Sub Vision: School Closure 4: The Graduating Class

The graduating class, that I will probably not see before they graduate and before they leave school, includes a variety of students that I came to be attached to over the years at my favorite school, and I will miss them…

There is a whole group of students from the special education program, smart, nice, polite and friendly. I have known most of them since they were in 9^th grade and noticed how they grew up over the years… Eduardo, Randy, Samantha, Emmanuel, Nicole, Luis are only some of the faces I am going to miss.

There is a girl in that group that I can’t think of her name but can clearly see her face. She was quiet and reserved, and during her first few years was often absent from class, but projected a strong character. She became teachers’ favorite in her senior year; teachers bestowed responsibilities on her and granted her privileges.

Then there is a student who was in a science class that I taught, an artist, who kept drawing in every class, regardless of the subject. I saw him at a computer art class few weeks before closure, still drawing on paper, not using computer art tools…

Another bunch is a troop of mid-eastern students who are both annoying and charming at the same time, doing the most irritating things. When they are in my class they walk around and talk to each other, shake hands with friends, and find an excuse to leave the class. When I am in a different classroom they pop in their heads and disrupt the order... They call my name during break and pretend it didn’t happen. They recently discovered my phone number and call me with a fake ID… And yet they are charming, cool, and funny enough, they think that I am cool…

There is this student that I remembered from his middle school, and not for a good reason. He had long blond hair and was rude and disruptive. When I tried to show familiarity, he sarcastically rejected my friendliness. Then he started 11^th grade and he changed, working at a nearby supermarket, he became a mature, serious student. His manners became polite, and even his haircut turned short and civilized.

And then, there is this cute boy who was in a 9^th grade math class where I helped a new teacher. He kept appearing at my side as I walked the school holes, checking if I still remember his name, always carrying a big book, dreaming of a big career.

I hope to see some of them in the community college, where I, sometimes, take a class. I would probably not recognize them, but hopefully they would recognize me…