Thursday, March 12, 2009

To Whoever They Find to Replace Me

There is a door around the side of the gym. If you slide the lock out a little on the inside it keeps the door unlocked so people can duck out behind the stage and skip P.E. and then get back in. Please check it if the wrong people seem to be in the wrong places.

Try to get a desk away from the door to the office. Everyone will stand there and yell for teachers. People will take your pens to fill out late slips and forget to give them back. Teachers in a hurry will set something down and forget to pick it up. If you are at an elementary school for the week, this will pile up and you will lose anything you might have come in to look for.

Remember that Kuroda's dad killed himself in their apartment when he was in 6th grade. He came home from school, opened the door, and found his dead father. I know he is bad a lot of the times but please give him a hug and tell him that you are proud of him because his dad can't.

AlPlaza has better bentos but you are more likely to run into students there. Sundy has cheap sushi in the back.

Hashimoto is small but he hits harder than anyone in the school. He just doesn't want them to know that he used to do karate. Let him punch you in the stomach every once in a while. It makes him happy.

Takuma is awful, but one day a wheelchair basketball team came to the school and he helped break down all of the wheelchairs and equipment and stayed until it was all loaded into the vans. Then he said thank you and bowed to them as they left. He was great that day.

Taishi can be an ass, but he is a big baby and can be very sweet. He likes to go fishing. At undokai practice he got in my face so I threw him on the ground and punched him in the ass yelling, "Grow up you big baby!" While he cried in the dirt. We have been fine since then.

Makino is noisy but he is also clever and likes it if you talk to him like a grown up. His parents got divorced last year and his mom won't let him use his dad's last name anymore. Maybe you should learn his first name.

Ide can't pronounce "Ji." It comes out like "Gi." I couldn't understand what she was saying the other day and I felt bad about it. Keep that in mind.

Suguru is stuck in a wheelchair while is two brothers, they are triplets, are fine. Despite that, he is the most positive person I have ever met in my life. Try to say hello to him every morning, your day will go better.

If you stand off the south corner of the gym, by the basketball nets, you can see behind the school and behind the gym at the same time. this covers both smoking areas. At least the ones I know about.

Masumi's parents are drug addicts. He switched schools 6 times before coming here. His father was in jail most of his life. He got out and ran away. Now his mother is in jail. Try and make sure to remember his birthday and get him something. I got him a Tigermask T-shirt. Also, make sure he gets an annual this year, his brother didn't have enough to pay for one but didn't want to say anything.

I think Doma might be a robot. Enjoy her quirks.

Hiroto looks like a bad kid, but he isn't. That goes for Shoma and Yuji and Nagi as well.

Rina is ridiculous, but give her time.

Don't let Yoneda quit on herself. Please. I worry.

If Raito gets that look on his face ask him what he's up to. It's probably not good. His mom gave me permission to strangle him.

Don't ever be scared. Don't ever back down. Don't ever give up, because you are only giving up on the kids and they need you. Make them follow the rules. Make them try. Make sure to care about them because they don't have enough of any of these things at home.

The new first years are my project that I wont get to finish. They could go either way. Try to make them follow the third years, not the second years.

If you catch Ota on her bike, tell her you will forgive her if she tries hard in class. She will.

Remind Sayaka that she is a really great kid.

Aoki's a trip. He is a super genius who loves Hannah Montanna and Indiana Jones in equal amounts.

One day Oto stopped me near the school gate and said, "Sensei, in the world, everything has an order. Numbers. By height. By age. Why do people die at random? Wouldn't it make sense if we died in order?" "But that wouldn't be life." I answered. "Still. It doesn't make sense." Spend some time with that kid.

Fukumoto likes to put his hands all over your face, even when he has a cold. Tell him to stop. His little brother might be a superstar.

When Ueshina is doing good, tell him. When Ueshina is bad, remind him of how happy you are when he does good. Look out for his sister. Everyone says she is awful, but she never shows that to me.

Remember that each kid during the course of a year has a moment that is just about them, when you see how great they can be. Find a place in yourself where you can put that and not let it fade away because life won't be as fair to all of them as it will be to some and they need that little bit of themselves to remain somewhere.

Tell the kids I am sorry. I wanted to be there. But that's not how things work.

6 comments:

The Artful Insomniac said...

Maybe it is for the best. You were good for the kids, but at the end of those who actually run the system are detached and often clueless, that is one of many reasons why the system is broken worldwide. And that's the rest of the story.
Good day.

Caitlin said...

I will miss your school stories. But, I'm glad that those kids had you, someone who noticed them and gave a shit, at least for one year. Thanks for being an awesome human being. Your next school will be lucky, too.

knox-villan said...

Where will you be going from here? It is too bad that people just don't get you and how much you obviously love these kids. I hope whoever gets your position really does read this. every kid has a good side at least for a split second of their life, it just takes an adult like you to notice and remember for the next time that same kid screws up.

Anonymous said...

I cried reading this...

It's so hard finding a dedicated teacher especially for "troubled" kids. Few people have the right temperant to see past their hard exteriors. All kids need someone to believe in them especially when their parents can't/won't.

I truly hope your replacement cares half as much you.

The Morholt said...

Your school year is over? you lucky Bastard, you lucky, lucky bastard.
Seriously, a touching tribute to your kids ending with some good advice about how to keep your teaching impulse intact. Might help folks see why teachers say "my kids", not "those kids". And that the teacher who whoops up on his kids and takes no shit is not necessarily the mean one who doesn't care or a bully.

Edo said...

お疲れ様でした~

attempting to silence the voices in my head.