David Morton (Teacher)

I have taught nearly 10,000 kids in the city. I was first assigned to Southwest in 1966. At the time, I lived at 222 West 62nd Terrace in the Brookside area. What a school Southwest was! We had about 27-hundred kids and SW was named that year as one of the ten top schools in the nation. (I believe that was the year.) You may or may not know that for forty some years I was a full-time teacher and full-time broadcaster in the city. I frequently would do morning drive news, teach at SW, and return to do afternoon drive news. I never required more than five hours sleep. Many an AP student, far brighter than I, would turn on the radio in the morning to see if I was alive and kicking. It was most difficult to do morning news and then be absent from teaching that day. Students would get a "heads-up" if a their test was coming that day.

I really don't know just how many kids I've taught. I made that "guess-timate" because my teaching career has spanned over 40 years. I have taught in KC MO, Shawnee Mission, Bishop Ward High School, and Avila summer school sessions. Most of the time I taught five classes - some years more than five. An average class in those days was 30-35. The AP classes ran 33-66. I usually taught three electives (Contemporary Issues, Currents Events, and political science courses,etc.) that changed at the semester. I know it was at least one student and at times it seemed like a million. I loved teaching-entertaining kids. Unless kids are enjoying the class they will not be learning.

One of the outstanding pranks occurred during the mid-70s in an Advanced Placement American History (AP) class in Room 417. The room was connected by a small AP library lab to the AP English class taught by Dr. Virginia Welch. As a result, I would allow the AP kids to stay in 417 or the adjoining lab while I went downstairs to the cafeteria. One day, on my return to 417, I sensed something was afoot. Room 417 had a false ceiling. The AP kids – while I was downstairs – put a tape recorder in the false ceiling. They got someone’s Dad with a deep voice to record a “message from God.” The message was recorded a few minutes into the tape. I took role and was preparing to give my daily test. Suddenly, a loud deep voice comes from the false ceiling saying: “Morton, this is God. Let my children go!” The class exploded into laughter. Not wanting to miss a beat, I replied: “No, God. The children have misbehaved. They may not go.”

I remember now several of your classmates who were very anti-war critics in those days. When Larry Cannon told me as student council advisor "to keep the lid on" he meant for me to set up controlled discussion groups and programs that did not lead to disruptive protests. I remember setting up a "patriotic assembly" with the help of Carder Manning and George Alter. Which brings me to the point: Because of the role I played trying to get all kids to be critical thinkers, I may not have been popular with all. I irritated my classes by noting that only the extreme "hawks" and "doves" were saddened and upset that the war was over. They had nothing to be "hung up over" any more. Many of the extremists their used egos and not their minds to sort out issues.

If someone furnishes the pot of coffee, I'll be glad to show up at your reunion and sit at the "odd man" table and spin the yarns. In fact, I'll be glad to meet some of your gang at a local coffee house for yarns. I do have to get in by the time the street light come on.