Class work a joy for ex-firefighter

Ask Charles "Chuck" Perkins why he left his comfortable retired life to become a para-educator at Canyon Elementary School, and he'll give you a simple, heartfelt reason: He gets a rush when he helps people.

Maybe the adrenaline doesn't pump like it does while steering a fire engine through traffic with the sirens screaming, or while turning a hose on flames threatening to consume a house. But when Perkins helps a child struggling with math or reading, he walks away from the experience with the same satisfaction he often felt during his 24-year career as a firefighter in Fallbrook, Calif.

"It's similar to firefighting in that you're helping people. It just happens to be kids," he said. "It's not the same kind of rush, but you feel good helping people."

Perkins joined the staff at Canyon Elementary this fall. Although he went to college intending to become a history teacher, this is the first time he has worked in a school. After college, he managed a ranch and worked in a lumberyard before becoming a firefighter around age 30.

Now 57, Perkins is glad to be back in the classroom as a teacher's aide. He said he has no intention of becoming a full-fledged teacher.

"I'm past that point of starting a new career," he said.

Instead, Perkins divides his time between Canyon's fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms. He helps fourth-graders with grammar and math and assists fifth-graders with language, vocabulary, social studies and writing.

He sits next to squirming kids to help them pay attention and patiently works with students who need a little extra help.

He also provides a much-needed male role model for the boys at Canyon Elementary, Principal Brenda Hoerner said. Before Perkins arrived, there was only one other man on staff.

"He's able to work with some of the boys who don't have father figures in their lives," she said.

Every day, Perkins said, he learns as much as the students do.

By watching teachers, he has learned there are different ways to teach students with different needs. He has watched instructors engage and discipline children.

"Everyone should come sit down and watch teachers," he said. "Then they'd understand why I'm in awe of them."

Perkins has learned, too, the value of flexibility. As a firefighter, he operated in a militaristic environment with rules and a chain of command.

"It was all black and white," he said. "Here, a lot of kids just need to have a hug once in a while."

Working at Canyon Elementary isn't Perkins' first experience working with children. In Fallbrook, he was the man beneath the Smokey Bear costume for nearly two decades.

In the 1980s, when he first became a firefighter, he would don the bulky suit every October during Fire Prevention Week. His station didn't have an official children's program, but Perkins would walk around schools as Smokey and say hello to the children.

He made the school rounds while on duty, so if he received an emergency call, he had to change out of the cumbersome costume while rushing to the fire or accident.

Eventually, he and others involved in fire prevention created a children's program that catered to kindergarten through third-grade students. Using skits, props, a robot and, of course, Smokey Bear, the firefighters developed "a pretty good fire-prevention program with the kids," Perkins said.

They even purchased a new Smokey costume with a little more mobility. Perkins wore the suit for 15 years after the formal program began.

"I had a lot of fun doing that," he said.

He still was enjoying it when he began planning for his retirement. In the fire service, he explained, people usually retire around age 55.

While he was looking for a place to retire, some friends suggested Perkins and his wife, Peggy, a nurse, check out the Flathead Valley. They were driving on Montana 206 when they found exactly the place they were looking for.

They bought the property and began building on their new home in spring 2005. They moved to the Flathead full time the following Thanksgiving and lived in a Kalispell apartment until their home was finished in May 2006.

Peggy Perkins found a job at Kalispell Regional Medical Center, leaving her husband to work on the house. After about a year, however, Perkins was ready for a change.

"I thought, I'm not very old. Maybe I should do something instead of sitting around all the time," he said with a laugh.

At first he considered driving a bus or shuttle at Glacier National Park, since he already had the necessary driver's license. But that job would have meant working throughout the summer, which is when Perkins' children visit.

"Then I looked into helping with the schools," he said. "I thought I could help there more than anywhere else."

He briefly considered becoming a substitute teacher but decided he wanted a position with a set schedule. Working as a para-educator means he's home by 4 p.m. most days - and he gets holidays and summers off.

He's also guaranteed to help someone every day, whether by giving teachers more time to devote to teaching the entire class or helping a student work through a math problem. That's the best part of his job, he said.

"I get enjoyment out of helping kids and seeing them do well," he said. "I'm helping them improve."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.