Weekly Blog #6: The Hallways

Weekly Blog Post #6: The Hallways

“All I’m saying is, when we split the check three ways, the steak-eater picks the pocket of the salad-man” – The Blue Raja

            The hallways at any school are quite a wonder. Where I have been working, there are two thousand kids that have five minutes to get from one class to another, from one side of the school to the other. The halls are filled with young students trying to find their friends that they swear will be their best friends forever. Two thousand stories are told in five-minute intervals. Conflict comes to a breaking point, as does resolution. The hallway is a truly unique place. I have noticed this especially this week above all others so far. This week I have really noticed how much a part of the student’s lives a teacher really is. There are the students that will come up and talk to me even though I haven’t had them in class since last semester. There are students that come to talk to me that I have never had in class. There are students coming up to me to ask me to participate in big school events, like prom or graduation. There are students that go to any length to avoid making eye contact with me. The point is that when I walk through the hallways, I finally realize how big the school is. I have seen how many people are affected by each other, sometimes minimally and other times immensely. The strangest thing though has been to think about what the hallways will look like in a couple of weeks when the seniors no longer stroll the halls. I keep thinking about what the hallways will look like next year when the fresh students come in. I keep thinking about how the school is a constant organism with an always-rotating population of cells. I bet that it gets easier with time, but I have a feeling it will be a pretty unique experience to see that change for the first time.

            This has led me to a different perspective on students and teachers. First the students: when I attended high school, I was positive that the day we left the teachers turned towards that new class and embraced them as if they were the same people we were. After listening to lunch room conversations and grappling with my own realizations, I have come to think that this isn’t true. Each student is unique, and won’t just simply be replaced by the new students coming in. I now have a different perspective on teachers; I realize that each and every student impacts them for more than just 180 days. Quite the opposite in fact, it’s an impact that lasts a career and probably a lifetime.