Fall 1973: My Freshman Year

 


Welcome to my freshman year at East Jefferson High School, arguably one of the toughest all boy schools in the city. 


The year was 1973 and Richard Nixon was the president of the United States. The Equal Rights Amendment has passed in 1972 and things were certainly changing. Times were tough and money was tight. My parents were busy and I was responsible for getting myself up and ready, and on a school bus for my first day at school, and pretty much the rest of my life. I decided to start all over and focus mainly on my extracurricular activities. I went out for the student council, freshman basketball, the drama club, Fellowship of Christian Athletes and took driver’s education. I really didn’t study at all, though I did very much enjoy my Civics class, taught by Hugh Smith, a wonderful and entertaining fellow who openly disrespected the school administration and the U.S. government, but loved dogs. I thought he was intelligent and possessed quite an entertaining approach to teaching, especially Louisiana history. He also had an open door policy allowing any student who wished to skip another class to sit and monitor his classes, just as long as they stayed quiet in the back of the classroom. Mr. Smith was, by far, one of my best teachers I ever had, and I thoroughly enjoyed both his lessons and friendship. Mr. Smith knew my parents through their mutual interest in collecting antiques, which I think is the reason I eventually trusted him with sharing my challenges with my dad. He liked my parents very much, but he knew my dad could be a handful. It was through many long, private discussions that Mr. Smith confirmed my suspicions that my dad, much like myself, was working with a shortlist of tools in his old toolbox, and that he was doing the best he could. He made me realize that my dad was hard on me because he saw a lot of himself in me, and that he just wanted me to be better than he felt he could ever be. I felt good knowing that Mr. Smith actually listened and genuinely cared about me, as well as all his other students, which is why so many of us loved monitoring his classes. I later realized I always did my very best in challenging situations when I had an understanding teacher or a reassuring adult on my team each school year.


I finished my ninth grade with Cs and Ds, with the exception of my first straight A’s for the year in Civics and straight F’s for the year in my Latin Studies class.


© 2022 Jeffrey Pipes Guice

My Wonder Years: A Book

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