Miss Callie's Revenge
Miss Callie Jones, math teacher at Dreher High School was unforgettable
By Clara Sue
Durden Ashley
Dreher Class of 1957

Miss Callie Jones

Dreher math teacher, Miss Callie Jones, was truly one of the most unforgettable characters I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. Full of fear and void of knowledge, I entered Miss Callie's class. Only behind her back did we call her Miss Callie, though. In class, she was Miss Jones , and we were Mr. or Miss So and So to her.

A silent hush fell over us as she gazed at us from behind her desk. We quickly sat to attention. Miss Callie stated the purpose of our new being, "You are here to learn equations, logarithms, and the Pythagorean theorem. You will take tests and more tests. You will go to the board and write out the equations when asked. You will learn math."

Throughout those four years, Miss Callie beat her sayings into our brains: To those who sat in the back - "Big ears of corn don't grow back by the garden fence." To those who resisted her wishes - "You are obliged to be (whatever you didn't want to be)." To those who couldn't go to the board when asked - "Uumph, that's too bad. You fail today."

One fine spring day in 1955 we all sat at attention in Miss Callie Jones's algebra class. A student arrived late, and we all felt for him. We knew he would take a verbal blistering. However, Miss Jones thought he was a new student, so she sent him to the office to get a note that would allow him to stay in the class.

When the student turned and left, we all choked our laughter. What she didn't realize was he was an "old" student with a new look: no glasses and bleached blond hair. The student was Robin Jones who had been in the class all year.