Thinking About Teachers, Past and Present
I’m relieved that I don’t have Hyperthymesia: “a condition which allows people to remember an abnormally large number of life experiences in vivid detail.”
More than a few friends have hinted that 2020 memories might better be set for deletion than the record. So yeah, I get it, and glad to not be in the Hyperthymesia camp as well. That said, I have always had a unique capability to recall every teacher, mentor, or coach I’ve ever had and to flashback on the moments we’ve shared.
The Two Teachers
My kindergarten teacher Miss Marcum allowed me to stack extra mats near her desk at nap time so that a tiny fleck of light could creep in. I hated the dark … and she knew this. She’d hang her foot to one side, allowing me to lazily tie and retie her shoes in this small spill of light.
On days when she didn’t wear sneakers, she’d bring over the “big shoe” and let me give that a workover. She knew the "Clue boy" was more likely to zip-zip than to ZZZZ ... and blessedly worked out a winning strategy for both of us.
One day, just as class was about to start, my sixth-grade teacher Miss Cagle looked at me with big eyes as she kneeled at my desk, clutching a test booklet. Our class had taken the Iowa Basics skill set test and she slowly placed a battered booklet on my desk. Side note, all my test booklets were battered.
As she placed her hand over one corner, she gave me a look I was not used to and couldn't even interpret. I’d already apologized for “the fire alarm incident,” but I thought maybe this was a follow-up, so I went to my default, “Hey, sorry about the alarm...”
“She waved me off with a long, “Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” flicked a tear from her eye and then after an almost unbearable pause whispered, “I know you’re smart too.” ”
She gave me a firm nod, as if a lifelong pact had just been made, lifted her hand off the corner, and turned back to the class.
When I saw the score, I thought, “Well, there’s been a mistake … and I’ll take it.” I wasn’t the kind of kid that was going to set that one straight. Perhaps I had a rare day of inspired focus and definitely some lucky guesses, but as I started flipping pages, the busted pencil marks and eraser smears certified that this was indeed my test. My score. My awakening.
These are just two of hundreds of school memories that still flicker in my heart and mind, and why I share today. Chicago has extremely complex decisions to make about schools reopening, with real challenges on all sides. Anyone who pretends to know the best answer is the fool. What I do know is that Google classrooms or Zoom-style teaching are tools, but not the tools that create lights, shared secrets, or a memory for a lifetime.
Thank you to all our educators who are doing their best virtual or live. Thank you for mentoring all minds, of all kinds, to become lifelong, curious learners. As my Grandma would say, “This too shall pass … ” I might add, “but not soon enough.”