Remembering...

I ran across this draft from about a year and a half ago that I forgot to finish.

I enjoyed reading it again so I decided it needed to be included here.

Whitney High School,

our Monarch Butterfly Station, Gym, Student Parking Lot

and Yellow Umbrellas.

It's been almost exactly a year and a half now that I retired from my 39 years of teaching

 the Visual Arts at Whitney High School.

I have so many wonderful memories,

but this has been an especially hard year for me personally.

Not just because of Covid and all the crazy politics going on,

that was an added challenge,

but because Whitney was my home from the age of 24 to 63.

I feel like I grew up there with my students in so many ways.

Leaving/retiring is finally getting easier to talk about without feeling overwhelming sadness and loss.

What do I miss the most?

It's not just one thing,

it's so many things.

My classroom was my safe space,

where I was in control... most of the time.

ha ha

Not only safe for me but for many of my students during their day.

Lunchtime was a haven for many.

The kids.

To be around them everyday kept me young,

 so vibrant and alive,

thinner (I averaged about 11000 to 15000 steps a day),

excited to teach and share my knowledge,

and to pass on the arts to so many generations.

Being inspired by the tremendous effort and creativity the kids put into their 

projects,

so much so that I would create future art assignments based on THEIR pieces.

I loved that creative thinking process figuring out those new projects,

then to prep them and make samples for the kids to become excited about.

Damn it was GOOD!!!

And I can't believe I'm saying this but I even miss the drive to and from Whitney.

Never in a million years did I think I would miss that!

The adrenaline in the morning racing to get there on time

 so I wouldn't be tardy and a bad example.

I don't think the kids ever knew how very difficult that was for me,

I lived so very far away.  

Or maybe they did

 as I would occasionally come racing in to open my classroom door

 from the parking lot just in the nick of time.

 And my trusty pullcart rolling noisely behind me,

and the jingle jangle of my school keys.

It was a solid 40-50 minute drive every morning.

A good hour if there was a sig-a-lert (sorry spelling?).

And the drive home in bumper to bumper traffic, 

that actually became too relaxing.

  I'd go so deeply into Right Brain 

that in my older years I'd occasionally fall asleep in my car,

but only for a second!

That was scary.

But as I'm thinking and writing about it now I think what I really miss the most

is making a difference in these young people's lives.

Contributing and sharing,

bringing joy into other's life,

making the kids laugh and smile.

That was the best!!!!!

I took a lot of pix before I left,

many that I haven't shared yet.

I hope you will be patient with me as I share them every so often here on my blog.

The pictures above are from our Monarch Butterfly Station

that was first planted back in the day (early 1980's I believe),

as a memorial garden for our beloved Science teacher (Bio & Chem),

Dave Reller whom the kids adored.

Check out Dave's 1980's Fro.

He was the first friend I knew who succumbed to AIDS.

He loved teaching so very much that he taught till the biitter end.

The kids and staff were devasted 

especailly because back then nobody really knew what AIDS was all about.

Dave truely made science fun to learn,

and he had the most wonderful dry sense of humor.

He was my next door neighbor and was super encouraging to me as a first year teacher.

He showd me great kindness.

 8th grade Science teacher Virgina Pooler took it upon herself with her students 

to put in that garden after Dave passed.

But sadly and not long afterwards,

 Virginia "Gin" passed from cancer and the garden fell into chaos

for many years.

Another devasting loss for Whitney.

Gin was another of Whitney High's favorite Science teachers (8th grade Science).

The kids worshiped her wisdom in all things,

and she was the most honest adult they had ever been taught by.

You can read more about Gin here.

In this past decade, 

 another favorite Science teacher (A.P. Biology) and Whitney High Alum,

Aileen Palmiter Perry,

who I featured recently (scroll down)

 took the garden under her wing and brought it back to it's current glory

(the pix you saw above)

She actually formed an Ecology and Wildlife Club for the students and they all pitched in.

Aileen's favorite teacher when she attended Whitney was Gin Pooler,

who we still talk about to this day. 

Thank you Aileen and your students

 for all the hard work you've put into making it beautiful again, 

and for keeping the memories of Dave and Gin alive!

Aileen is here with the love of her life and husband of 19 years,

Andy,

who also teaches at Whitney.

His specialty is History 

and currently he's teahing AP Psychology and Economics.

The two of them and their 2 boys have traveled the world together.

 Aileen is wearing her Xmas present from me,

and she has become an avid, obsessed knutty knitter like me.

YES!!!!

This is when I started the shawl a year ago December and gave you this tease.

It's so nice to be able to finally show off the finished product on beautiful Aileen.