East Rockaway Junior High School
My Classroom
I turn the gold key, push at the heavy beige door, and look around
at the dark, empty room. The decorations, autographed desks, and the
blackboard do not come alive until 7:59, when the young, familiar
personalities rush in laughing and yelling.
The heater begins its routine clanging, interrupting my lesson every
7 or so minutes. I look out into the classroom and hear the rustling of
papers as well as the whispers of "Do you have a pen?" before class
begins.
Everyone seated, I look at the various personalities before me:
subdued, energetic, mature, lethargic, and silly. The boys and girls sit at
their desks in their BOSS jeans and noisy jackets that are 5x the size of
themselves. The boy in the back daydreams about the 3:30 basketball game
that day. The brown-haired girl in the right writes a note to her best
friend about the crush she has on the guy in science class.
As I walk around, I smell the kids' experimenting with different
scents that represent their personalities: floral, musky, sophisticated,
fruity- sometimes experimenting too much.
I take my piece of purple chalk and begin to write a "Do Now" on the
blackboard. I hear a shriek and turn around quickly, but all I see are
smiles, stares, and bewildered looks. All I hear are a few mischievous
giggles. I ask the jokers to take out their black binders and hear the usual
groans emanating from all four corners of the room.
My mind's wheels start turning rapidly, trying to keep up with
myself and the student who has been packing a pen barrel with spitballs,
ready to fire.
As I hear myself reading The Diary of Adrian Mole, I hear the soft
sound of silence. This should excite me, yet it worries me. Are they
listening, watching the yellow happy-face pendulum move back and forth, or
looking out the 7 windows on the right that provide the stage for
daydreams?
But when I really take a minute to reflect on my classroom, all that
I think of and all that matters are the bright 12-14 year old boys and girls
in front of me who have no idea of the success they can achieve.
by DOS