Walkabout

I had the great fortune of subbing on the first day back at my old school. Kerrie, the teacher I subbed for, is one of the greatest educators I’ve known. Her classes and curriculum are so creative; it is a fun and stimulating environment for the kids and a substitute teacher. In two of the three classes (90 minutes each), I followed a time-honored tradition of a campus walkabout for the first day. I began this practice several years ago with seniors (the class pictured here is a College Writing class), and Kerrie has continued it, even improving it. Our final destination, always, is the middle of the football field. We choose this location because in June, this will be the place where they cross the stage at graduation and receive their diplomas. This will be their final location as a student at McMinnville High. I always tell them that while June seems an ice age away, their senior year will fly by in the blink of an eye. I tell them to enjoy their final year in high school and take advantage of every opportunity that avails itself.
 
Subbing is different than regular teaching, but it’s still rewarding. While I don’t think I could do it on an everyday basis again, I really miss being with these kids for the entire year. If I had to sum it up in one statement, what I miss is how their stories, and my stories, become our stories. And kids never seem to forget that.
 
So I got fortunate in being there for their first day, and maybe I’ll catch them a few more times over the course of the year.  It seems like the perfect place to begin the year with these words from William Stafford:
 
You Reading This, Be Ready
by William Stafford
 
Starting here, what do you want to remember?
How sunlight creeps along a shining floor?
What scent of old wood hovers, what softened
sound from outside fills the air?
 
Will you ever bring a better gift for the world
than the breathing respect that you carry
wherever you go right now? Are you waiting
for time to show you some better thoughts?
 
When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent reading or hearing this, keep it for life –
 
What can anyone give you greater than now,
starting here, right in this room, when you turn around?