As I sat back to think about how to craft a column regarding the class of 2021 at NRHEG, I started with my memories of them in middle school. I remembered many of them even from their elementary days since they were only a year behind my daughter.
I also contemplated their time since leaving the confines of my classroom. Watching a group of young people grow and thrive as they travel the high school hallways is always fun.
Until they no longer travel the hallways.
When the pandemic hit last year and the school halls emptied, I didn’t think much about this year’s seniors. Out of sight, out of mind. As the school year began and we ricocheted between hybrid and distance and in-person and Wednesdays off or on or whatever, I started noticing the seniors I wasn’t noticing.
It’s not like I keep a tally sheet of who I see around the school, but suddenly I might think, “I wonder if so-and-so is still distance learning. I haven’t seen them in forever.” That’s been one of the difficult parts of this past year: not seeing people you are used to seeing, whether that is at school, at work, or in your family.
I’m so glad the seniors have had some of the milestones that are important. They had a Homecoming coronation, even if the game didn’t happen. They had at least parts of their sports seasons. There was a one-act play and band concerts. They got to have a Prom a couple weeks ago. And it looks like graduation will be returning to something of what it was in the past.
However, some of the seniors have elected to just stay home during this year for distance learning. All the restrictions and changes probably made them say, “Enough. I’ll just finish at home.” That makes me sad; there are so many great moments that happen in school. The seniors I do see look happy and are having fun and soaking in these final school memories at NRHEG.
In reality, this group was part of an overall structure that has treated our students like guinea pigs since last March. As schools bounced around among learning models and rules, with things changing sometimes on a daily or weekly basis, these kids have been inside a pinball machine. “Wait. We had to be six feet apart and now we only have to be three feet apart?”
Classrooms have looked different. Some kids eat in the media center or the shop. And as hard as all this has been on educators, it was the students, especially our seniors, who suffered the most.
As those thoughts floated around my head, I remembered that some of this year’s seniors were also guinea pigs for me four years ago. That was the first year we instituted our Honors program in English. I had selected a group that would be pushed in new and different ways. It was trial and error the entire year in my attempt to find the right balance for them.
But they were so awesome about the whole process. This group has never been shy about sharing their opinions, and that was great as we worked together on their education. Those Honors kids gave me constant feedback on everything we did, and it was invaluable in the following years. For that, I’m forever grateful.
They also never backed down from a challenge, and that tenacity showed in how so many of them dealt with this year. In the biggest challenge of them all, the senior class of 2021 showed their strength in finding ways to have some of those traditional moments. It took a lot of work and perseverance, struggling against people who did not want to risk any of that, and they’ve had those events with great success.
A small part of this group is also very special to me since they were the last group of young ladies I coached for basketball. There was a group of nine girls that worked hard for me all year and did some great things on the basketball court. We had a lot of fun, and I’ve spent a lot of time this year, when I see some of them, talking about specific games and practices and the amazing year we all shared. Even though only two of them remained at the end of their senior season, all those girls still mean the world to me.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out one of them in particular. Kendall Johnson asked me a couple years ago if she could be my teaching assistant and I agreed.
I haven’t always kept Kendall busy, but when I don’t have anything for her to do, she has gone out of her way to find ways to help other staff around the school. She’s developed a great rapport with the group of 7th graders who are in my room when she is, and that’s helped give me ideas for how to better use a TA in the future.
So many of those big events the seniors got to do this year? Kendall was a driving force behind making sure things happened this year and that they came off well. There was a core in this class that really went above and beyond, and I hope their classmates and the parents appreciate that. Nothing was going to happen without the efforts of those kids.
I love walking by the wall we have that lists people’s plans for next year. Whether it’s college or the military or the workforce, we should celebrate all of them. The class of 2021 will forever be part of history, likely linked with the group right before them as the senior classes that underwent the most adversity. If this group seems dizzy, it’s because they’ve been bounced around all year, never sure what was going to happen next.
It’s a good thing the class of 2021 at NRHEG was built to withstand all that and come out better than ever. Good luck!
Word of the Week: This week’s word is orotund, which means strong, clear, and rich, as in, “The orotund voice of the graduation speaker amazed the audience, even through a mask.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!