Dear Mr. Sandefer,

As you have probably not been informed, my locker is no longer next to your classroom. Surprisingly, this is by far the largest disappointment of my senior year. My locker was terribly convenient, since it was on the end, but that was the least of its mighty virtue. The greatest thing about my locker was that you, being one of the friendliest teachers, said good morning to me every day and asked how I was doing. Out of politeness, of course, but if I am not next to your classroom, no one will tell me good morning, and no one will ask how I am. And I really enjoy being told good morning!

The "good morning" exchange is just one thing I will miss. Being no longer in your class, I will miss our occasional little arguments--Me complaining about the government, and you trying to convince me that it's all the best it can be. I know you're right, and I knew it when we argued. However, sometimes I just enjoy being negative, and in addition, it was a good way to get to know you better.

You are a very difficult teacher to get to know. You are caring and polite, but at the same time, not very personal. (I assume you are like that because the last chemistry teacher we had eloped with a student and moved to Kentucky.) However, you were the best science teacher I'd had since Junior High, and one of the best teachers I've had ever, and so I wanted to know a little more about you. What I said about teacher's pay and how I feel about it is true--one of the few things I said during our arguments that I think actually deserves some attention. However, I am glad that you became a teacher.

I think you are an exquisite teacher. As with any teacher who tries to teach, there are students who think that you are too demanding, but you are one of those great teachers who really wants the students to know what you are trying to tell them. If you expect a lot from your students, you are also willing to help them meet your standards in whatever way. I remember the day when you were so sick, and it was obvious that you felt horrible, but you stayed at school when you easily could have (and probably should have) gone home, because you wanted to get all of the classes caught up.

But this is just the beginning of how you struck me as an amazing person! I believe you talked about your wife two times during the year I was in your class, and each time, you expressed such admiration for her. It was the sweetest thing, Mr. Sandefer. I always wished you would talk about her more often, because one doesn't see a husband talk that way about his wife as often as one should. I hope that, when I get married, my husband talks that way about me.

As I draw this little letter to a close, there is just one thing left to say: I just remembered that I have a friend, Elsa, who is taking chemistry this year, and it is possible that I will accompany her either to or from that class. If this is the case, I hope you tell me "good morning" when I get there! Or at least "hello".

<3 o.

p.s. : I am sorry for any times I fell asleep in your class. It is nothing to do with you--Sometimes I am just exhausted and can't help myself. I tried hard to stay awake, and I think you probably noticed that I was fighting it, and that's why you usually gave me a few minutes before making me wake up. Thank you for those few minutes. :)

Dear Mr. Nelson,

Remember when you were always so proud of us because we were your "First Class"? You always acted like we were so special to you, because we were the first band you got to teach all yourself, without any other band instructors before you. You got to teach us everything from scratch.

I really wish you hadn't decided to leave before we graduated.

I know a lot of students make fun of you for whatever reason, but that is the way it is with high school students. We are just stupid, Mr. Nelson, and we don't recognize good character where we see it. Most of us didn't know how totally awesome you could be. I guess I didn't know very much either. But I do know this: The fact that you went on a Disney Cruise for your honeymoon is pretty much the awesomest thing I have ever heard of. And the fact that you and your wife bought Harry Potter at midnight when it came out is pretty cool, too, for a teacher.

So I hope you don't think that I quit band because of anything to do with you. I probably was not the best student, but I really did like your class, and I really did miss it after I dropped it. I know I said that I was dropping it because it didn't fit in my schedule, but that wasn't entirely true, and I feel like I at least owe you a true explanation.

I dropped band because I have a huge self esteem issue and I couldn't stand sitting next to the dancers another game. I could not do it. I know that the dancers are not really of an enviable moral standing, but let's face it, they're pretty. And I hated having to march around or sit there in a shapeless uniform or t-shirt while there they were, being watched and admired and applauded and pretty. I know it's not really the band's fault that I felt that way. I'm sure I would have felt that way if I went to a game as a student, but as a student, I would not have chosen to go to a game, and as a band member, I cried before and after almost every single one.

I really am sorry that I dropped band. I'm also sorry that I never got around to giving you the blank CD so you could burn all the pieces I wanted recordings of (all the Broadway or movie pieces and any of the pep band pieces you had recorded).

I am going to miss you very much next year. If I'd had a brain, I would never have dropped Music Theory last year so that I could take Art. Art... was an unbelievable mistake. And now it's too late to take Music Theory with you. Mr. Nichols is going to teach it and it is going to be boring and uneducational. No offence to him, but he just always seems so unenthusiastic and... I don't know. I was just really looking forward to having you for a teacher for another year.

Is the real reason that you're moving to Florida really for a better job? Florida is 48th in the U.S. for education, you know. Or maybe you want to be closer to Disney World? I couldn't blame you for that.

Well, I guess I've said all I need to say. I hope you have fun in Florida, and that whatever job you get there is worth the move. :)

<3 o.

p.s. : I am probably going to Disney World for the first time ever this summer! Maybe I will see you there.

History Is Like... So Over!

I have the worst History teacher ever. No, I am not joking. Here is how bad he is: This man does not teach us a single thing. I can't think of anything I've learned from him, except more about Jim Jones than I want to know. And that was a video.
After a couple weeks of school, we caught on to the fact that, somehow, everyone was getting 100%s on the worksheets. How odd. So Han decided to not try on one and see what would happen. Who was 'Stonewall Jackson'? "A guy. With a beard. And shoes." What year did the Civil War end? "Purple." Guess what? He got a perfect. Now, this may sound slightly wonderful, because it means you don't have to do your work. But not quite, because he will sometimes randomly grade a paper. In addition, if you miss a day and ask him what work you missed, he'll say, "Nothing," but then he'll give you a 0 on it. That can injure your grade quite a bit in some cases.

Now, I think that's a reasonable reason to hate History. Here's the thing: I don't think I really hate history. I hate learning about it. But I find European history fascinating. I love historical fiction, and even non-fiction, and I think that antique malls are some of the funnest places to go. Last Friday, Han and I actually went to an antique mall, and took pictures of each other trying on old hats, talking on old phones, drawing old swords, posing with old canes, and it was so much fun!

I think one thing that I love about antique malls is that it's not the kind of history that has to do with battles and dates and names, it's a culture. This is how it was in the 1920s. This is what it was like in the 1800s. I find the history of culture and how it changed to be much more fascinating than war dates--maybe because I find it much more significant. History doesn't mean much when it's all about the armies and presidents. I am not of the army and I am not a president. But when you get to how it was for the average people... I am an average person, and I can relate to that much better.

I think I would rather like to study Victorian-era London/England area. I think I'll do that.

<3 o.