Article October 4, 2010 Issue

REMINDER FROM A LITTLE BIRD

When an unfair employment situation crops up, an unexpected classroom visitor gives wings to prayer.

BY MICHAEL MASTAGNI

In 1974, I was returning home after three years spent in the Vietnam conflict. I had been drafted out of my teaching position, and upon returning I was going back to my junior high classroom. My wife and I had no time to unwind or to adjust to civilian life; we were just suddenly there. We quickly found a big apartment, and I was given a great group of both seventh and eighth grade students. It seemed we were on our way to readjusting.

But when I got my first civilian paycheck, it was significantly lower than my military noncom pay. How could that happen? I was making less than I'd been making when I was drafted! Well, as I investigated, it seemed that a consultant had advised my school district that I had been in a "police action," rather than a war, and that I did not deserve a return to my old paycheck. They were instead paying me as a substitute teacher in my own classroom.

This was a difficult situation because I was very fond of the people I worked for. I had attended the school as a child and had known everyone there for many years. How could anyone do this to a returning soldier? I wondered.