The Faces in the Photograph

The Faces in the Photograph
(for the class of 1989-1993)

The one thing that is fun about spring cleaning is of course finding things that I thought had long been lost. One such item is the black and white photograph of my first batch of 'babies'

Why do I call them babies?
They are all grown up..probably between 33-34 now...Young men and women who have gone out and made their mark in the world. Some have settled down and have children of their own. Most have good jobs, and through Facebook, I have managed to catch up with a few of them.

Yet...like I have said before, there is something about these group of kids who grew up with me. As a young, naive teacher, I was full of ideals then. I had lots of dreams to being able to reach out to my charges, and filling up their minds with all kinds of knowledge.

Hahaha...sometimes, I think it feels as though I learnt more from my kids...than they learnt from me. I had lead a sheltered life; from a good home and family, and good schools. Nothing really prepared me for the various challenges I face dealing with the class 1N5....

How many times did I feel like giving up and throwing in the towel? Plenty...when I saw my idealism being shot down...and having to deal with real life issues which affected their lives. I felt dejected, deflated...demoralised...for all the images of educating young eager minds so very often get crushed by grim reality.

But...there were so many high points too...
We laughed and smiled...we fought and made up. We learned to forgive, and make up.

Thanks for the memories people.
You will always be special.