Custodians

Hello everyone,

I once worked as a custodian, and I hated the job. It's difficult and thankless and doesn't pay as well as many other jobs.

It is, however, extremely important, though it is difficult to measure the work of a custodian unless it isn't done.

I want to urge you all to appreciate the custodians (as well as other support personnel) here. Be kind to them; express your appreciation for what they do; avoid criticizing them; couch your complaints in the politest tones. Buy them goodies, by all means.

Do you know what the custodians of Garfield have done? In addition to their regular work, some of them have worked long hours cleaning much of the mess from the fire so that the school would be as safe and clean as possible when teachers and students returned. Some of them have gone into the main building repeatedly both to secure it and to help teachers and administrators acquire whatever was necessary or personal.

The custodians rescued valuable costumes and equipment from the auditorium on behalf of the arts teachers.

It's true that they, like we, are professionals, and they do what they are paid to do when they clean up after us and our students.

But more than ever I am aware of the extras that the custodians do out of kindness and collegiality. They open our gates and classrooms, they accommodate our parties and activities; they make the school safe and comfortable; they repeatedly repair our air conditioning and heating systems. They were nice to me, even when I was making more messes than I'm making now. They helped me when my vehicle was vandalized. They went out of their way to make my life easier when I had an unorthodox classroom.

I wax ecstatic because today the custodians presented me and Ms. Martinez-Gonzalez a large collection of props, lights, microphones, keyboards, and costumes that they had carried out of the auditorium, working until the foul air made work no longer possible. For a small fee, I could write an ode to the custodian and not feel that I had prostituted myself. It would be a sincere venture, though most of the custodians I know would only smile at it, and there's no way for me to turn such effusions into decent art.

Even when they aren't heroic, thank the custodians. You couldn't do it without them.

Jeff Combe