morons instead of the Mormons settled it. The class laughed at my answer and I wanted to hide under my desk.

Since I had no sense of rhythm, I became a wallflower in a dark corner of the gym at sock hops rather than embarrass myself on the dance floor. I was extremely timid and awkward around girls.

There were two girls in my class which I wanted to ask out, but because I was so backward and tongue-tied two of my friends asked the girls out first and eventually married them before I could even get up the nerve to ask for one date.

My greatest outlet was sports. I loved to play baseball and basketball. On the field and on the court I could let my skills speak for themselves. Crowds were smaller and less intimate in baseball, but as I reached the varsity level in basketball, my timidity and shyness kept me from experiencing greater success. A gym full of roaring fans caused me to have too much anxiety to play to my potential. I was so nervous every time I hit the floor.

Truly, the counselors and my teachers had seen something in me that I had not imagined or ever seen in myself. During high school, watching my teachers in action made me realize the possibility that I could someday become a successful teacher too.

My parents emphasized the importance of education.

Even though my parents had only finished the eighth grade, they had always emphasized how important it was for me to do well in school. They just expected me to finish high school and go to college. My parents’ lack of formal education was common for those who had lived through the Great Depression and two World Wars.

Only 46 % of people in my parents’ generation had gone to college and only 24% were college graduates. Yet, they realized that college was how their children could have a better life. Fifty-eight percent of baby boomers have graduated from college and like so many baby boomers; I was the first in my family to graduate from college. Mom and dad died many years ago, but they would be so happy to know I earned three college degrees and made my 40-year contribution to public education.

Photo by Blake Barlow on Unsplash

My teachers were the only professionals in my life.

There were no professional people in my family growing up. Most all of the men were mechanics, carpenters, or factory workers. My teachers were the only examples of professionals in my life. I had no idea what other career options existed and career education wasn’t really a thing emphasized at the time.

I must admit some of my teachers made lasting impressions on me. Some good and some not so good!

Maybe I could trace my lack of math skills to two high school teachers. Mrs. Crum seemed ancient at the time, but I remember her uncanny pronouncements. “I remember your mom and dad. They were both good students so you will be too.” To others she would say, “Your mom and dad were just average students so you will be too.” Since I didn’t have any brothers or sisters, I felt fortunate not to have to live up to or overcome her biased predictions. Her first name was Cecil and no, her husband’s name was NOT “Beanie!” While teaching I never had any students’ parents, but I really tried not to compare the ability of a family’s siblings which often ended up in my classes.

Mr. Reed, my senior math teacher always seemed so disheveled. He would fill the entire blackboard with his white chalk notes. Then he would look at his masterpiece running his hand through his hair and over his face. It was such a sight to see his hair all messed up and chalk all over his suit. Occasionally he would return from the restroom and forget to zip up his pants. Everyone would smile and snicker, but I don’t ever remember anyone telling him to zip up. As a teacher, I soon came to realize just how messy chalk dust could be. My clothes did become chalky from time to time. In addition, I found myself unzipped on a few occasions and realized sympathetically just how Mr. Reed must have felt when he discovered his omission.

I always did much better in English and Language Arts than Math. Mrs. Clem and Mr. Graham were two teachers who helped me become a better reader and a better writer.

Mrs. Clem really encouraged us to read and do book reports. I remember once having a contest with another student, Carl, to see which one of us could get his library card filled up first. He blew me away filling two cards to my one. In addition, we had to memorize various poems and passages. I still annoy my family by reciting the “Prologue to Canterbury Tales.”

Mr. Graham really emphasized the mechanics of doing research and writing term papers. He had been well traveled and told us stories about one of his former students, Hal Holbrook, who portrayed Samuel Clemons. In his class, I did a research paper about the Wabash River. My dad drove me along the river so I could take pictures to illustrate several of the points made in the paper.

Some may consider Latin a dead language, but Mrs. Senger brought it alive for me. She was a taskmaster and many students were actually a little bit scared of her. I learned so much English grammar from her class. In addition, since many of our English words have Latin roots her class really helped me to improve my vocabulary. I would still love to go to Rome to see ruins of some of the places we learned about in her class.

Photo by jesse orrico on Unsplash

My coach’s influence led me into coaching.

Mr. Jones came to Rossville in the fall of 1964 and he was a huge influence on me as a student, as an athlete and as a person. He coached me in basketball, baseball and cross-country. The times I spent with him helped me decide to enter the coaching profession.

I am still so thankful that in 1968 in order to become a high school coach you had to be a teacher. If that had not been the case, I may never have gone to college. I would have been happy to simply coach as some do today, but I would have missed the wonderful opportunities had as a teacher and school administrator.

Mr. Jones was 30 years old and had many of the girls at the school swooning over his good looks, but he brought an exciting, new brand of basketball to our fans.

As my freshman biology teacher, we just seemed to click. It was as if I could read his mind when it came to tests and quizzes. Most of the time I knew exactly what questions he would ask on the test. I became one of the top students in his class and looked up to him as my role model.

One day while students were doing their required outlines of the chapter, he called me up to his desk. He told me he was going to speak at a basketball clinic. He showed me a few notes he had written out about his presentation and asked me what I thought about it. Wow! He cared about what I thought.

Something very special happened for me my senior year. I am still not sure how he pulled it off, but he told my parents to see about getting me contact lenses. He said the athletic department would pay for the initial exam and expense of the contacts.

On the court, he was a fighter. Often times his vocal attacks on referees resulted in technical fouls. I watched everything he did on and off the court. My four-year relationship with Mr. Jones solidified my desire to enter the coaching field.

He was Rossville’s varsity basketball coach for 14 years. During those years, his teams won four sectionals, 3 regionals, 6 holiday tourneys and 7 conference titles. This success led to his induction into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2005.

Thanks to Mr. Jones influence, I earned a degree in physical education at Indiana University and coached for 17 years. During those years, I coached baseball, basketball, cross-country, football and track. My coaching career came nowhere near Hall of Fame status, but hopefully I had a positive effect on a few of the students and athletes who called me their teacher or coach!

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Jerry Harshman

A retired teacher, coach, administrator and sports writer shares some of the humor and lessons learned during the past seven decades. Truly a sage on the page!