I officially entered the full-time labor force in 1972 when I drove my 1964 Olds from my childhood home in Evergreen Park to 71st Street and Loomis Boulevard on the city’s South Side for my first day as a substitute teacher at Altgeld Elementary School.

Just 21 years old, I still felt like a kid, and Altgeld Principal Thomas Pinson did nothing to disabuse me of that notion.

“Do not stray from the syllabus in the substitute folder” was the first order he gave with regard to the sixth grade class I would be covering that day. I turned around to see who he was talking to since he was looking over my shoulder. And not saying my name.

When, at the end of the day, I learned from the office staff that he wanted me to return the next day and every day thereafter as a day-to-day sub, I inferred he was pleased with my work. Yet, for the remainder of the school year, he never said as much, and he was still looking past me when I said goodbye for the summer.

Read more at: https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/09/03/opinion-teaching-female-leaders-influence-support/