Author’s schooling fed ‘Book All the Teachers!’

For 30 years, Jim Parry taught middle school students in Spokane Public Schools, followed by five years of tutoring, leaving him with memories, some that he jotted down on the back of hall passes, on sticky notes and scrap paper. It was only a matter of time that he wrote a book, enabling him to “get all of this stuff inside of me out.”

Parry has always been interested in words. As a youth in the 1950s, he made up stories and “mad-libbed” fairy tales, taking out words and replacing them with his own. Later, he wrote a weekly newsletter for his hockey team, team letters for a softball team he played on with his wife, an article for a Bloomsday magazine, and, more recently, two short stories for “SpokeWrite.”

With a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Washington University and a master’s from Whitworth University, Parry taught world history, social studies, geography and the occasional math class to less-than-eager “tweeners,” as he called them, which is kind compared to what other teachers call them in the safety of the staff room or at a local restaurant.

Swear words pepper Parry’s book “Book All the Teachers” and how could they not? He is, after all, dealing with middle-schoolers.

He breaks the ice right away, explaining the title. Pulling up to a middle school in his ’55 Chevy pickup truck with a “Tom Corbett – Space Cadet” lunch box on the seat next to him, he sees someone’s feelings spray painted on the school’s exterior wall which begins with an expletive followed by “all the teachers.” He writes “after 25 years in this business you’d think I would be used to these junior high antics. I’m not.”

Since the power washer would not be available for a couple of days, the head custodian changed the meaning of the message with his own spray paint by altering the offensive word to “book” with just a few loops. Around the corner, Parry noticed that the expressive artist had added “except Parry” which Parry described as a fine compliment.

Parry’s book will be hitting the stands this month. It is a funny yet poignant look at his students’ imperative years as well as his own. and though he left out some of the “darker” details, it is truth mixed with his own educational philosophies. “It might even come in handy for professors of future educators,” he said.

While taking a class at Whitworth College in the 1970s, Parry was asked to write down some lifetime goals. He quickly jotted down: run a marathon and write a book. He has done both.

When asked if he is considering a second book, he replied, “Well, I recently met with a colleague who has been working as a substitute teacher. In one setting, he has been required to wear protective gear including leather gloves and a helmet. While he was explaining this to me, I couldn’t help but wonder if this would be the start of a new book.”