A Lesson on Judgement

Hello there! Blue powerblogger here!

I'm really sorry, but in order for you to understand the true gravity of what I am about to talk about, you would have to attend our high school. Otherwise, it will just be a terribly tragic story that will hopefully make you rethink judging people so quickly.

In ninth grade, we had an english teacher, "Mrs. Jekyll" (you classical lit people who know what I am talking about will appreciate that name replacement) who was very, er, flirtatious with a certain "Coach Dottrell" (not as creative, just replace the first letter of the last name with another letter...) We all thought that there was something "going on" between these two, even though Mrs. Jekyll was married. We were so very wrong.

Coach Dottrell gave his testimony at a recent FCA meeting, and it really put a new light on the whole situation. This is basically the short version of what he told us:

He always dreamed of being a baseball or football player. He attended FSU and played on the football team there, and then when up to Michigan (?) to try out for some position on one of their football teams. There were four cuts for the position, and he made it to the final cut and was then sent home. He went to Orlando to look for a job coaching a high school football team, but got no leads. As a result, he moved to "our town" to try and further his career. Just as he had settled in, he was offered multiple job positions in Orlando as a high school football coach, but he couldn't return to the place where his dreams were first shattered. Since being in our town, his journey to fulfilling his dream career has gone in reverse. He was forced to take up a job in teaching in order to make his way up to coaching. The meager teacher's salary wasn't a problem, though, because he was good at saving money. Dottrell got married, and he and his wife lived off of his salary and put all of hers into savings. He amassed a large sum of money over the years, and thought that maybe things could be looking up. Finally having gained a spot as assistant coach on the school football team, Dottrell felt that there was still hope.

Then one night, after returning from an out-of-town football game, he walked into his kitchen and found a note on the counter from his wife, saying "I never really loved you". Dottrell was completely crushed. They divorced, and she took with her all of the money that he had saved. Now, forced to live off of that meager teacher's salary, Dottrell lives paycheck to paycheck. 

And the saddest thing he told us was, "All I ever wanted to have was a family to love me. When I see other teachers with their children, it absolutely breaks my heart. My fear is ending up alone."

The divorce happened two years ago. Ninth grade. The year his heart was left in complete ruins. Maybe he just needed someone to confide in. So what if that happened to be our english teacher? We were all so quick to assume that they were having an affair or something. I really feel awful now, knowing that she was just someone that gave him encouragement and helped him through that hard time. None of us took the time to think into the situation. We all judged them and spread rumors amongst our peers. We hurt them and their reputations, even if they didn't hear the things we said behind their backs. Maybe this can be a lesson to all of us, to not jump to conclusions.

Oh, and everyone needs to listen to Anberlin. They are basically the most awesome band ever. Download "Dismantle. Repair"

Until next week,

Caroline