Back to School: Seventh Grade
One of my favorite back to school stories is “Seventh Grade,” in Gary Soto’s collection Baseball in April and Other Stories, because it shows the plight of students as they make their way through the world of education, while at the same time revealing — subtly — the perspective of the teacher.
Victor, the main character in the story, is in French class and because his crush is also in the class, he says that he knows the language in order to impress her.
Victor does not speak French.
Oh, but he tries, and what an effort it is. The story is worth reading just for the line Victor gives. I suggest reading it out loud to adolescents if you have some nearby. You will make their day.
Mr. Bueller, the teacher, understands Victor doesn’t know French, and could easily point that out — brutally — but instead he proceeds with the lesson.
Later when Victor’s crush tells him the French he spoke was “really good,” he and Mr. Bueller make eye contact, and Victor begs silently for him to not say a word about what they both know. Mr. Bueller smiles and hums to himself as he shuffles papers at his desk. While Victor and the girl talk, the teacher remembers a time when he went beyond his means to impress a girl — an insight that shows how we are all bound to our growing-up years, and that if we are willing to remember and feel those feelings all over again, those moments might set others free.
Try It: Back to School Or Other Perspective
This week write a poem that shows two perspectives: one from an authority figure like a teacher, or policewoman, or perhaps a politician, and one from someone “lower.” Here is my example:
Red Pens
I didn’t know this Starbucks was an
after school hang out!
I wasn’t expecting the tables on either side of me
to be
jam packed with kids.
Don’t they know these tables fit two,
maybe three people around them?
NOT FIVE.
I just need an afternoon break –
away from the students –
and their
loud,
crazy,
unlimited energy.
I need to get to know them on paper
see the other side of them.
I take a deep breath and try
to ignore the conversations around me.
“I totally failed that test.”
“Do you think he likes her?”
“Are you going to the soccer game?”
I take out my red pen
And begin looking at some papers.
The conversations stop, and I look up.
Startled eyes are staring at my red pen,
and I immediately feel ashamed as I look at my hand.
I’m gripping my pen
ready to strike ink on the student’s paper in front of me.
The kids fear for this student
lying quietly on the brown circular table,
a medium coffee just to the right.
They know that somewhere they too
are lying on a table,
waiting anxiously to be punctured with red ink.
“I didn’t mean for it to be that way!”
I want to tell them.
The red is for contrast, not conviction!
I loosen my grip on the pen and
place it next to the student,
still lying there.
I open my pencil case and search
I pick up a green pen and test it out on a napkin.
It works.
“If you’re going to the soccer game, can I ride with you?”
“I heard he sort of likes you, but he also likes
another girl, too. I guess he has issues choosing.”
“Are you working on that Math project this week,
or will you wait ’til the weekend?”
I look out of the corner of my eye and
see a girl watching me and my green pen.
She makes eye contact with me.
“Is this better?” I question with my eyes.
She smiles back.
Photo by Roger Ward Creative Commons, via Flickr. Post by Callie Feyen.
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I have been a fan of Callie Feyen’s writing for quite some time but I finished this book in almost one sitting. If you have ever been in 8th grade, fallen in love, had a best friend, or loved reading, you will love this book. As the mother of an 8th grader, my other genuine hope is that my son will one day have a teacher as gifted as Callie.
—Celena Roldan
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