I was the new teacher in the English department, and at 26, fresh out of grad school, this was my first full-time teaching assignment. I was assigned four classes of senior English and was told my the campus principal, “Your job, Mr. Jones, is to ensure that these young adults graduate and are prepared for the real world. Make it happen.”

“Yes sir, I told him. He then told me that I had quite a bit of leeway as far as instruction, materials studied, and even classroom management. He said that it was my class, my students, and my responsibility.

Things well very well for the first few weeks. I...