Normally when i write or talk about school or education, i usually end up ranting and saying how flawed schools and education are and other bad things about it. But this time, its a happy story that I am going to be writing about.
Student Teachers: most people hate them, despise them, think they are horrible teachers. I myself have never been lucky with student teachers. Freshman year i had a math one and she was just awful. Sophomore year i didnt have one. Last year i had one. She was good, but nothing even close to the teacher she replaced for those 3 months. But this year was different. Not only was she very good, but she was also someone fun to talk to, fun to make jokes with, and most important (at least to me) inspiring.
When she first came in, my friend, Chris, was like "good luck with your student teacher". but dumb me didnt realize it was his sister until i saw her. I remember first meeting her at a Switchfoot concert (not un-normal right? =P) Somehow Chris and I went to the same concert, saw each other, hung out with my friends and his sister. She was cool, but i really didnt talk to her that much. A year and a half later, she becomes my student teacher. At first i was kind of worried, will she do well as my normal teacher? will she be good at all or just completely suck? I didnt know what to expect.
She helped my class out a lot with college stuff, telling us about it, what to expect, etc. To be honest, i think she helped us better than any of my other teachers could because she has been to college recently and knows what they want (no offense to my teachers of course) She then taught us our cirriculum (sp?) She did very well. I know she did good, but nothing too specific sticks out in my mind. . . .
Until the one day when she came up to me and commented on my TWLOHA shirt (check them out if you dont know the organization, To Write Love On Her Arms, www.twloha.com) I knew she liked TWLOHA and supported it because Chris had told me last year in our back corner of our math class while we both never paid attention at all. She told me she got kinda jealous of me wearing them because she wanted to wear hers but couldnt. She asked me if i heard about TWLOHA winning the news print commercial thing in USA Today. I told her i did, and we chatted for like 2 minutes about it. then later i realized that she is nice to talk to.
So her last week had came, and i thought well things are going to back to normal in class, depending what you call normal in that class because everything changes everyday in that class. The day before she left she gave us a survey to take out her teaching and comments and concerns and all that jazz. I am always bad at those, so i just tried my best. Even in the comments space (because she asked us to put comments and that "they mean more than any statistic") i put "well i am really bad at these but. . ." and left my comment her being a good teacher and stuff. But that was it. nothing too special besides she was good.
The next day was her last day. I saw her in the hallway before my math class, and i stopped and told her i wore my TWLOHA shirt just to annoy her. But then we ended up talking about TWLOHA shirts in the middle of the hallway while people are shuffling to their next class. Then i had to go, and went to my math class, took a test, and then went to her class. She was doing her last bit of business with the seminar we did a week, i think it was a week, before. My english teacher said the thing we said about the nerve-racking comment of us saying we have no hope for people to change. Deep down inside i do believe people can change, but i guess my mentality at the time of the seminar was in a different place of thinking how people have no lives because of the media (and i quoted "Do you feel" by the rocket summer in that seminar). Then my student teacher said something about people trying to change things. Then she mentions me. "Like Mike there, he's just making a statement by just wearing a shirt. He's just trying to start conversations people never talk about. That is issues of teen depression, suicide, self-inflicted injury." And i just smiled to myself, i kinda got red, but i was happy. It totally made it worth it to wear that shirt that day. Even people in my class later on asked me how to find information about it, which made me happy. I felt like i wasnt alone on supporting what i do, that someone older than me finally understood something i do and why i do it. She later read us a quote from a book and asked us to make a response to it. When i talked, which was 2nd, i just said my mind. i rarely do that in my english class because i am always getting judged for what i said and being graded on it. I felt like i could be open, because of my student teacher, and just speak my mind. And to be honest, that was the first time i think i ever spoke completely about what i think. She also put her e-mail on the board if we ever need someone to vent to, she would be there, and add her on facebook if we wanted to. Only until after we had done talking and the end of the school day was approaching did i realize that i was going to miss her being a presence in my classroom.
I was inspired by her. She meant something to me. She made me realize that there are people in this place who do care about teaching you, helping you, helping other people. I think that survey i took before her last day didnt give the full effect of what she meant to me. She wasnt just another student teacher. She was a person who helped me learn, a person i could talk to, a friend, and a mentor. Thank you for all you have done for me and the class for the past couple of months. I know i will miss you and good luck on all of your travels and endeavours in life. I know you will succeed greatly. And you never know, maybe we could meet up several years later like we did after that concert.
Peace 'n' Love
Mike
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