Commencement

by Lawrence Cherry

  ****

  “Hey, you! All set for lunch?” chirped Joan as she poked her head into Tamiko’s classroom. Tamiko tried to force a smile.

  “I guess”, Tamiko responded weakly.

  “You look bummed. What’s up?”

  “My assessment meeting didn’t go so well.” Tamiko’s voice began to tremble as she fought back tears.

  “Really? Why? I thought they liked you?”

  “But they don’t like my teaching apparently.”

  “Your kids moved up on the Running Records, right?”

  “Not as much as everyone else’s students.”

  “Yeah, but you’ve got a tough class. Considering some of the antics these kids pull, I think it’s a miracle, any of them moved at all.”

  “I know a lot of them have issues, but they’re so young. It’s not their fault. Besides, it’s my job to teach them in spite of their issues.”

  “So what’d they say? I mean did it sound like they were gonna give you the dreaded “U” rating?”

  “Not yet anyway. They’re gonna have Charlotte and Steele coach me, and Nettlenerves is going to do a couple of informal observations.”

  “For the love of Pete! Don’t they come in your classroom enough already! What more do they want! And I don’t believe that junk about it being “all about the kids”. All they care about are their careers. I think they all see themselves as the next Regional Superintendent. Especially Booker and Nettlenerves.”

  “You can say that again. I couldn’t believe how Charlotte turned on me today.”

  “What’d she do?”

  “You know how she’s always like, ‘That was great, you’re in the right direction.’ Well, today she just turned on me like a pit bull. You should have heard her, ‘I don’t see what you’re doing to help the kids move’” Tamiko mimicked. “Ironically enough, I’ve been doing exactly what she’s been telling me to do.”

  “I know. She is such a twit. She’s only where she is because her mom is the principal’s best friend. How else could someone become a literacy coach after just one year’s worth of experience teaching? It’s just sick.”

  “And Steele really takes the cake. I know it’s not right, but I just can’t stand her. Ever since we met, she’s sort of had like this blasé attitude. You know me, I try to give everybody the benefit of the doubt, but I think she’s just mean. She was the first one to come out and suggest more observations. What a pill.”

  “She’s a weirdo anyway. No one likes her. Don’t say anything, but I heard she’s prejudiced.”

  “Really?! That certainly explains a lot”, breathed Tamiko remembering her first encounter with Steele at the beginning of the school year. Most keenly she remembered her dismissive attitude when she introduced herself. Tamiko guessed that maybe she had no time to be bothered with African-Americans.

  “Yeah, they say she had some type of incident with one of the parents last year who complained about something she said to one of the students. And she’s always trying to get the teachers of color fired.”

  “Are you serious?! What am I supposed to do with someone like that for my mentor?”

  “Rumor has it, she is supposed to be leaving after this year. I heard from Mrs. Lawler that she doesn’t like the neighborhood anymore so she’s leaving.”

  “I hope she does leave. In the meantime, I have to suffer that woman in my classroom for goodness knows how long. And given what you just said, she’s probably just going to try to sabotage me. I wish there was someone else that I could turn to.”

  Then after a moment, Tamiko’s eyes lit up. “Hey Joan, what about you? Do you think you could help me?”

  “I don’t know, Tamiko. I’m a first year teacher just like you. What could I help you with?”

  “C’mon, your assessment meeting turned out better than mine. Maybe you could share some of what you’ve been doing.”

  “Oh please, I’ve just got a lot of smart kids who are good at teaching themselves. They’d have to with this stupid curriculum.”

  “Still, if there’s anything that you know that could help, I’d appreciate it.”

  “There is one thing”, she said leaning close to Tamiko. “But I don’t know ... If you’re still having trouble after next month’s meeting, just let me know.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Aw man, it’s getting late. We’d better go while we can. If we don’t pick up the kids from lunch on time, the school aides will blab to the principal. That’s another thing about this place. You can barely trust anyone to have your back. There’s always someone whose willing to make you look bad to make themselves look good.”

  “You’re right. Let me just grab my purse.”

  Eighteen