The test was halfway through. It was time for lunch. The kids had slipped their answer sheets into the test booklets and given them to the teacher who stacked them on a table at the front of the classroom. She was about to pass out their lunches when I walked in. I was her lunch […]
Monthly Archives: February 2021
Always in the Room
Thu, 4 Feb 2021, 10:32 PM (-06:00)
We had finished the notes. They had finished the practice problems. Four students were talking on the far side of the room in voices that were gradually getting louder. One of them cursed. I looked up. He looked at me. His hands were clasped. “Sorry,” he said. I smiled but shook my head slowly. “I’m sorry […]
Wisdom Teeth
Wed, 3 Feb 2021, 10:05 PM (-06:00)
She let me know in advance. She was having her wisdom teeth removed. She was going to miss class. Did she return the next day? I think she did. She’s often the first one in the room, and we get to talk. “Welcome back!” I said when I saw her. “How’d it go?” She explained how […]
Scratch Paper
Wed, 3 Feb 2021, 12:05 AM (-06:00)
The students have about 20 minutes at the end of the period. Most are working on homework. Henry gets up and walks to my desk. Then he walks around and reaches for a sheet of paper from the scratch paper pile. “Need more room, eh?” He laughs and points to the my notes still sitting […]
Multicolored Jumbo Paperclips
Mon, 1 Feb 2021, 10:48 PM (-06:00)
1. The Paperclips It was a door prize of sorts. Four years ago, during a alternative certification night class, I won a door prize. My name was drawn out of a basket, and (presto!) I was the proud possessor of a bin of multicolored jumbo paperclips. “How nice,” I remember thinking at the time. But […]