I have taught for almost a year. Last October, I took the plunge and started substitute teaching. Within a couple of months, I was offered a position at one of the best private schools in the Bay Area.
A glorious six months then ensued as I took over a small 5th grade class while the teacher departed on maternity leave. I literally spent about 7 hours a day with these same students, teaching math, history, science, vocabulary, spelling, literature, drama, art, reading, and more. I spent the entire day, every day, with them. It was an extraordinary experience.
I almost lost them once. After leaving, for one minute, to pick something up from the copy machine, I returned to an empty classroom. I stood there shocked. And then it slowly dawned on me that each child had hidden in one of the numerous cabinets we have in the room. They somehow squeezed into the tiniest spaces, even two children under the sink. We laughed, and they loved it so much, they did it several other times over the following weeks and months. To the point where I would walk in the room, and announce “ok, you know what, I know exactly where everyone is”.
I had children hug me on our last day, and tell me they don’t want to let go. My students said “Mr Tom, we like you because you care about us.” Parents told me “our children go to school happy and come home happy, and that alone tells us a lot”
There are a lot of outside noises affecting teachers today. Financially, many are struggling to scrape by, often housing their families in small apartments. Media personalities who are paid by their ratings, and who have amassed a fortune, describe teachers as “groomers” who are filling our children with poisonous thoughts. They have probably not been in a classroom for 30 years. Every school shooting jars every teacher. Teachers automatically scan every room we enter, looking at furniture placement, hallway design and pathway, and other factors. In too many schools, teachers welcome children who come to school malnourished, unable to afford decent clothing and shoes, and lacking medical care.
And yet, at some point this month, the first day of school will arrive. Three million teachers in the United States will close the classroom door, walk to the front of the class, and see a collection of precious young faces looking back. The outside noises will quiet. Every teacher will then begin to teach congruent angles in math, or iambic pentameter in poetry, or the meaning of words in vocabulary. The long year will begin. A year of inspiration, joy, laughter, and learning. Mixed with some inevitable moments of tears, monotony, and not a few complaints of “Suzie called me a mean name”, Over the year, every teacher will witness many moments of pure magic. Come June, every teacher will receive hugs, and many students will not want to let go.
In two weeks, I will teach a 5th grade lesson. Seven hours a day, 9 months, every subject, 23 children. The curriculum is rigorous, expectations are high, but we will also be laughing on day one. Enough will happen to fill a book, but this blog will suffice. If my class disappears, I will know to open a cabinet. I have almost a year’s experience, and I know what to do.