and today i bid adieu to the students i had worked with every day. touched beyond belief. I wrote and read them this:

To the wonderful students of 8E and 8F

What a month it has been for us all,
Mrs. Parham and me, and you
The learning, the worksheets, the Outsiders,
And homework and detentions too.

It’s been an incredible time in your class,
Meeting you, talking and sharing,
You taught us that when you swear at someone,
It actually means that you’re caring.

Yes, there’s other things too that you’ve taught us,
That pop is a health drink, and lollipops are cough candy,
And it’s always the other guy who stinks,
And that erasers are thrown only because they’re handy.

You’re allowed to run in the halls, you said,
Mr. so-and-so said it was fine,
And it was never you who was talking,
It was those pesky people you sat beside.

We were sometimes fooled and sometimes not,
Depending on who it was we caught,
And so we learned another important rule,
that there’s more than just reading, writing and arithmetic to school.

So yes, you’ve taught us many things, as you can tell,
And many that go beyond the halls and classes and bell,
You taught us that despite entering your teens,
There’s more to you all than being loud dudes or queens,

You’ve been honest, and graceful, and giving and smart,
Shown courage and trust and respect and heart,
And we are honoured to have been able to be
A part of this mad crazy jumbled melee.

So before we sign off in rhyme and such,
We have one last thing we’d like to say,
That you have all had a profound impact on us,
In a very real and human and important way

So thank you for letting us into your lives,
Into your homework and class as well,
And if you don’t think that we were good teachers,
You can all just go to….

High school.


Signed,


fc

November 30, 2006