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…

Sub Vision: School Closure 2

On the last week of school before closure, I was at one of my favorite special education classes. This school has the best special education program, with the most qualified and dedicated teachers, most of whom I had known for years, since I worked there.

This group of students I was teaching just before the closure, are 12^th graders now.  I had taught this same group, for several weeks, four years ago, when they were 9th graders, as the school lost their permanent teacher and before they hired a new one.

This was quite a difficult group of students, smart but resentful, especially because their previous substitute teacher was much more lenient…

Over the years, I had seen them in different classrooms and watched them growing up. Some of them gained a foot in height, boys added facial hair and deeper voices, and the girls became young, smart looking, ladies. Most of them are now thoughtful young adults, taking responsibilities and seriously planning for their future.

With time, even the students who resented me most, became more friendly and appreciative, and just on that same week, the assistant told me, to my surprise, that one of the boys, with whom I  had many discipline issues, said he likes that I am their substitute teacher.

If the closure continues until the end of the school year, as they predict, it means I would not see this group of students at the school any more. I was already feeling sad every time I saw them, knowing they will graduate this year. Now I may not even see them before graduation…

Of course, I feel for them too. They will miss the thrill that comes with being the graduating class, respected by the younger students, befriended by teachers and staff, as they absorb the last memories of school days, realizing they will be leaving soon. And what about graduation ceremony, prom, senior activities and pranks? all those memories that carry you throughout life…

All through the school year students, teachers and staff are waiting for few days off, and the more the better. Now that we have them in abundance we wish we didn’t…