During a tour of the West Jefferson High School with coronavirus precautions it can be seen that each desk in the classroom has a grey or red sticker on the top corner in Harvey, La. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. Each period, students will be asked to alternate their use of desks and to clean them off after each class. The school is scheduled to open on August 26. (Photo by Max Becherer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

During a tour of the West Jefferson High School with coronavirus precautions it can be seen that each desk in the classroom has a grey or red sticker on the top corner in Harvey, La. Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2020. Each period, students will be asked to alternate their use of desks and to clean them off after each class. The school is scheduled to open on August 26. (Photo by Max Becherer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

Most elementary schools and their faculties have welcomed their students for the 2022-23 school year. A lot of students are excited. That’s the good part.

Sadly, some elementary schools, here and around the country, have five or six or more new teachers and administrators this year, after similar turnover the previous year. A national teacher shortage is bringing uncertainty and chaos for elementary students, especially in inner-city schools where every minute is make-or-break for education.

We know the reasons. Pay, mean parents, fear for physical security and changing mandates. The list can go on. All of it robs our youngest and most vulnerable students.

Stepping back decades, I recall that for the six years I was at Reddy Elementary in Baton Rouge, we had the same teachers in the same grades. The secretary was the same. Even the janitors, “Mr. Jim” and his wife, were the same.

I think it makes a difference. In just a few months, we and our parents and guardians knew our paths.

Through observation and word on the campus, I knew that Miss Walker was a no-nonsense second grade teacher who would not spare the rod. Miss Davis, in third grade, was going to be nice, but if the boys got out of line she would walk across the hall to get Mr. Mills, the sixth grade teacher, to scare the bejeesus out of us.

Because of familiarity, it was not uncommon to hear teachers inquiring about the status of students from earlier grades. Sometimes you could hear your name being bandied about in the hallway.

In fourth grade, I knew I was going to get Miss Wilson. She was known for her calmness, yet you never saw students cutting up in her class.

Back story on Miss Wilson: She saw that I was so spellbound by how light separated into colors after going through a prism that she let me take it home. Sadly, it fell out of my hand and broke before I got home. I loved her so when she did not get angry.

Weeks later, she invited me to her house, across the street from the school, to let me choose two story books I could keep for myself. I loved Miss Wilson forever.

You knew early on about Miss Simmons, the fifth grade teacher/choir director. She would say just about anything to you. When you got to her class, you knew appreciating music and the English language were important. The word was to get ready for writing and speaking properly in Miss Simmons’ class.

Mr. Mills was the school’s disciplinarian. We learned to be afraid of him in the first grade. He settled disciplinary issues with a stare or a paddle. He rarely visited a classroom twice in one year.

He was tough, especially on the boys, but the word was if you followed instructions, you were going to be all right. That meant a lot back then.

Mr. Mills could not exist in public schools now. Neither parents nor school board policy would allow him. I’ll just say this: He never injured me or anyone else, and none of us were mentally scared.

Now, what about my first grade teacher? Well Miss McKinley kind of confused me because she lived around the corner from me and right in front of McKinley Elementary School, yet she taught at Reddy Elementary.

She was hard on me at first because I was a talking machine. I was just happy to be around other children. At the time I lived with my grandmother. We did not have a phone or a television. So, I just wanted to talk early in the morning.

But after several disciplinary actions, I became a very good first grader, able to do a good bit of math and reading, thanks to two cousins, before my first day of school. Interestingly, I wrote a column about my school and long-retired Miss McKinley, living in another state, remembered me and had a relative send her a copy.

I know times have changed and I accept that. Space-aged tablets, phones and virtual learning are the thing now, along with ever-shifting faculties.

Sadly, many will never encounter a Miss Wilson. I am blessed.

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