A rapper, an author, and a murder victim walk into a school… No, this isn’t the setup to a dark joke, rather this is an average morning at Franklin.
This iconic cast of Franklin substitute teachers do much more than read sub plans and play movies. There’s Sandra Childs — who plays the victim of a murder in many Franklin English classes’ annual murder mystery project. Hector Cobb — better known by students as “the rapping Spanish sub” for his elaborate and often unpredictable raps. And Warren Hatch — author of “In One Yard: Close To Nature.” But beyond their raps, books, and mysterious deaths, who really are the subs of Franklin?
Hector Cobb
After spending three years cleaning bathrooms for Kmart, unable to find work as an educator, the now esteemed rapper was offered a job at a high school in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The lore of his raps stems back to his first day on the job when he was, as he puts it, “thrown out the window” by a student. Even though the drop was nothing short of two feet, and thankfully, this particular window was made up of wooden slats, the impact on Cobb was the same. Cobb says, “I kicked him out of class and went to his father afterward and said ‘your son pushed me out the window,’ I said, ‘that’s assault. If that happens again, without fail, he goin’ to jail.’”
At that moment, he realized that a gimmick, more precisely rapping, was a way he could connect with students through the chaos of being a high school educator. That night, Cobb went out, bought some Bob Marley tapes, and the rest is history.
After 41 years of subbing at Franklin — in both classrooms and our library — Cobb brings that same philosophy to his classes here. He’s become known for more than just his raps, but for his compassion and dedication to the community. Franklin’s Library Assistant, Chris Hamilton, who has worked with Cobb for almost three decades, explains how their relationship has grown beyond the library, saying, “I had two knee surgeries. He’s called me after both to make sure [I was] still okay. … he’s just a great guy.”
Cobb ended our conversation with, as per usual, a fun rap:
“Franklin is a lot of fun / They are the Lightning and number one. I tell you man I have a blast / when I am teaching Spanish Class. Also man I’m not contrary / but I enjoy helping out in the library. I tell you man I don’t jest / Cause I have an MLS (Masters of Library Science). So man I testify / I enjoy subbing at Franklin High.”
Sandra Childs
As Franklin has taken on a new administration, building, staff, and mascot, few constants have remained as long as Childs. After starting at Franklin as a teacher in ‘91 and then serving seven years as the librarian, she’s now spent the past three years as a sub. Childs has become widely known with each generation of students for her blunt attitude and often more “traditional” — as she so describes — approach to teaching.
Childs is well aware of her reputation; she reminisces to her time as a teacher, saying, “[on] the first day of school, I would ask the kids an uncomfortable question, which [was] ‘how many of you have siblings who’ve been here’ … And then I would say, ‘okay, how many of you heard that I was a little crazy.’” She slowly inches her hand up, describing, “And you know hands would go like that.” She’d then ask what they had heard about her and someone would say something like, “‘I heard you’re like really hard but you help kids out a lot.’ You know, I said all of those things are true.”
33 years after Childs’ first day at Franklin, as Childs and I sat down to talk, a sense of melancholy overtook our conversation. We picked a spot at the back of the library that she had once called home, but the library no longer felt like home to Childs. In fact, the entirety of the Franklin community felt more distant than ever. She reminisces on the pre-remodel days of Franklin, saying, “I hate to say this, but, you know, it really was a Franklin family. We called it the ‘Quaker family.’” She continues, “It was a smaller staff, a smaller student population, a smaller building, and there was a real effort to care for one another. … It just felt palpably like a home for people.”
But for Childs, this “Quaker family,” is gone both literally — Franklin has since moved to a new mascot — and symbolically. Childs says that between the temporary move to a new campus during the remodel, the pandemic, decreased teacher prep-time, and the new administration — the energy she used to feel is gone. “I think [the energy] all shifted, and now we have a new administration who have never experienced that family part. … but I know that it can be gotten back.”
Warren Hatch
At 18, after graduating from Catlin Gabel School here in Portland, the now author and substitute teacher, Warren Hatch, moved to England to bicycle through the Isles and figure out what he was doing with his life. It was during his bike rides through the British Isles that Hatch decided to become an educator, motivated by his dedication to science and his desire to help start people on the right track. With a dream in his heart and a bike on his back, Hatch headed back to the States.
It was in Los Angeles where Hatch’s passion for bringing science to the classroom truly developed, when, on a walk through the city, Hatch caught a jumping spider. Accompanied by his illuminated magnifier and his then pet, the jumping spider, Hatch subbed for classes across Los Angeles. Students would line up to see the spider up close and personal. “Capturing it [was] finding a way to communicate nature with students,” reflects Hatch.
Now, instead of bringing live spiders to class, the tenured substitute teacher brings his book: “In One Yard: Close To Nature,” a tell-all of the organisms occupying his rainy Portland backyard. In 2015, the book was recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science as “one of the best science books of the year.” Between lectures and lessons, Hatch shows students his book — often distributing free copies — along with its newly released sequel: “In One Yard: Close To Nature 2.” Hatch is currently working on his follow-up, tentatively named “Beauty In One Yard,” and can’t wait to show it to his students.
