There is so much to say, not just today but always. With the early morning madness behind me, and the magic in the making slowly fading, there is a still reassurance that I have taught pupils new ways to dream. My first year as a teacher has presently concluded. As I sit here listening to Norma belt out As If We Never Said Goodbye, I read over student essays, marveling at how far they have come. I too cannot ignore the thrilling atmosphere which is always here in my classroom. I recline in my seat reflecting upon the teachers who inspired me most along my journey to this point. My elementary music teacher Mrs. Woeppel, my high school English teacher Miss Gray, and my student teaching mentor Mrs. Belt have challenged me to succeed in the ever changing world of education.
Mrs. Nancy Woeppel was the first teacher in my short yet highly disturbed life to really see me and my unique talent. She looked past the messy haired, academically inept “foster” child to see a blooming passionate actress. She stretched all of her students. Her standards were high, and we simply didn’t question them; we only achieved them. She opened our eyes to the missed fairy tale adventures of childhood and ever spinning playground of theatre.
If we complained, I don’t remember it. If her enthusiastic passion ever waned, I failed to see it. If I feared breaking free, I overcame it. I was blessed to have had Nancy as my teacher from elementary music till eleventh grade speech and drama. Under her careful benevolent guidance, I found my true calling in life and refused to give into those sipping haterade around me. Her coaching more than inspired me; it catapulted me into aspiring to coach speech students for generations to come.
Miss Karen Gray is the no nonsense English savant whom I am propelled to become. Teaching exudes from her every move. Discipline is the backbone of her well oiled grammar surging machine. All students stood equal in her classroom. All were required to think and write within her regimented house of literature. There were no excuses. There were no games for classroom power. There were no idioms left undiscovered.
Karen cut the Gordian knot around my constrained heart and let flow that which is now my blood life, my creative writing. For her, there was only excellence. For me, I only wish to learn half of the command for the English language that she has forgotten. She has physically overcome so many life altering circumstances. And not only survived, she has been victorious!
Mrs. Peggy Belt has been my colleague and friend. Her encouragement and compassionate understanding solidified my path to becoming an emerging English teacher and speech coach. Through her example of humor and diligent student molding, I have culminated my current teaching philosophy. She fortified my organization silks as being indispensable well as my love for working conscientiously and efficiently. Her endless energy excited me to increase my endurance and talents.
Peggy’s speech team members knew what was expected from them at all times, and she never took advantage of their adulation. Above all else, she taught me integrity at all turns, even the uncomfortable ones. She holds her head high because she has paid her dues time and again. The thing I admire most about Peggy is the fact that she is constantly on the outlook for a new challenge, a new dream worth pursuing.
The three most influential teachers of my education training are Mrs. Woeppel, Miss Gray, and Mrs. Belt. Each one has exemplified passionate integrity in the face of insurmountable odds. I owe them more than I could ever repay. I continue to look up to each of them as heroic angels sent from God to sculpt my character and future. I sit here breathing in the essence of my first completed school year. If you listen closely, you too can hear their whispered conversations surging through my conscious. Upon opening my eyes, I smile at the classroom in front of me. In each of the recently vacated desks, I see alternate faces of students who have sat there this year. The overcrowded hallways of my memory are rearranging to make room for the journey to come which will be bigger and brighter then we currently experience.
Mrs. Christy Clay
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
As If We Never Said Goodbye
(SUNSET BOULEVARD)
Norma~
I don’t know why I’m frightened
I know my way around here
The cardboard trees, the painted seas, the sound here…
Yes, a world to rediscover
But I’m not in any hurry
And I need a moment
The whispered conversations in overcrowded hallways
The atmosphere as thrilling here as always
Feel the early morning madness
Feel the magic in the making
Why, everything’s as if we never said goodbye
I’ve spent so many mornings just trying to resist you
I’m trembling now, you can’t know how I’ve missed you
Missed the fairy tale adventures
In this ever spinning playground
We were young together
I’m coming out of make-up
The lights already burning
Not long until the cameras will start turning…
And the early morning madness
And the magic in the making
Yes, everything’s as if we never said goodbye
I don’t want to be alone
That’s all in the past
This world’s waited long enough
I’ve come home at last!
And this time will be bigger
And brighter than we knew it
So watch me fly, we all know I can do it…
Could I stop my hand from shaking?
Has there ever been a moment
With so much to live for?
The whispered conversations in overcrowded hallways
So much to say, not just today, but always…
We’ll have early morning madness
We’ll have magic in the making
Yes, everything’s as if we never said goodbye
Yes, everything’s as if we never said goodbye
We taught the world new ways to dream!
Creative Caveats 