As I said in my previous post I respect every single one of my students. And I get along with 99% of them. Every now and then one comes along that I actually admire. Desmond (not his actual name) is one such student. He is in his senior year, but he does not exhibit any signs of senioritis. From what I can tell he loves Herron and Herron loves him.
I first met Desmond when I had to step over him in the hallway just outside my classroom door. It was at the end of the school day and the students were exiting the building. Desmond was on the ground by his locker, squeling and gesticulating to amuse his buddies. I didn't know why he was doing this and I still do not know. It was my first week on the job and I wasn't sure if this was a behavior I should address. I looked over at Mr. Renwick who did not seem the slightest bit concerned by it, so I decided to just watch what was going on and pretty soon I was laughing too! Although he was being ridiculous we were laughing with Desmond and not at him. He is the type of kid who would do anything for a laugh one minute, and then talk politics, literature and art with you the next.
In my next post I'll talk about my newly created chess club, which Desmond was the second to sign up for. He wanted to be the first, but he was annoyed to find out that his fellow classmate beat him to the punch. We had our first visit yesterday after school and as Desmond introduced himself he said, "Hello my name is Desmond and if you don't know me, what's wrong with you?" And then he proceeded to explain that the only game of chess he's ever one came dubiously against his six year old brother. He has already risen to the top as a leader in our fledgling club by taking on the reigns of forming a Facebook page so everybody can keep in touch. I learned that he is applying to become an Eagle Scout and he even found time to help with my resume during our first chess club meeting.
I'm filling in as a substitute in other departments whenever I'm not teaching one of my classes. I've become the go to guy around the building for such needs. I'm hoping to prove that I'm worth keeping around. On Wednesday I had to fill in for a theatre teacher, which was a brand new experience for me. On the sub plans it said that two seniors were invited to join the class to do a dramatic reading from Samuel Beckett's famous play "Waiting for Godot". Not easy material for a beginner like myself. They were selected to do the reading because they performed it last year as juniors. Desmond was to be one of the performers. When I saw his name listed I knew it would be good and it was.
They read the dialogue impeccably and with dramatic flair. Afterward they opened it up to the class for a question and answer session. But only one student had any questions for them. It seemed like such a shame to have them come in to do this reading just for one question. Things were just about to dissolve so I took it upon myself to keep the readers in the room for a little longer. I started pelting them with questions. They swatted each one of my questions out of the park. We got right down to the heart of the play and I think everyone gained a better understanding of the theme. I was impressed; apparently Desmond is no class clown.
As I left the theatre classroom to head to my next mission I heard a piano coming from the next classroom over. I peeked in to see Desmond leading a group of his classmates in an impromptu sing-along. He continues to surprise. Desmond's zest for learning and for laugh is an inspiration. He'll go far.
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