Feeling the Love

There was an article in my local newspaper today, The Kingwood Tribune, about an 89-year-old high school substitute teacher in our town. Being a substitute is an underrated profession (I tried it b.r.i.e.f.l.y), I can't imagine doing it at the fragile age of 89! ! Pretty much a lion's den if you ask me. I knew this man had to be special.

Ironically, the teacher's name is Doug Love. Doug's *love* is teaching old-school values such as honesty and modeling the right behavior for students to witness his words in action. The article tells a story about a disrespectful student commenting last semester, "I don't have to listen to you because you're old and going to die any day." In response to the rude remark, a flash mob of students showed up on Doug's front lawn to honor him and show their support. About 75 kids sang the Beatles song, "All You Need is Love", then presented him with a gift of a crazy novelty hat. Doug is known for his collection of hilarious head-toppers — a clear indicator of his lighthearted sense of humor. The story even made CNN national news.

Remember high school and how you thought you had the whole world figured out? Though I was never one to act out myself, there were always those kids who refused to listen to anyone with actual life experience. Those students proudly used disruptive (mis)behavior to lower the class's motivation to learn and humiliate authority at every turn. And the kids with attitudes always took advantage of the subs. But I think this story proves that one bad apple doesn't have to spoil the bunch. Kudos to the kids who took the time to make things right. After I read the article, I googled Doug Love to share the national video coverage of the flash mob incident.

Retired from the oil industry, Doug has been substituting at Kingwood High for 20 years. My son starts high school at Kingwood next year and I hope he has the honor of meeting Mr. Love.