Sup Teach?

Being a teacher forces you to acquire a dual identity. There’s the you that’s existed since the beginning, and the new alter ego whose name typically begins with a Ms or Mr.

I’ve found it difficult to merge the two worlds together. I especially find it difficult to share teaching stories with my non-teaching friends. You can’t expect someone to fully sympathize and understand the classroom when they haven’t walked in your shoes. We can all agree on this right? You can argue that this is universal with all experiences, right?

In the past, the best, most fruitful venting sessions were those I shared w/ colleagues. That all changed last week when a friend decided to spend some of her winter break with Mr. G.

She joined the adventure, and each second sans students was a moment of thoughtful exchange. She offered 3 days worth of different perspectives to the classroom, pointing out different angles to my teaching, student dialogue she found hilarious, and other reflections I appreciate. Things like “it’s a little better than I expected” to “How do you get their attention like that?” to “Wow, that 6th period is exactly as you described. Crazy” to “How am I supposed to help students who don’t want help?” It was nice to know that, at least for a second, it wasn’t 1 vs 30, it was 2 vs 30. HUGE DIFFERENCE. When there’s 2, there’s someone who shares the experience with you. Someone who understands your angle.

On Thursday the classroom felt lonely without her. We all had to adjust, especially the students. “Where’s Ms Angeles??”

Anyway, THANK YOU Ms Angeles, for becoming one of the first to fully understand both my identities. We all hope you come back to the classroom one day, whether in the capacity of a visitor… or even a teacher…