Teacher Stories

RAPSA publishes writings, including poetry, essays, and reflections, from educators working with at-promise students. Submit your work to info@rapsa.org.

Back to School

By Coleen Armstrong

Jerry came back to visit, just as I’d always predicted he would. The previous June he’d shaken his head, insisting that once graduated, he’d never darken Hamilton High’s halls again. But here he was.

“I just thought I’d stop in and see how y’all were doin,” he grinned.

He tiptoed to a back-row seat and sat listening intently (far more so, I noted, than he’d ever done as a student) to my opening remarks. Once the class discussion was underway I caught his eye. His expression was a mixture of intrigue and bewilderment.

The topic was teenage responsibility. What did young people owe their parents, teachers, employers? “As little as possible,” several kids shrugged. “We didn’t ask to be here.”

I let them ramble for a minute; then, instead of breaking in, I asked Jerry what he thought. He hesitated. “What I’ve learned about responsibility since graduation,” he said slowly, “would fill three books.”

Tapestry

By Coleen Armstrong

By early spring, individual personalities in every class have blended into a perfect weave of hues and textures. Each person plays an important role; take away Matt or Karen or Ted, and somehow the entire group loses its luster.

Not Lost in Translation

By Lisa Jaquez

My second year of teaching second grade, I had a student named Wendy. Wendy came to school on the first day, and she did not speak a word of English. She was very shy, did not ask very many questions, and it took a lot to get an answer from her, even in Spanish. Wendy worked very hard during and after school to learn the language and to excel in the 2nd grade. She would bring me stories and journals that she had written after doing her nightly homework, and her parents were also very involved and concerned about her success in school. By the end of the school year, Wendy was speaking, reading, and writing in English almost perfectly fluently!

I was very nervous to have Wendy in my class because, although I speak Spanish, I knew I would not be able to give the bulk of my instruction in Spanish; and I worried she would lose important concepts in the translation. I did not let my fears get the best of me though. I tried my best to translate the important concepts of each lesson and, for the most part, in the beginning of the year she was able to grasp some of them. I believe that the freedom we have to create and modify our curriculum here at NEW Academy Canoga Park, gave me the ability to focus more on Wendy’s needs as an English Language Learner, which I believe, added to her success.

Finding the Rose Within

By Joy Baldree

On that first solo day of teaching, I had not met all of my students as my corner classroom had two doors opening into separate hallways and a few had slipped in without the soon to be famous Allen-handshake, but I had thoroughly planned my poetry lesson for the day. I was engaged in the art of teaching and the students were with me when I noticed the lump in the left corner of the classroom.

I quietly and methodically moved into the lump's personal space zone having picked up a very large dictionary on my way, never missing a beat in my teaching. I stopped and firmly dropped the thick hard-back Webster on the desktop of the empty desk in front of the lump. First an eye peeked from the desk-top, and then the lump began to unroll...and unroll...until it was completely free of the too-small desk and staring down upon me.

"Untitled"

By Russell Valentini

You said, "this is my daughter's last day at this school"
Your little girl listened with a tear in her eye
When the secretary asked "where are you going?"
You took a deep breath to not break down and cry.

Then the secretary asked for your address
The new place you were going to stay
She said they would forward her report card
You just mumbled "we're going away."

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