Graduation season

Go Badgers...

I've always wanted to tell this story but for most Chicago Public School students not only is the school year over with, graduation season is over with as well. But it's time to write this out before the month of June is out.

My 8th grade teacher at Bennett School was a man I will only refer to as Mr. Z. My experience with him is basically what I'd call one of the first times I really clashed with an authority figure and in life that is a very dangerous thing to do. Especially if one chooses to take on a job and that authority figure is a manager who can decide on a whim that they can take your job away.

I won't talk too much negative about Mr. Z because some of my classmates who graduated with me back in the 1990s probably like him. Over the years I will admit that I used to curse his name. The more years away from his classroom the worse my thoughts about him got. My mother had to tell me that the man may well have been frustrated that for his taste, I just wasn't reaching my full potential.

While possible, I just look at it as a case of he may not have been the one to bring it out. My relationship with him could be similar to how one can't really get along with a boss. You have two choices in a situation like that of course you can start looking for another job elsewhere or you can find a way to make it work and walk on eggshells with that same boss. Though for myself being able to withdraw from such a classroom is only available to college students. In 8th grade that luxury isn't available and the teacher would be the one to withdraw students from their classroom.

All the same what did I get from Mr. Z? Well one credit I would give him is that if I never took his class I would've never been interested in politics. I've occasionally told this story about how he offered his stances on issues involving public education showing his stance against Republicans for example. He also drilled us frequently when it was time for the constitution exam which we had to take to graduate. Of course as per his teaching style he only did this by the book and by the numbers, no frills no creativity. It was all just this will be on the test and this is what you need to know to succeed.

Of course this coincided with by the time I graduated my discovery of C-Span when we got cable. I got the hang of the parliamentary jargon when watching both houses of Congress in session. How our government operates came alive on cable TV for my younger self back in the day. I even began to aspire to be a future senator or even a future President of the United States. Though it's a dream I no longer have today, then again you just never know.

Either way, I would officially like to give Mr. Z credit for something I still follow today. These days I'm more up to speed on local politics, besides this affects us the most more than what happens in Washington. I can believe that we'd be on the opposite ends of the spectrum politically if we ever met again, however, he deserves not my scorn but the recognition of my interest in politics.

He has no idea that once I went to college at Morehouse I majored in political science. If it wasn't for my time in the 8th grade it would never have led me to study pol. sci. I would never have thought to study it or even consider careers in that field. Though I wish I could do more to that end to find a job in that particular area.

What I do remember is once I had graduated and our relationship had effectively ended he did shake my hand and said his door was always open to me. I have little idea if this was just a platitude or if he was serious (and I never really found out if it was either). These days it's just recognized as a classy move as back then we just didn't do very well in our brief teacher-student relationship. However, sometimes I wish there was an answer as far as whether or not his door was open.

Meanwhile, I'm sure these days he's enjoying his retirement with his hard earned pension somewhere out there. Perhaps I'm the last thing he thinks about, but I do hope he realizes that a student from his past as a CPS teacher realizes that he finally appreciates his one major contribution.