The Unforgettables

“The Unforgettables”
Amanda Walker

As this time of year rolls around and we teachers are preparing to go "back to work" (if you are a teacher, you know why that is in quotation marks), our little brains are on fire. As I prepare for a new group of kiddos and a chance to do better than last year in some way (Must. Have. More. Orange. Ceiling. Lights), I always find myself thinking about the unforgettables: moments and students who have made an impact on me in some big way. My career is peppered with them, as I am sure all teachers will understand.

I haven't been teaching long, 9 years, so in many ways I still have so much teaching ahead of me, but I was teaching about three whole minutes when I met my first kid I'd never forget. He walked in first for "Meet the Teacher" night all kind-eyed and nervous...and he brought me flowers. I am not much of a "flower girl," I'd rather plant it then vase it, but he presented me with flowers and told me not to worry, that he was nervous too. This kid would figuratively take my hand all year and help me get over nerves that I'd thought I'd cleverly hidden. He helped me get up on roller skates for the first time in 10 years and skated with me around the rink a few times to make sure I was okay. His thoughtfulness would span that whole year. He even found a big, patio chair and brought it to me at Open House because I'd sat in this little broken blue chair for three weeks, and couldn't see all the kids’ faces, so I put it on top of a table to see the kids better, which was ridiculous, right? This child invited me to church when I wasn't a regular church goer and he sat with me. I'll never forget that.

I'll not forget the girl who drew dragons, beautiful dragons that amazed me, or the only child that one year to get any joke I told because I wasn't funny to the rest of the 21 there, or the reluctant Harry Potter reader that I may have forced to read the book because I wielded my power over her, and she ended up being a die-hard HP fan. I won't forget the one who wore his lunch box on his head everywhere he went, or how much I totally got it because it was like his thinking cap and no one wants to be without their thinking cap. How can I forget the child that so kindly brought me a lava lamp for my guided reading table because I mentioned in passing that I'd love one, just for fun, to turn on while kids were there? Months later it appeared on my desk during "Teacher Appreciation Week," and I was thrilled.


Did school fit well on every one of these kids? Yes, no, maybe so, but I didn't care about that then, and I can't even begin to now. Would it be shocking to you if I said I didn't remember any of their high stakes testing scores, but I remember all their names: First. Middle. Last - or - Last, First, Middle if you are that teacher? I remember all of them, because as trite as it might sound, they are "my kids." There is this quote out there that says that becoming a mother is like having your heart walking around outside your body, well-being a teacher is a lot like having your heart broken into 25-35 to pieces and they all need an eraser (I'm out) and a forgot their lunch on field trip day. It's bonkers.


There have been many unforgettable meetings with parents, both positive and negative. Moments of much inappropriate laughter in the hallway between me and my Teammates as we lock eyes at some point in the day during a mad dash the restroom, that have to scream, "What are we doing here?" Moments of pure terror when I thought one may have put their face in the electric pencil sharpener, and even that "I am so, so, so sorry" time that I accidentally dropped smoked salmon on the head of student! These moments put a little teacher stamp on my heart, and that is why the new year is so exciting for me and all the teachers out there. It's exciting because the unforgettable moments are going to happen again. They keep happening because school is cool, kids are fun, and we are working our little hearts out.

Well, the classroom is ready...actually, it's not ready because it's never all the way ready, BUT it is organized for a hot minute! It is bright and well-intentioned. The liquid glue is not yet congealed in the caps. The pencils are ALL SHARPENED at one time, and we have plenty of soap for about 17 days of really good, really responsible hand washing. It's pretty awesome.

Yes, it must be the start of a new school year. All that is left now is to make it unforgettable.