Work-Life Balance - Bernie Clarke

Note to the reader: Not everything in this story is true. For example, there might have been a small problem with a chemistry experiment once or twice, but that’s about it. As teenage boys, our imaginations tended to run wild. So, parts of the story are based on our subjective impressions rather than on bare facts.

There were wonderful teachers in St Kieran’s College, and they were all very different from one another. Every one of them influenced me in some way. I would like now to talk about a particular teacher who demonstrated the balance between work and personal life — Bernie Clarke.

Bernie Clarke was a young teacher at the time — perhaps he was in his early thirties. He was a relaxed, gentle, and stylish man. Although he was not a tall man, he drew attention nonetheless. He was always neatly dressed, wearing some kind of sports jacket, often one with a check pattern. His hair was as black as coal. Furthermore, there were no wrinkles on his face, as he was a calm person who did not get worried easily.

While many of the other teachers were putting in some extra time on school matters, Bernie did not generally do the same. Despite that, he was a very good teacher — a very pleasant person. There wasn’t the threat of the strap in his class, and he never used corporal punishment or harsh language on us. We took advantage of that knowledge — we weren't overly well-behaved in his class! We, the students, were a lively bunch, and sometimes it was difficult to hear what Bernie was saying in the class. Another thing we liked was that, unlike some other teachers, Bernie didn't give us any homework at all. We were very grateful for that, as we already had too much homework. School was on every day, except Sunday, at that time — a half-day on Wednesday and Saturday. And we had to study at night every single day for about two or three hours. But we were constantly busy with homework in the other subjects, and it was difficult for us to finish everything on time.

Chemistry with a Fireball

Bernie taught us chemistry, a subject that was not too interesting to us at first. In his classes, we used to laugh and jeer, throwing paper balls at each other when Bernie wasn't looking. Occasionally, Bernie's patience broke, and he would raise his voice:

“Ah now, lads, cool it there!”

We would be quiet for a little while, but before long the commotion would start again.

But you could hear a pin drop any time Bernie got a test tube, or a jar, or chemicals. He was about to do a chemistry experiment. Everyone knew what would happen then. Every experiment failed disastrously! Dangerous results — an explosion, or a strange smell, or even a fireball! We couldn't control ourselves; it was so funny. In the end, this is what Bernie would say:

“Ah well, lads, you get the main idea, anyway!”

I clearly remember the time one student tried to imitate Bernie. The student stole a glass (jar) containing potassium. He went to the toilet, and threw a piece of it into a toilet bowl. There was a huge explosion, and the toilet seat was thrown up into the air with the force of the blast. Everything that was in the bowl was spilled as well. The poor student came out of the toilet in distress, and he was wet with water and whatever else was in the bowl. He also lost his hearing for a little while. The college was not too happy either, and he was nearly expelled from the school because of that awful misbehaviour. The chemistry lab was locked after that, and the like never happened again.

Doing Two Things at Once

Apart from the chemistry experiments, there were other occasions that captured our attention in the class. In the days just before school exams, Bernie would summarise everything he had taught us that term. But everyone and their uncle knew that Bernie would give the class hints about the questions that would be on the exam paper. We didn't want to let Bernie down either, and so we would spend some time studying our notes from the last classes of the term. We never let him down, not even once.

As for Bernie's passion, you would have to go out onto the golf course to see that. My father told me about Bernie, as my father also played golf, on the same course. He told me that Bernie had a handicap of about five.

“Only the best amateurs in the sport have a handicap like that,” my father said.

I understood then what Bernie's passion was — golf. He was out on the course every chance he had, improving his skills, God bless him.

I learned a lot from Bernie in addition to chemistry. I learned that you get the results you want when you focus your attention and energy on your passion, and you have a more worthwhile and satisfying life as a result. That's not to say that you don't do anything else — definitely, you do. You are able to do other things excellently too when you put the right structure in place.

That is exactly what Bernie did. He knew that his true passion was golf. As a teacher, he was able to be on the course every day during the holidays, especially in the summer. His passion and his career came together wonderfully for him, and he was able to handle both at the same time.

I am certain that Bernie retired from teaching many years ago. I would bet, however, that he is still playing golf!

Mistreatment of a Long-Term US resident by immigration officials!