I wrote this some time in May 2017, I think, during the fourth term when the school year was about to close. As a teacher, this is perhaps one of the classes I learned so much from.
It just dawned on me. While watching the fancy drills of the Adventurers and the Explorers, I suddenly felt that this would be the beginning of the “farewell season” with the 11th grade class — Euphonious. I just know this was so. For this same reason, I want nothing else than to just be amongst Them. Do nothing but sit there, and listen.
They are teachers, themselves, you know. It’s The-Little-Prince sort of thing, they are a reminder of things forgotten or never known — things like budding potentials, realizing limits, uncertainty and decisiveness altogether, being dauntless yet cautious. So you see, being with those like them is helpful in adulthood.
The reality is, it is pretty easy for the class to come up with a good show. It comes naturally to them. They do not disappoint. Every. Single. Time.
Call it bias, but the reason I say so may simply be because I have come to know each of them as themselves. They each have their own story, they each are their own selves…and I?
I am a fan. I respect each one of them.
I am thankful to have been allowed into their realm — their territory, their turf. I was the newbie, the plebe, the neophyte. (Perhaps, I still am. Who knows?) It wasn’t easy, I must admit. Being a teacher isn’t, I know it never will be.
I acknowledge that small window; that Alright-Let’s-See gesture, unnoticed by the naked eye; that slight nod, the 50–50 vibe. This, I believe, is the very thing that any teacher needs: An open window, no matter how small a welcome it may seem.
To be part of the lives of those in the classroom is holy ground. It is not to be taken lightly. It’s not just about books, content, stuff you say, tasks…
What point is there in teaching if you are deemed irrelevant? Or even worse, un-needed? Breaking ground is not an easy feat. You will always feel that you are being sized-up, doubted, questioned.. It is inevitable even if avoided.
But, I am Thankful for Grace and Time. Acceptance is at the far end. Although not fully, being listened to is significant enough. This makes each day worth it. It is more than enough to remain interested in entering the classroom every single day and have something to talk about, or laugh about. It is but pleasantry to share conversations with them. I do, however, prefer listening to their perspectives more.
And so here I am, 10 months in the running, I now feel angst…A parting discomfort…I will surely miss dem Euphonians. As their adviser… as their teacher, for a brief season.
Teaching goes beyond a term, beyond a schoolyear, beyond the classroom. “It is a lifetime,” they say. It sucks some of the time. But at most times? In all honesty? It is one of the most fulfilling things to do. This is why the Trod is meaningful.
I just can’t help it. Oh dear me, “Why?”, I say, “Why?”
I hope and pray they embrace Life and everything in store for them. But I know, in faith, In the Lord’s will and time, they will be fine.
So, dear ones, Adieu! Here’s to you, and you, and you, 22 times more
Hats off…hands down, it’s been a blast..
But then, as you know, the Show must go on..
So in Will Shakespeare’s own words, I say to you:
“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts, his acts being seven ages.”
We only get one life to live, Carpe Diem!
Originally published at kapekaye.wordpress.com on July 31, 2017.
