Planning the issue of the Pepper Box is always stressful for me. For this last issue, the 22nd I’ve been a part of and the 16th I’ve been the chief of, I tried to enjoy myself. I knew I wanted to end my career with something big and awesome, and it was Coach (Mr. Steinschriber) who thought of the idea.

We were going to switch spots for a day – he would go to my classes and I would teach his. Since I am already in half his classes and do well in English, it seemed like a reasonable idea. We petitioned the principals and were told that we could only swap spots for one class. Mr. Clark said it was because I was too awesome for the students to handle, and Stein (Mr. Steinschriber) was probably going to act up too much… I was inclined to agree.

I taught his 4th hour A day class on May 9. It was Advanced English 10, and since I took the same course two years ago, I thought it would be easy to teach.

Bad assumption.

Teaching is a lot harder than learning. I thought that since I already knew the material and came up with the assignment myself, it would be simple, but it was not. The entire time I was scared I was not teaching the students what they needed to know. As a control-freak/perfectionist/know-it-all, the hardest part was trying to find a balance between guiding and helping.

As for the students, most of them were great. After the initial shock, they got into their routine and looked to me as the real teacher. It was exciting and rewarding for me to be able to help them with things I’m proficient in (MLA format and works cited pages), and I was glad to share my horror stories and advice from the English classes I have taken throughout my high school career.

Fortunately, it was a pretty well behaved group. I was lucky to not have to put up with much disrespect or shenanigans, but I know that is a real issue for most teachers.

There was only one “bad” kid, and he did not do too much wrong; he only avoided his assignment and I caught him making an angry gesture towards me. That was actually pretty funny to me, because all I did to deserve that was give him a fairly simple assignment that was not due for two more days. But then I remembered that I’ve felt that way several times in the last four years, too.

I am not a perfect student. At every parent-teacher conference that I have had since kindergarten, my teachers have told my parents that I am too loud and obnoxious. I barely do my homework, scrape by with the lowest grades acceptable, and do not always pay attention in class. I have loathed and despised many teachers, and usually it was because they were only trying to do their jobs: give me a proper, good education.

I think as students we forget that teachers are doing their best to prepare us for success. Of course they have faults, but so do we. I am telling you from experience, it is a whole lot worse to be responsible for the education and grades of classrooms full of students than it is to do one person’s load of homework.

I wish I had realized all this a little sooner than in my last few days at Ritenour High School. I’m going to try to take this lesson with me to college and the work place, and I hope current and future students do the same. Next time your teacher assigns 47 algebra questions in one night or tells you to get off your phone for the sixteenth time, try to be understanding and appreciative for their care for you.