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Beau Wann, Jr.
Mrs Kahla was my speech teacher as well. Lynn, you think she had patience with you! That woman was a saint, look who else she had to put up with, the clown prince, ME ! ! ! ! I dont recollect just perzactly which grade I had her for speech, but 10th grade seems to come winging in from the infinite. I remember agonizing about what courses to take, and I'm not sure really why, because the course of studies was pretty much determined from the get go!
You had to take english, and math and history and gym and the like, and lacking a course in "clowning around and generally being a nuisance", there were however, some electives that were opened to us, and sometimes they would count towards, say english or math or history or whatever, so you could be spared taking something you knew would chew you up and spit you out.
I never thought of typing, I guess because I was "fat fingered" and mechanicly incompetent, so typing was out, and they didnt allow idiot boys in home ec, I guess they thought we would set the place on fire, although I frequently visited the home ec class for a taste of the culinary masterpieces you lovely ladies churned out, mainly "spanish rice" , at least that was the only dish I remembered, but not to worry, it was delicious. I dont remember what other electives were offered, but you can bet I was probably not eligible, with the exception of "SPEECH".
What I was agonizing over, I was terrified of "public speaking" , and clowning around did not count!
Soooooo, I signed up for "speech 101" or whatever it was called back in them good ol days. First day of school and "speech" I was terrified, just knew I would be called upon to "stand and deliver the Gettysburg address" or something to that rediculous thought. I was so dreading that class, and wished I'd signed up for quantum physics or something easy.
I'm not sure what happened the first day, if we had to stand and say our names and what our hopes and dreams were, some of the things I was terrified over. I know I sat in the very back and tried to hide behind which ever student was in front of me. Maybe she wouldnt notice me way back here, the whole semester, yeah, could I pull it off, could I stay unnoticed, inviskible....NOT JUST NO, BUT GOLLY GEE NO ! ! ! !
Like I said I dont remember what happened that first day, or many of the subsequent days, but do know what happened on several occasions. In one of the classes, Mrs Kahla brought up the word "COMPOSE", and I'm not sure in what context it was used, but either she called on me, or I blurted out the rediculous "Compose" commercial that was on TV and or the "wireless".
I remember like it was yesterday, I replied "calm yourself, sure you're tense and irritable, but dont take it out on the children. Take Compose, C-O-M-P-O-S-E, Compose". After having forced myself on the class as the "class clown", I was imediately embarassed. Not to worry, Mrs Kahla just laughed and it seemed genuine, and acted as if what I said was the most natural response with whatever she said. Just think, she had a whole semester to put up with the likes of me, what a saint.
The other occasion that I remember was actually the last day I was in her class, FINALS ! ! ! ! I remember when the "F" word was brought up, and we were allowed to choose whatever topic we preferred to talk about. I think it was the beginning of the last 6 weeks of class, not really sure of the time line, but maybe about then that we were to choose a topic.
Back in them good ol days, I read the covers off of Boys Life, National Geographic and other such periodicals. Just so happens that National Geographic did a whole story on the making of and the shake down cruise of the 2nd nuclear sea going vessel, the USS Enterprise, the submarine Nautilus being the first.
I was so enamored and smitten with the logistics and building of the Enterprise, and all it's wonderous features, I asked Mrs Kahla if I could give my talk on it, and she readily agreed. Ok, that was too easy, what's she got up her sleeve? Nothing, cept her arm which was attached to the kindest most gentle heart on earth, that's what!
I wasnt certain how it would go, but looking back, I neednt have worried, seems with that documentary, I was in my element. I memorized the whole article, not because I thought I should, but because I was so enthralled with the subject and read the article a zillion and a half times. My speech on that subject, how could it fail ! For once in school, I was so confident, so sure of my subject, but not of my ability to actually talk intelligently on it. I thought I'd do the usual "idiot 16 year old boy stuff, er uh well uh er uh", you know the drill.
We were alloted 20 minutes on our subject, and I knew I would fail that part, because my talk, or speech would surpass the alloted time. "F" word day came slow, but fast. Agony Agony Agony, wringing of hands, gnashing of teeth, sweating of bullets. God, I was such a useless and hopeless student. Anyway, my time came up, I kept hoping for a fire drill, nuclear war, or something to postpone the agony further. I got up in front of the class, with all eyes upon me. (If it had just been Mrs Kahla and no one else, it wouldnt have been so bad)
I always agonized over failure in front of my peers, which was to me the worst thing that could happen to me. To adults, I knew what to expect, because I was always a failure in the eyes of that grouping, so that didnt matter so much, but to my age group, it meant "death", or so I thought. D-day, standing infront of the whole world, seemed like the whole world, and I would be judged incompetent and silly and a general all around failure and be sent to Siberia! ! !
I looked at the clock on the wall at the back of the class, and at Mrs Kahla sitting at one of the student desks, with smiling eyes, so I began talking about the big E as she was called, and the words just flowed and I talked and talked, telling everyone about the wonderous things I learned about the Enterprise, as if I had actually been apart of the planning and building of her, such as it had a zillion miles of wires on board, and the blueprints would stretch another zillion miles, and of her 8 nuclear reactors...OH NO, my 20 minutes was up already, and seemed I'd only just begun.
I guess Mrs Kahla could see the terror in my eyes as I had failed to get my talk in in just 20 minutes, I knew I had failed the final and the course. Typical me! You know what she said? "You've picked such an interesting topic, please continue, we want to hear the rest of the story", so I finished I think in another 20 minutes or so. Got an A ! ! ! Me, ol ner'do well, got an earned A. I think it was more of a testament to Mrs. Kahlas ability as a teacher than it was of my prowess in the classroom. She did know how to get the best out of a student, even the class clown.
Having her as a teacher was like having a favorite aunt as your teacher, or better yet, one of your classmates, Like Jenny or Robbie or any one of yall. What a wonderful lady she was, what a credit she was to her chosen profession, what a godsend she was to her students, and the likes of me.
When I see kids interviewed today, one of the things they are inevitably asked, is what do they want to do with their lives once they graduate. The standard answer is " I will major in journalism, because I want to make a difference in the world". To me, journalism has made a difference in the world, and not much of it GOOD.
My advice to young people about to graduate from high schrool is, if you want to make a difference in the world, a decidingly good difference, BE A TEACHER! ! ! Then once you become a teacher, try to be like Mrs. Kahla, that should be your goal in life, be a Mrs Kahla.
I never got to thank her for being there for me, so now it's too late, but thank you Mrs Kahla, for being there for all us scared kids, all us clowns of the world, you certainly made a difference in my life for sure, a difference I've never forgotten, and not likely to ever forget. It is my hope that other kids get lucky like I was, and have a "Mrs Kahla" for a teacher.
God bless you Mrs Kahla, and God speed to the heaven I know you belong in. I know my dog Cooper is there to greet you, because you see, he was also a teacher, the best of the best like you, having made a difference in the lives of countless kids like you did, and hopefully some day, I will get to be with him and you and thank you both in person for being so special to me. Thank you ! ! !
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