"FRIENDS, STUDENTS, COUNTRYMEN...."

While I was walking about town yesterday, I ran into an old student who had been in my English II classroom 17 years ago. We stopped to hug and chat and before long we were laughing about crazy incidences that took place, all in the name of higher education, of course.

I reminded the student about her stellar Act III, Julius Caesar performance, when she was on her knees begging the Roman ruler to allow a family member to return to the city. The boy playing JC, not the most solid reader in the class but game, nonetheless, misread his script and instead of saying, "Metellus, you can bow to me all you want...." said, "Metellus, you can blow me all you want...." The young lady was mortified and looked up at me to see if I'd cut the action, but I was concentrating on videotaping the dramatic event and didn't catch the crazy mistake. The show must go on. The "Romans" in the background were busting up behind their scripts, while "Caesar" continued his rant, wondering why everyone was laughing, not knowing what he'd said wrong until the scene was over. Needless to say, it was the talk of the day in Room 114, and there were plenty of demands for instant replays of the tape.


That was my first year of teaching. In spite of the mistakes now and then, I had a wonderful time, and I think most of my students learned a little bit and enjoyed the class, especially the creative and personal writing assignments. Some kids told me that, for the first time, they liked walking into an English classroom.


By the time I retired 15 years later, though, a lot had changed. President Bush's No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 made it necessary to drop many of the "fun" assignments from previous years. The state's emphasis on writing moved from narratives to exposition. Specific standards were established, all directed to the state assessments, and teachers were supposed to teach towards those. I lost my enthusiasm. I also became lost in a sea of paperwork. Then I lost my good health. It was time to leave.


Today I went down to the basement to dig up some old VCR tapes from school for the "kids" of the Class of 1998 who are having their 10-year reunion this weekend. One of their activities will be the viewing of their campy Hamlet and King Arthur skits from English II. I'm wondering if any of them will watch the videos and feel regret that they were "left behind" because they graduated before Bush's NCLB Act was instituted. For some reason, I doubt it. In fact, I'd bet money on it.