Natalie

Natalie was, maybe, one of the cutest second grade girls I have ever seen. And you know, she was awfully smart, too. Once, when I was teaching a lesson of how schools used to be a hundred years earlier, and was explaining how the teacher used to use a switch on the children who misbehaved, she raised her hand and asked, “And they didn’t sue?” It was hard to explain that people just didn’t litigate as much back in the 19th century as they do now. It was also hard to explain that once it was considered perfectly okay to beat the crap out of your kids. For Christmas she wrote a book called, “Little Bear’s Dream”, and presented it to me as a gift. It was the best book that a seven year-old ever gave me. She put her heart into that little book.

I was fortunate enough to teach her in fourth grade also. I used to change grade levels a lot. She had an older sister, Gina. I used to worry about her because she was a little more wild than Natalie. During that year I was allowed to start an after school Kung Fu Club. I thought it would teach the kids a little discipline and make them proud of themselves. Natalie was one of the first kids to join that club and she worked so hard. She dutifully practiced everyday and at the end of the year she performed the set Moi Fa Kuen (plum flower fist) in front of the whole school. She had a different teacher for fifth grade, and then she went on to the middle school. I often thought of her and hoped she was doing well.

Today I was visited by some students from last year. They got off school early today and instead of going off and hanging with their friends they came to my school to say hello to me and tell me how they were doing. It was very good to see them. First came Jonathan. I taught Jonathan two years ago and was very touched when he asked me to be his sponsor for first communion. For those of you who don’t know, that is a big honor in Latino culture. I was very touched. I carry a picture of Jonathan on my key fob and I get the occasional greeting card from him. I remember him at his birthday and Christmas and try to stay in touch but of course we are both very busy.

Next came Alicia and her sister. They were charming girls who were very good. Alicia was always very bright and was used to be told so. I had to really kick her butt to turn her into a writer. She was okay when I got her, but she had the potential to be really, really good and I used to let her know it. She used to have to re-write those essays over and over again until they finally measured up to her abilities to write. What a great little writer she was.

Over the years I have heard from many of my former students. I have one who became a children’s author after graduating from Texas A&M. I have a couple of graduates from Georgetown. She told me that she became a writer because I used to read to them every afternoon. She had some hard times but she never gave up, because she said she remembered how my wife and I had run the Los Angeles Marathon several times and how I had told them to never give up no matter how hard things were. Some have gone into teaching (the fools).

Every now and then I get a kid, like Jose Manzano, or Robert Brewster, who were always in trouble. I must have spent hours with their parents just trying to get those kids to do the minimum I required from them. I suspended them. I took away privileges. I always felt like I failed them somehow. And yet, for some reason, now they are nearly adults, they come back to see me over and over. I don’t understand why. I would have guessed that they hated me. I would have hated me. I just didn’t want to see them fail, that’s all. Some of my former students are now the parents of my current students. That’s what happens when you spend your whole career at the same school. Life is funny that way. It makes you feel pretty old.

Oh…Natalie. A few years ago this tall lanky girl walked up to me in the staff lounge. I really almost didn’t recognize her. Natalie had come to visit and to invite me to her college graduation. She was earning her Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature. She had continued in the martial arts and had become a third degree black belt in a Korean Art. She told me it was really important to her that I be there, so how could I say no? I wouldn’t have missed it. I was so proud of her that day and she looked so lovely up there as she received her diploma. I did not for one moment regret taking the day off to watch her reach that milestone. Of course, I had to go and get her a nice graduation gift, the obligatory pen and pencil set. But I also gave her something else. I gave her this book. It was a little old and yellowed. And the illustrations were maybe a little rough. But she didn’t mind. She got a big smile on her face. She was happy to receive it. It was called, “Little Bear’s Dream”.

Sometimes it’s good to be a teacher.