ok, let’s get to it. let me present to you the class of 2010.
actually, not quite. because i do have to mention a few students who have already left chapel, and will therefore not be part of the graduating bunch. and, actually, these students are quite particularly special to me.
first, there’s my favorite swede. not that i have met many in my life; but anders has historical importance. he was the first chapel student i ever talked to. when i came in to “audition” for a position as a teacher, he was in the class as i set up things. listening to music, very typical. you see, anders just loves good music, and he has great taste, too… at least in my opinion. he is not the most extrovert person you’ll meet, but that is actually another thing i like about him. very polite, but independent in his opinions. and just extremely likeable. hope to pay him a visit back in sweden sometime.
then, of course, there is tomassito. this is a person that i really enjoyed having in my class, up to 150 minutes every other day. i made him struggle with the concepts of physics and the wonders of math in the classroom (and mostly, he did quite well with both), while he made me fight for victories in the table tennis arena. we played many matches, quite a few of them i would refer to as memorable, and all in all that describes mr vanegas to me – quite memorable.
of course, this leads me to the third “drop-out”, fernanda carmo. she had an interesting relationship to tomás, which was funny, because she seemed to be quite the opposite of him: very outgoing, very very outgoing. both intelligent and smart, she really strived to get the best possible grades. but what i admired about her was the fact that she didn’t try as hard as most people at her age (or almost any age) to conceal her need to be loved and accepted. by the way, i believe that we never really deserve to be loved or accepted; but when we are, we respond to that in a way that makes us at least more worthy. so choose to love, you’ll get the best out of people that way.
one sentence about carlitos, who was never my student but still will be mentioned. i was very glad to see him here at chapel yesterday, we started playing table tennis later in the year. he always seemed to be genuinely good hearted to me. he also left, and he used to hang out a lot with tomás.
before that, though, i think that tomás’ best friend here at chapel was manuel salas. and here i must clarify one thing, at least speaking for me. a teacher does not have favorite students, necessarily. at least, i don’t. i ‘ve always had a few students i felt some kind of a special connection. it doesn’t mean that i prefer those student over others; i guess it’s similar to having a few kids. you love them equally, but you do feel a special connection to one or the other. anyway, manuel was such a student for me. our handshaking ritual before every single class was almost sacred, and i just got the feeling that this kid was really one of a kind. his abrupt departure from chapel took me by surprise, but once again, i was very happy to see him earlier this year.
so i started writing about the class of 2010 beginning by those who won’t be here in 2010. it’s time to talk about those who are here… next post!
actually, not quite. because i do have to mention a few students who have already left chapel, and will therefore not be part of the graduating bunch. and, actually, these students are quite particularly special to me.
first, there’s my favorite swede. not that i have met many in my life; but anders has historical importance. he was the first chapel student i ever talked to. when i came in to “audition” for a position as a teacher, he was in the class as i set up things. listening to music, very typical. you see, anders just loves good music, and he has great taste, too… at least in my opinion. he is not the most extrovert person you’ll meet, but that is actually another thing i like about him. very polite, but independent in his opinions. and just extremely likeable. hope to pay him a visit back in sweden sometime.
then, of course, there is tomassito. this is a person that i really enjoyed having in my class, up to 150 minutes every other day. i made him struggle with the concepts of physics and the wonders of math in the classroom (and mostly, he did quite well with both), while he made me fight for victories in the table tennis arena. we played many matches, quite a few of them i would refer to as memorable, and all in all that describes mr vanegas to me – quite memorable.
of course, this leads me to the third “drop-out”, fernanda carmo. she had an interesting relationship to tomás, which was funny, because she seemed to be quite the opposite of him: very outgoing, very very outgoing. both intelligent and smart, she really strived to get the best possible grades. but what i admired about her was the fact that she didn’t try as hard as most people at her age (or almost any age) to conceal her need to be loved and accepted. by the way, i believe that we never really deserve to be loved or accepted; but when we are, we respond to that in a way that makes us at least more worthy. so choose to love, you’ll get the best out of people that way.
one sentence about carlitos, who was never my student but still will be mentioned. i was very glad to see him here at chapel yesterday, we started playing table tennis later in the year. he always seemed to be genuinely good hearted to me. he also left, and he used to hang out a lot with tomás.
before that, though, i think that tomás’ best friend here at chapel was manuel salas. and here i must clarify one thing, at least speaking for me. a teacher does not have favorite students, necessarily. at least, i don’t. i ‘ve always had a few students i felt some kind of a special connection. it doesn’t mean that i prefer those student over others; i guess it’s similar to having a few kids. you love them equally, but you do feel a special connection to one or the other. anyway, manuel was such a student for me. our handshaking ritual before every single class was almost sacred, and i just got the feeling that this kid was really one of a kind. his abrupt departure from chapel took me by surprise, but once again, i was very happy to see him earlier this year.
so i started writing about the class of 2010 beginning by those who won’t be here in 2010. it’s time to talk about those who are here… next post!
1 comment:
Beautiful, Mr!!
happy 2009**
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