Suspended in Time

Isn’t it interesting how some people are suspended in time within your memory?

When I think back to my high school biology teacher and calculate what her age must be now, it’s jolting, and a little worrisome. Forty five or so at the time (although the perspective of age is skewed for the youth, so it’s hard to say). Is she still alive? My high school French teacher is surely gone because he was ancient even then, but I’ll save him for another story.

Mrs. Ehnes, or was is Ms.? She’s one of the few teachers with whom I felt a bond.  I ate lunch in her room most days with some friends. On one lunch visit I mentioned how my dad was bribing me for good grades.”My dad said he’d buy me a computer if I get an A in science.”  I don’t recall her response but the topic shifted like they tend to do with several girls surrounding a table with a lone adult. 

I was not a good student because I was lazy. I think I tried a bit harder for Ms. Ehnes because I liked her and there was a computer at stake, but I’ll be honest when I say I didn’t work that hard.

Flash forward to another lunch with my friends in the Science room, toward the end of the semester when progress reports came out.

“I showed my dad my progress report. I can’t believe I got a 90.7%! That’s about as low an A as you can get!”

“That still counts, doesn’t it?” Ms. Ehnes replied, a mix of innocence and concern on her face.

I tear up at this memory. The feeling of being seen by one of the adults at school, of someone caring enough about me to bump my grade a bit from the high 80s to the low, low, low 90s, so I could get a computer, or perhaps to boost my confidence. I wasn’t short on love in my home life but I often felt bored and disconnected in the classroom.

This memory has been replayed in my mind so many times, I felt it deserved telling. I have strived in my teaching career to see the unseen and connect with the kids who might not have that love at home to fall back on. I hope I succeeded in helping some of my students feel like they matter at school, like Ms. Ehnes did for me.

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