I had a terrifying experience at school the other day.
I had a meeting that took up most of my morning, and got to school with an hour left before the end of the day and the time when I had to start teaching. I stepped into my office to find two students waiting for me, which isn't that out of the ordinary. I sat down at my desk to eat my lunch and another student showed up to accomplish the work he could not do after school. We were sitting there, reading through his essay when the loud speaker comes on:
"Teachers, stop teaching right now. Everyone turn your TVs to channel 20 for this important announcement. Stop teaching and turn your TVs to channel 20."
It was still a half an hour until the end of the day announcements and the voice over the loud speaker was stern and scary. An announcement at this point in the day could only mean that something horrible had happened. There was a shooter in the neighborhood, an accident that would prevent students from leaving school as planned at 2 PM, our nation was under attack. This last one stuck with me. I was in school on September 11, 2001 and though there was no announcement over the loud speaker then, I could feel myself start to memorize the situation. I would remember where I was on November 14, 2013. Whatever was about to be announced was important. Did I need to call my parents? Did I need to cancel after school session? What was so important?
There is a TV in my office but it is disconnected. If we really want to see what's on the TV we step out into the hallway and view the TV in the classroom of the English teacher across the hall. Usually this works with the daily announcements as her door is usually open, however, since it was the middle of the last class of the day, her door was closed. We stepped out of our closet of an office, my student more than happy to abandon his essay, and knocked on her door so that we could see what was on TV.
On the TV there is a group of students huddled around a microphone reading a statement off a sheet of paper.
"We hear that some of you are thinking about boycotting the Sadie Hawkins dance tonight."
What? The important announcement was about the Sadie Hawkins dance? Homecoming had not gone well at our high school (dirty dancing, drinking, things that plague high school dances everywhere) and there were new rules put in place. There would be more chaperones, mandatory breathalyzing and a disciplinary system involving wristbands. These rules were a part of my high school dance experience and I was surprised it had taken this long for them to reach this particular high school.
"Please do not boycott the dance due to the new rules. Many students have put in hours of their own time to plan this event. If there is low attendance at this dance, there will not be as many events in the future."
The announcement goes on for a while but I stopped paying attention now that my heart could return to a normal pace. No need for alarm; it was not an act of terrorism but teenagers. My student and I walked back to my office as the English teacher tried to regain control of her classroom after the announcement.
So, I can't say that I will remember where I was on November 14, 2013, but I will remember the Sadie Hawkins Dance and the disregard shown by the student body.
love,
hannah
