Commentary: "How I came to teach at Liberty High School"

I was doing a little self-reflection this morning and thinking about my 20 years of teaching at Liberty High School . Some of you may know that, I retired from the Navy with 23 years and 9 months of service in June of 1995 and began teaching at Liberty High School in August of 1995. Recently, someone asked why did I choose Liberty High School and why had, I stayed there so long? The first part of that question was easily answered; Liberty High School picked me. The offer to come to Liberty was unsolicited. In fact when the call came, I was on the golf course at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach. Arriving home after the round of golf; my wife informed me that a Mrs. Thelma White had called and wanted to speak with me about a job interview. I made the return call and spoke with Mrs. White. I was unsure of taking the offer because, I had not yet completed my student teaching experience. Mrs. White however, made me an offer that could not be refused when she said, "Mr. Day look at it this way. You can student teach this fall in Virginia Beach and pay Old Dominion University or you can come out to Bedford actually teach and we will pay you." Without hesitation, I set up an interview time and date for the last week of June. It must be admitted, at this point, that I had absolutely no idea where Bedford County even was so Barbara and I looked it up in our Atlas.
As the date for the interview approached, I prepared myself and hoped for the best. The day of the interview, I drove out to Bedford on route 460 from Virginia Beach. It was a pleasant but long trip and I arrived in Bedford around 11:00 am for my 1:00 pm interview. As I took the exit and started to drive down Main Street the scene was somewhat reminiscent of my home town back in New York. However as I topped the hill at the Court House and saw the Peaks of Otter, I fell in love with Bedford at first sight, saying to myself "This is my new home." I parked my car on Bridge Street and having some time to kill wandered through several of the stores that make up the business district. Now this next is funny. As, I walked around town my attention turned to my attire. My suit was good and the tie was perfect, but my shoes left something to be desired. I became concerned and anxious over the shoes and remembering that, I had seen a Wal-Mart sign on Route 460, drove out to that store and purchased a pair of black oxfords.
I arrived at the School Board office on South Bridge Street about fifteen minutes early and was immediately taken back to Mrs. White's office. She was an amiable lady with a broad smile and a pleasant voice. We made small talk for a few minutes and then she stated, that the Superintendent of Schools wanted to personally interview me. I was very surprised by this and my nervousness increased about 100%. My interview was very short, Dr. John Kent asked me a few questions, looked me over, and then said, "I am going to send you over to Liberty High School. You will meet with the Principle for about 20 minutes and return here to see me." Needless to say, I did as told and then returned to the Superintendent's office where he said, "We are offering you a job to teach history at Liberty High School, I want you to go home talk with your family and call me on the Wednesday following the 4th of July with an answer. Of course I did call back and say yes. I have always believed that God must have intended me to teach at Liberty High School, There is no other way to explain the miraculous manner in which the job came to me.
Now for the second part of the question posed to me, why have, I stayed so long and never thought of leaving. This will not require a long drawn out story but can be explained in two parts. The first part of the answer lies in the view, I have from my classroom. I am awed each and every day by the beauty of the Peaks of Otter and feel privileged to teach in their shadow. The rest of the answer lies in the sense of duty, I have to my students, my peers, and the school. I most likely owe that sense of duty to my military background and it has become an integral part of my personality and belief systems. I am old fashion and live by a code that requires loyalty and creates an obligation to complete what, I start. When I was hired for this job, they asked what my goals were and I said, " to stay at Liberty High School and complete my career in teaching the future of America." I will complete my twentieth year at Liberty High School in May of 2014 and look forward to doing at least 3 more years teaching the students that they give me and thanking God for my great fortune.