Hello friends, family, and strangers (I flatter myself)! I am a recently-graduated girl finding my way in the "real world" (apparently, I've been floating around the fake world for the past two decades). Many of my friends' "real world"s consist of cubicles, nine-to-fives, marriage, babies, and other such grown-up things. My real world looks a little different. Yes, I still get up and go to work every morning, same as they do. But instead of battling fax machines, computer programs, disgruntled spouses and dirty diapers, I arm myself against a legion of 14-year-old boys. Well, 83 of them to be exact. You see, I teach 8th-grade boys' Science in an inner-city, high-poverty school. What it is not: glamorous, prestigious, boring. What it is: humorous, heartbreaking, and the most challenging thing I will ever do.

The stories I tell and the people I describe are real; you can't make this stuff up. If you are new to my blog, I hope you'll start at the beginning and fall in love with its characters, just as I have.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Blast from the Past

In fourth block today, my door swung open. For the kazillionth time. When you have a roomful of boys with the attention span of a Jack Russell Terrier, the door opening is a huge deal. Like, monumental. Any semblance of order you are working your ASS off to retain is shattered in an instant.

"WHAT!?!?!?!?!?!?" I screamed. For the kazillionth time.

I immediately ate my words, for who appeared at the door? Rosie, Will and Kia! My sweet boys!

Funny, "sweet" wouldn't be the word I used for them last year, but somehow I walked away with nothing but affection for them. They've gotten so big! Well, except for Kia. Kia was 6'4" last year, so I guess there's not much growin' left in him. I threw my arms around them and completely forgot I was teaching for a second. I wanted to know how high school was, what they were up to, if they were doing well and staying out of trouble and making good grades, they wanted to tell me how many girls they had following them around.

"Ms. M!! You shoulda seen us up in Mrs. T's room! She teach all girls, and dem girls was wilin' OUT when we walked in there! You woulda thought there was a Lady Gaga concert or sumthin' when we came through that door, dey was screamin' so much! We like celebrities!"

They spoke to my class and told them how much more responsibility you had to have in high school. "And when you get sent out, you don't just go to the next classroom, you get like 3 days OSS! I just got out of a final where I had to write a 5 page essay and answer 150 questions. Dey ain't playin' around in high school!"

I brimmed with pride when I introduced them to Ms. Z and Will confidently stuck out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Z!" Little men. We got our picture made, and I keep looking at it and smiling. They're towering over me and grinning and I look so...white...in it. I believe those boys will always hold a special place in my heart, even more so than this years'. They put me through hell and back, but they taught me so so much.

I told them how I was applying for school and how I had to have 25 pages worth of writing samples. "Guess what I wrote about?"

"Us!?"

"Yup. So if I don't get in, I'm going to blame it on you."

"Well," Will said, "if we ain't entertaining, I don't know what is!"

Couldn't have said it better myself.
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1 comment:

  1. A fly on the wallJanuary 14, 2011 at 6:27 PM

    Oh my gosh...I don't think I ever want you to leave this school!!! I mean, for your sanity, yes, but for my selfishness of reading these precious stories...absolutely NOT! LOVE love love every single story you tell on here...this is the best blog of writing!

    ps-I just said to Blake "OH SHIT (sorry Grandma!) I can't believe I forgot about our lake weekend last week!!!!" Please forgive me...we will do it asap!! Love you!

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