It had been a while. A school year had dissolved away, a new one
had come and gone, and now another starts, with fresh plans and hopes to be a
comeback to old times schooling, where kids are in an actual building. However, it
may not happen after all...
In a shoe store, a young woman looked at me trying to figure
out behind her mask, and mine, if I am the substitute teacher she remembers. I
realized she was a student at my favorite school, a graduate of the class of
2020, the class that did not have graduation, at least not a conventional
one. I worked with these students since their 9th grade. Most know
me, and I know many by name and face.
It was a bittersweet reminder of other times; times when I
tried hard to handle crowded classrooms, every so often just thankful for being
able to keep them safe within the classroom walls. On fortunate occasions, though,
I enjoyed being able to bring clarity to a confusing subject, or, better, discuss
topics of the day, politics, character, future plans, thus watching these students mature
from freshmen to seniors.
It also reminded me to check on the status of my application
to return back to work.
When I checked on my application, I was told they are still
busy filling full time teachers’ positions, and would not get to substitute teachers until the fall. It prompted me to ask the unthinkable question: “Do you need me
as a full time math teacher?”
Did I mean it? Truthfully, I don’t know. I still feel I
missed my calling, being the good teacher I meant to be; clearing misunderstandings
associated with math, making it easy. There were too few occasions in which I was
able to be that teacher, so many obstacles on the way: huge class size,
unacceptable discipline criteria, unclear learning material, lack of a uniform standard
defining a goal.
So… in the hypothetical occasion in which a school calls and
asks me, I mean – pleads with me, to go back to teaching, here is my answer: I
will do it! I will teach any student of any level, but on two conditions: First
– I do not deal with discipline problems. Students who don’t want to learn
cannot disrupt others. Second – I teach my way, using basic, clear, easy
material of my own choosing, reserving complicated, challenging problems for
the capable and or motivated students only.
If you are a school that agrees to these conditions – I am
in!
