Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Good-bye Nonesuch

Today, after six years, I taught my final classes at Nonesuch.

I gave away lots of books, sifted through the endless contents of my file cabinet, and wrote my final comments on students' papers. Here are some of the things I hope I always remember:

-Marisa rolling up the battered, torn, and loved Jack Kerouac poster that's hung on my classroom door for years, excited to put it on her bedroom wall.

-Brogan trying not to cry.

-Maddy writing at the end of her final essay: "Some kids say you're too strict, which (no offense) I agree with sometimes, but I also think you're pretty awesome."

-Lynne wearing the same exact purple shirt that she was wearing the day she interviewed me for the job :)

-Weston writing about how to survive my English class: "Be humble, don't talk over Jess, and don't talk racial." (he meant racist)

-M and I standing at the bottom of the hill, looking at the sun shine on the basketball court, after the last staff meeting we'll likely ever have together.

2 comments:

  1. Congratulations! You have left an amazing legacy as a teacher. Never met another so dedicated to her students. Celebrate now! You have earned it completely. And now change your bio to "Writer" with a capital W instead of "part-time writer." Do it!

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  2. Oh my gosh, Maddy's comment = priceless! Nonesuch is easy for me to remember fondly, in so many ways. I'm in the middle of Kite Runner right now, got through half of it yesterday, stayed up half the night because I didn't want to put it down. It reminds me of tutoring Nate while he was reading it two years ago for your class. The fog of time has made it a sweet remembrance :-)

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