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romy and michelle's high school reunion
Jun. 4th, 2005 07:44 pmWell, this is not the best day I've had in a while, but it's passable. Annoyances: Chris being post-call, extra kid, too many things going on, and a botched garage sale. Nice stuff: community party at my old high school, which closes at the end of this month. I didn't run into too many students, but I did run into three teachers. And was totally amazed at what they remembered, especially since I graduated in 1989.
My grade 12 & 13 History teacher still remembered that I wrote "Cogito ergo sum" on my first test with him. The question was "What was Descartes' famous saying?" and the answer was supposed to be "I think, therefore, I am." I remember being hesitant to write it in Latin because my previous history teacher would've docked marks for it, since that wasn't what she'd taught us and she probably would've had no idea what Cogito Ergo Sum meant. Mr. Penton not only didn't dock me; he gave me a bonus point and said it was "Marvelous." And he still remembers it, 15 years later.
I knew there was a reason he made me want to go into teaching :)
Also saw my grade 12 English teacher, who remembered that I wrote an essay on Miriam Makeba's rendition of "I Can't Cross Over" for my folk song project. Damn. I'd totally forgotten that. Must find the album at my mom's house, and listen to it.
And an English teacher who never even taught me, but who ran the Stratford Shakespeare Festival field trip for two years, and who also still remembered me from those trips and from the last high school function we were both at, seven years ago.
I'm so used to being forgettable. It's weird to realize I made an impression, however small, on these three teachers, especially since they're all three lifers. Mr. Penton taught until he retired six years ago, my grade 12 English teacher is still teaching, even though she became eligible for retirement last year, and the teacher who ran the Stratford Festival trips has been at it for at least 18 years. That's a lot of students to remember and forget.
It's neat, though. Especially since they all made such a huge impression upon me. They, and about three other teachers, influenced me to go into teaching myself, and are probably part of why I want to home school my kids. They were all so enthused with their subjects, and with idea of teaching, helping students discover truths about themselves and the world around them, and being there for the discovery process. Really, really cool people. They made the old "Those who can, do, and those who can't, teach" saying sound like the biggest load of crap ever uttered.
As for the students, it was interesting running into a couple of people I'd known, catching up on who was doing what and who turned out how. I was also amused to find out that a guy in my grade who I thought was gay, was, ::gasp:: gay. This revelation made me and the other person who heard it roll our eyes and say, "No, really? Wow. And the sun is hot, too."
Apparently he's still working as a flight attendant for Air Canada and he runs a wedding planning business with his partner. You know, I read a book once, called The Gay Cliche. I wonder if he wrote it.
My grade 12 & 13 History teacher still remembered that I wrote "Cogito ergo sum" on my first test with him. The question was "What was Descartes' famous saying?" and the answer was supposed to be "I think, therefore, I am." I remember being hesitant to write it in Latin because my previous history teacher would've docked marks for it, since that wasn't what she'd taught us and she probably would've had no idea what Cogito Ergo Sum meant. Mr. Penton not only didn't dock me; he gave me a bonus point and said it was "Marvelous." And he still remembers it, 15 years later.
I knew there was a reason he made me want to go into teaching :)
Also saw my grade 12 English teacher, who remembered that I wrote an essay on Miriam Makeba's rendition of "I Can't Cross Over" for my folk song project. Damn. I'd totally forgotten that. Must find the album at my mom's house, and listen to it.
And an English teacher who never even taught me, but who ran the Stratford Shakespeare Festival field trip for two years, and who also still remembered me from those trips and from the last high school function we were both at, seven years ago.
I'm so used to being forgettable. It's weird to realize I made an impression, however small, on these three teachers, especially since they're all three lifers. Mr. Penton taught until he retired six years ago, my grade 12 English teacher is still teaching, even though she became eligible for retirement last year, and the teacher who ran the Stratford Festival trips has been at it for at least 18 years. That's a lot of students to remember and forget.
It's neat, though. Especially since they all made such a huge impression upon me. They, and about three other teachers, influenced me to go into teaching myself, and are probably part of why I want to home school my kids. They were all so enthused with their subjects, and with idea of teaching, helping students discover truths about themselves and the world around them, and being there for the discovery process. Really, really cool people. They made the old "Those who can, do, and those who can't, teach" saying sound like the biggest load of crap ever uttered.
As for the students, it was interesting running into a couple of people I'd known, catching up on who was doing what and who turned out how. I was also amused to find out that a guy in my grade who I thought was gay, was, ::gasp:: gay. This revelation made me and the other person who heard it roll our eyes and say, "No, really? Wow. And the sun is hot, too."
Apparently he's still working as a flight attendant for Air Canada and he runs a wedding planning business with his partner. You know, I read a book once, called The Gay Cliche. I wonder if he wrote it.
