Thinking About Teachers, Past and Present.

Here’s two.

My kindergarten teacher Miss Marcum allowed me to stack extra mats near her desk at nap time so that a tiny fleck of light could creep in. I hated the dark… and she knew this. She’d hang her foot to one side, allowing me to lazily tie and retie her shoes in this small spill of light. On days when she didn’t wear sneakers, she’d bring over the “big shoe” and let me give that a work over. She knew the ‘Clue boy’ was more likely to zip-zip than to ZZZZ... and blessedly worked out a winning strategy for both of us. 

One day, just as class was to start, my sixth-grade teacher, Miss Cagle, kneeled at my desk clutching a test booklet with big eyes. Our class had taken the Iowa Basics skill set test and she slowly placed a battered booklet on my desk. Sidenote, all my test booklets were battered.

As she placed her hand over one corner, she gave me a look I was not used to or could even interpret. I’d already apologized for “the fire alarm incident,” but I thought maybe this was a follow up, so I went to my default, “Hey, sorry about the alarm...” She waved me off with a long, “shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,” flicked a tear from her eye and then after an almost unbearable pause whispered, “I know you’re smart too.” She gave me a firm nod, as if a lifelong pact had just been made, lifted her hand off the corner, and turned back to the class.

When I saw the score, I thought, “Well, there’s been a mistake… and I’ll take it.” I wasn’t the kind of kid that was going set that one straight. Perhaps I had a rare day of inspired focus and definitely some lucky guesses, but as I started flipping pages, the busted pencil marks and eraser smears certified that this was indeed my test. My score. My awakening. 

These are just two of hundreds of school memories that still flicker in my heart and mind, and why I share today. Chicago has extremely complex decisions to make about schools reopening, with real challenges on all sides. Anyone who pretends to know the best answer is the fool. What I do know is that google classrooms or zoom style teaching are tools, but not the tools that create lights, shared secrets or a memory for a lifetime. 

Thank you to all our educators who are doing their best virtual or live. Thank you for mentoring all minds, of all kinds, to become lifelong, curious learners. As my Grandma would say, “this too shall pass…” I might add, “but not soon enough.”

#corporatespeakers #branding #education

Tim Clue, the Unlikely Teacher, speaks to, and advocates for, our nation’s educators. Learn more at funnyeducator.com.