The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth - Alexandra Robbins [169]
Regan returned to her office to finish cleaning up. She took down the student artwork that she had plastered on her walls. She removed the poster she’d made with her favorite quotes, like “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace” ( Jimi Hendrix), and “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (To Kill a Mockingbird). She detached the magnets she had affixed to her file cabinet; one said LOVE, another said MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
Regan wondered how many teachers like her, beloved by students, had left teaching because of intolerant schools. She closed her eyes for a moment and wiped away the tears.
When Regan read the teacher evaluation forms that students had filled out, she saw that her ratings were excellent. Most students gave her top marks. In answer to the question “Do you trust this teacher?”, one student responded, “I’d trust Ms. Davis with my life.” Regan would miss her students fiercely.
“Ms. Davis is truly the best teacher I have had at Johnson since I been here, and I am truly going to miss her so much next year,” a senior wrote. Regan smiled and read the rest of the notes.
• Ms. Davis, I love you. She’s the best lady in the whole wide world.
• Ms. Davis is a real cool teacher. You always know the right words to say. Your teacher skills really rock. Thanks for being a really cool person, the best teacher ever, and a big inspiration.
• Ms. Davis is the MASTER of Lit. No one could teach it better than her.
• Ms. Davis is the sweetest, most nicest teacher in the world. I learned a lot with and from her. PS: I love this class.
• Ms. Davis is my favorite teacher. I trust Ms. Davis. I see people tell her personal things about them, and I never see Ms. Davis running off and telling other people. I know she would keep my issues secret.
• Alright man. You are like the freakin’ best teacher of LIFE. You accept people’s thoughts and take things into consideration. You’re very open and expressive, and I think that’s purrrty cool. I’ve had a lot of fun in your class this semester.
• Ms. Davis is an awesome teacher. So far, she has been my favorite. She has fun activities and teaching methods, and she also interacts with her students openly. She has inspired me in many ways.
Once again, Regan was praised for qualities that caused her contemporaries at school to exclude her. She had made a difference, she realized, to the people who mattered to her the most. And tomorrow was the beginning of another dream.
BLUE, HAWAII | THE GAMER
Blue was in limbo. Ms. Pierce asked the UAP committee members to reconsider, given Blue’s special circumstances. They refused. To escape his uncertainty about the future, Blue continued to throw himself wholeheartedly into preparation for the Simulated Congressional Hearings. When he was alone, he distracted himself by reading books on philosophy. He spent as much time with the smart kids as possible.
The group quickly had become close-knit. Leilani told Blue that she thought she was her true self only around Blue and the other AP Gov kids. He felt the same way. He didn’t even mind anymore when Ty and Stewart drifted by him in school. “I feel happier in this group of friends,” he said. “I laugh a lot. I don’t feel like I have to conform to anything. When I’m with Stewart and Ty, I feel like I need to conform to their standards of ‘normal’ or whatever. When I’m with these people, I can just be whoever I feel like.”
At nationals, Blue’s team was pleased with its performance, even though it didn’t place in the top ten, because the students had managed to disquiet the judges by arguing that Hawaii