Seeds of Knowledge

 

        

Why am I signing up to substitute teach when I just retired? Guess I'm bored, missing students, or want to earn extra money. Probably a combination of all three. I find myself looking at back-to-school news and school supply sales ads online. So I just signed up to substitute for the upcoming school year.

Even though I tested positive for Covid after school ended, I am ready to put on my facemask and teach again. On my last day of school in May, my husband and I had avocado toast at a local Vegas Casino. Then my husband put a coin in a slot machine and won $1.67. Lucky start to the day! I was the first teacher at school at 7am. There was nothing for me to do but wait for for the Principal to stop by and check me out. So I sat at my classroom desk and reflected on my school career in 11 countries and 7 states. The Principal finally came and signed my sheet. Then I walked out the school door with two gifts from my students, a red teddy bear and a red rose in a glass ball. Red is the color of action, energy, and passion. That sums up my choice of a teaching career that has reached students around the world.  

On my last student day, the Principal dropped by when my class was writing about their plans for the summer. He told my students that we were the only class still learning on their last day of school. So I gave them each five minutes to sit in a chair at the front and tell us about their neighborhood and school stories. One student wore her dad’s TikTok T-shirt on the last day of school. She said he got the Tik Tok shirt for free because he has so many online subscribers. She said her dad and his friend tell stories about how poor they are and Tik Tok viewers send them money. Meanwhile, she has missed many school days to go shopping with her dad and then returns with new clothes, toys, and backpacks that he buys with cash. After that story, I repeated my daily mantra to my students to go to college, dream big and be who they want to be. Then the school bell rang, I hugged them goodbye and reminded them to read over the summer.

It was anti-climatic after teaching since 1976 around the world. Luckily, our California family was coming to visit the next day. They asked us to take an at-home Covid Test before they got in the car to leave LA. It was a shock when I tested Positive and they had to cancel their trip. I actually shed some tears and felt sorry for myself. I lay in isolation upstairs reading a book my children sent me with a beautiful bouquet. And so the summer began. 

Now it is ending with memories of a cross-country drive to our 50th High School Reunion, ice cream cones, and swimming at our neighborhood pool. I have signed up to substitute teach and will return to my school. It will be fun to reconnect with my students and colleagues after a long, relaxing break. I am going to teach them the popular Tik Tik Tok dance to “Zanzibar” sung by one of my favorites, Billy Joel. I wrote about his recent Las Vegas concert on “Betsy’s Blog”. So my retirement began and ended after ten weeks of summer. I’ll try it again next June!