I’m sitting in my friend’s classroom. I can’t sit in my old classroom because there is a new teacher there and she has a class right now. But I peeked in and saw that she had done a lovely job decorating the walls, the bulletin boards, even the whiteboard. There is a really nifty sign that looks like a piece of paper on which she gave the kids a model for how they should head all of their papers – she even included a visual example of MLA formatting. I’m so copying her.
She is the third English teacher they have had this year. I can’t imagine how challenging it would be to come in after TWO teachers had left before you.
“Hey Ms… — Ms. Shea! You’re back!”
So many double-takes. At first I felt a little bit like a ghost. Tom said he felt the same.
My friend Tom and I, who both taught here during our ACE years, have come to see our students graduate high school. I taught the current graduating seniors English for two years. It’s surprising how strong their accents are – they always spoke this way, but out in Colorado I guess I had forgotten a little.
I’ve only seen two of them so far today. “We miss you, Ms. Shea. You shoulda seen our research papers!”
But I’ve seen almost all my former sophomores (now juniors)!
It’s kind of awkward, I guess. But it has been really lovely, too.
10 bucks says I cry a little during Baccalaureate Mass tonight.
Mysteries and Manners 