The light at the end of the tunnel

Snippets here. Snippets there.

Figments of a past life.

"Jenny asked me what her bra size was."

My words, scribbled on a slip of paper, a half year old.

At the setting, within my classroom, Jenny's request was completely inappropriate. And I responded to her, unamused and displeased, telling her that the question was vulgar to me.

I now no longer suppress a chuckle as I think back to the absurdity of such a question. Just a sample of the many outlandish situations I had encountered as a pedagogue of 100 ninth graders in the midst of hormone-raging puberty. I sure didn't expect to experience these episodes when I first applied to become a New York City public school teacher.

You are probably waiting for me to regale you with more entertaining stories of the crazy things that students have done within the confines of school. Unfortunately, I will not for the time being. I've written some in previous posts already. Ask me for more in person. I usually tell a number at parties.

But I'll recount them with a nostalgic feeling--as a former teacher, someone who is now separated from the education system that was so central to my identity for two years. For with the end of my second year came the termination of my commitment to my alternative certification program, allowing me to choose whether I wanted to continue teaching or quit. I opted for the latter. To leave behind the community that I was part of. I abandon my colleagues with a heavy heart, to leave for them the task of teaching the children that I ditched in order to "ascend" to the next stage of my life.

In my precious last days of teaching, I lowered my facade of sternness to become "real" with the kids. I wanted to know whether they had learned anything during the course of the year. It was my way of knowing whether I had "made a difference." To that end, I gave them an end of the year survey. I told them to be honest in their responses.

Here are some choice exerpts from the survey

Some students offered me some advice:

"You should kick out the distractions in the classroom, b/c it takes away learning time."

"Just be patient--but don't let the kids out of control either."

Others commented on my demeanor in class:

"You need to laugh a little"

"Nice meeting you :) & You should smile more :)"

"Be funner, smile more"

There were students whose lives were impacted by class:

"Misterteacher helped me not pollute"

"The teacher helped me build character inside and outside of class."

And others enjoyed my class and my teaching style:

"I had a great teacher."

"This yr I think I learned a lot more than my middle school so I'm glad I just need to get better as the years go by in science"

"Rock on Misterteacher I'll miss you as a science teacher and how you used to be so sarcastic and serious all the time."