These are MY kids. The one and only class of kiddos that was mine for a whole school year. The rest of my teaching career, I subbed, in order to be better able to support my husband's Air Force career. These kids were just an ordinary bunch of second graders in that school district in that school year. They are all very special to me, though. I remember each and every one of them, and I wonder how they are now that they're all grown up and probably have kids of their own. The first name that comes back to me is the one I probably had to call out the most. Toby. Tobias Joseph Gonzales. Too smart and way too cute for his own good. Always done with his work early, and unable to resist the temptation to stick his nose in a classmate's business. We had many battles of will, Toby and I. He spent more than a few recesses either on the bench, or at his desk with his head down. He also got to write sentences a lot. However, I will never forget that impish grin, or the way he stayed behind right before the Christmas break, so he could give me a hug before he left without all the other kids seeing him. (Was OK for the other teachers to see, just not the other kids, I guess.)
Rafael Cervantes. Oh, another smart one, and very opinionated, too. But a helpful young man. He always helped me translate my bulletin boards so I could have both English and Spanish on each board, and he came back after school almost every day, finished his own homework, and helped me straighten up the classroom a little. (He put the papers I graded in everyone's mailbox for them, took the trash out to the big can for Regis, our janitor. Stuff like that.) Daniel Ineza. Oh, I wonder what ever happened to that young man who had SUCH a sense of justice. If I was inconsistent, Daniel called me on it. I always wondered if he'd go into law. He was smart enough, just not as quick as Rafael or Toby, but definitely intelligent enough. He'd have been very dedicated, too. He used to come after school and help with some cleanup, too. He and Rafael always went home to change and to check in with their folks before they came back, and I only let them stay if Mr. Slater was also working in his room, so we wouldn't be out there all alone. (Our corridor was kinda lonesome, and that neighborhood wasn't always the nicest one in town.) Daniel and Rafael were the ones who used to make fun of my old Pinto station wagon when it wouldn't start. They'd dance around the car and sing "Este carconcha no sirve, Teacher!" in their very finest Spanglish. Sigh. We tried to teach them proper grammar in both languages, but, oh, well.
Gilbert Cruz. Oh, Gilbert. I wanted to fight for him. Especially after one of the adults in authority very unprofessionally referred to him as "that Cruz kid." He was a live wire, but he was eight years old, for God's sake. So he forgot to take his ball cap off in the classroom sometimes. Well,he wasn't in the Army, so it wasn't THAT important. He usually remembered soon enough. I was VERY tired by the end of our field trip to the Natural History Museum, though, because I had to have Gilbert by my side the whole time so he wouldn't run off.
I had some darling girls in my class. Esmeralda Hernandez, who was sweet and always did what she was supposed to do, likewise Teresa, Olivia Sandoval, Olivia Zapata, in fact, all my girls were pretty well behaved. I had 20 girls in that class, and only about eight boys. The only girls I had to get after much were Esmeralda Reyes and Yasmin Barrientos. Esmeralda for getting up and wandering around the classroom, and Yasmin for "not hearing" our bell at lunchtime when she was busy playing tetherball. I also had a few discussions with Veronica Tapia about tattling. I had to keep my aide from wanting to clobber Veronica a few times. (I admit, the kid could get on your nerves, but well, she was just a kid.) Her mother always dressed her in beautiful little dresses with petticoats and patent leather Mary Janes with lace trimmed ankle socks. Just like the stuff we used to wear when I was in Second Grade. The other kids usually wore plainer clothes than that, and a lot of the girls wore pants. I had a bunch of corduroy skirts that came to mid-calf, with pockets, and I had sweaters or light blouses and blazers to wear with them. I also had chalk in every pocket of every garment I ever wore in the classroom.
I should also mention Ki'Lee. She was our "special needs" child. She had a mild hearing loss, and was a bit socially backward, but the class was VERY protective of her. Nobody from another class EVER teased her. In fact, my boys were usually watching to make sure nobody bothered her. She got to meet Tom Selleck when she participated in Special Olympics. She had her picture made with him and brought it to class to share. We were all very proud of her.
It was Toby's job to remind me to pick up my keys before we left the classroom, because I had locked us out twice already that year, and Regis wasn't happy with me. Since Toby liked being able to get on my case about something for a change, he ALWAYS checked the middle of my desk where I always dropped my keys to make SURE I picked them up before we left the room.
Yard duty was always loads of fun. I had a bevy of kids, usually mine, who would stick close to me. I'd tell them to go play, but they wanted to hang out with me. The ones who did go play always wanted me to hold stuff for them. Lucky for them I nearly always had pockets. The principal once commented that she could tell those kids loved me. Well, I loved them. I guess they could tell. A few used to mess up when they were excited about something and call me "Mom". I loved it. As long as they were at the school, I was legally responsible for them, so I guess that you could call me a "School Marm."
Earthquake drills were always fun. We were supposed to all get under our desks or tables. Well, I'd get under the reading table, but I usually had a bunch of company. I had to make them see that they'd be safer under their own desks, and that I would be sure to get EVERYBODY out if we ever did have a real earthquake.
One of the funnier things that happened involved our Science textbook. We were reading a lesson about space one day, and it said "Someday, we will land on the moon." or something like that. One of my boys, (Rafael, I'm almost certain.) raised his hand and said, "Um, Teacher, didn't we ALREADY land on the moon? Like a LONG time ago?" I said "Yes, we did. In 1969. Everybody turn to the very front of you textbook and find the place where it tells you what year the book was published." Rafael again, "1967, teacher! Teacher, these books are really OLD!" "Yes. I answered. These are the same textbooks that were brand new the year I was in Second Grade. Our new textbooks have been ordered, but didn't arrive yet. Books are VERY expensive, and we have to have them in many subjects, so it has taken a very long time to replace our Science books." We then talked about how soon after that book was published that we DID land on the moon. (About two years, maybe a little more.) We talked about the nature of books and how fast things can happen that can change what needs to be in a book. This was before computers were commonplace in classrooms, and long before there was such a thing as the Internet. Our school did have an Apple IIe. It was in the resource room, and only the sixth graders ever got to use it.
That was one of the things that made me decide to do part of my grad school coursework on Educational Computing. I got my Certificate in Educational Computing in 1988. I never finished the Reading Specialist Credential, we moved to Germany before I could complete that program. A computer in the classroom would have made so many things easier. We had ten tons of paperwork because of the federal funding for our bilingual program, and it sure would've been nice not to have to handwrite all those records.
I hope those kids are out there on the Internet somewhere, and that they remember me fondly. We had fun most of the time in our class, and according to our goals and test scores, we learned quite a bit, too. They taught me about how hard it is to love kids and be responsible for them and to them, but also how rewarding it can be. Wherever you are, my children, know that I still love you, and I pray for you.
The students pictured are: Back row, Margaret Quintana (aide), Elizabeth Martinez, Steven Velasco, Jennifer Turner, Norma Rivera, Olivia Zapata, Lorena Crotti, Yasmin Barrientos, Ki'Lee Fuller
Middle Row: Esmeralda Hernandez, Antonio Villegas, Rafael Cervantes, Blanca Sanchez, Gilbert Cruz, Daniel Ineza, Eugenio Macias, Bertha Sanchez, Teresa Rodriquez
Sitting: Christi Lane, Veronica Tapia, Olivia Sandoval, Ferny Vargas, Esmeralda Reyes, Toby Gonzales, Georgina Vargas , Sammy Garcia. Of course, I am standing behind Teresa and right next to Ki'Lee, hiding Gilbert's ball cap behind my back!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please feel free to comment, but please be civil!