She began sorting her papers on the table at the front of the room. In addition to the office handouts from her mailbox, she had her course syllabus and an outline of her behavior standards ready to give her new charges. The spelling books were stacked on the back counter beside the aging literature and grammar texts.
So much to accomplish this first day! She went over the notes she had written on a large index card, and placed it securely on her podium. Today would set an important tone for the year ahead, and she was determined to make her students feel comfortable and at ease while maintaining an air of professionalism and respect.
Cassandra Gibralter, her master teacher during the prior term of student teaching, had given her a wonderful example as well as some timely and treasured advice. “Always remember, Michelle, that you are not teaching curriculum, you are teaching students. They will look to you to be their guide and example, whether they’re willing to admit it or not.” Glancing over her syllabus for the last time, Michelle smiled to herself as she remembered those words.
When her eyes came to rest on her behavior guidelines and standards, she could almost hear Mrs. G (the name the students fondly called their teacher) as she instructed Michelle. “You are not here to be their friend. Trust me, they have plenty of friends. What they need is your leadership and example, your encouragement to become the best men and women they can be. Sometimes this will mean you are not the most popular teacher, but you will become one of the most loved.”
By the end of her semester as a student teacher, Cassandra’s words had unfolded as prophecy. The kids really did love her — even the ones who murmured about her strict rules or high expectations. Some of the most glowing remarks in her yearbook that June had come from the unexpected sources of the “troublemaking” kids. Michelle knew she was called to this ministry of teaching. She could almost feel God’s mantle of trust placed upon her shoulders this first day of work.
A rap on the door revealed Mrs. G peeking in through the small window. Apparently Michelle had forgotten to turn the key to the unlock position when she’d entered the room. She hurried over and pulled the door open.
“Michelle, everything looks great in here!” Cassandra said, smiling as her eyes surveyed the class.
“Thanks, Mrs. G,” Michelle replied with a smile.
“Cassie,” she corrected her, opening her arms and giving Michelle a hug. “You’ll be great this year,” she said warmly. “Well, I’d better scoot and make sure I’m ready when that bell rings.”
“Okay. And thanks for coming by. I’m glad you’re right down the hall.”
“Feel free to call me anytime, Michelle. I mean it. There are so many questions that arise in the first few days and weeks. I’m more than happy to help in any way I can.” With that, she gave Michelle’s arm a little squeeze and left the room.
As Cassie exited, a young girl — who looked a little frightened and intimidated— peered in. “Are you Ms. Baron?” she asked softly.
“I am. Are you in my class?” Michelle walked over to the girl, who was still holding the door open as if waiting to be invited inside.
“Yes. First period.” The girl handed Michelle her schedule. Katy McGolderick. She looked too young for eighth grade, her short stature and slight frame topped by baby fine brown hair and enormous chestnut eyes.
“Hi Katy. It’s nice to meet you,” Michelle said, extending her hand and giving the girl back her schedule.
“Is it okay if I stay in here until the bell rings?” the timid girl asked as she looked around the room.
“It’s fine. In fact, I could use your help.”
Katy’s eyes lit up, and she smiled. “Sure. What can I do?”
“See those spelling books on the back counter?”
She looked back and nodded.
“You can put one of them on each desk.”
“Okay,” she replied, heading to the back of room.
Michelle got her blank seating charts out of a folder and placed them on her podium. “Do you have a favorite place to sit, Katy?” she asked the girl, who was now busy dispersing spelling workbooks to the empty desks.
“Not really. The front somewhere, I guess.”
“The front it is then. I’ll put you up on the left side by the window, right across from my desk.”
Katy smiled and set her backpack on the chair of that desk then returned to her task with the books. As she placed the last one on her own desk, the passing bell rang.
Michelle walked to the door, opened it wide, and wedged the doorstop to hold it in place. Standing there, she greeted students who began streaming into the room.
As the final few entered, the tardy bell rang. Michelle looked over the class. Thirty-six students filled the desks, many of their faces lit with anticipation. In that initial glance, she noticed a group at the back of the room, already slouching in their seats, eyes fixed on her as if to dare her to try to teach them anything that year. She made a mental note to disperse those students throughout the room when she made her official seating chart later in the week.
Mrs. G taught her that it was best to let the kids sit wherever they wanted the first few days. It gave her a chance to see whom they already knew, and how they naturally clustered into their cliques. This would be helpful information later.
Michelle stepped to the podium and took a blank seating chart from the stack. “Welcome to room 107,” she began. “My name is Mrs. Baron.” She gestured to the board, which read:
Mrs. Baron Room 107 Language Arts
Then she asked them to check their schedules to make sure they were in the correct room.
“While I’m taking roll, I’m going to pass around a blank seating chart, and I’d like you to write your first and last name on the square that represents the desk where you are currently sitting. This will be your seat assignment for the remainder of the week.”
She handed the blank chart to Katy, who promptly wrote her name and passed it to the student behind her.
Michelle called roll, making phonetic spelling notes beside the names she mispronounced as well as writing down any nicknames the students requested for themselves. She noticed that several of the students in the back row were chewing gum. Wondering to herself whether or not she should correct them on this violation of school rules, she heard Mrs. G’s voice in her mind. “The first week sets the tone in the room. If you let them get away with things the first week, they will expect that leniency in the future as well.”
Without looking directly at the offenders, she said, “I’d like to start the year off with a brief overview of what we will be learning in language arts this year as well as the behavioral expectations I have for my students.”
Standing at the front of each row, she counted out the syllabi and handed them to the students sitting in the front. As the kids began passing the handouts back through the rows, Michelle noticed that even the students, who had been slouching in the back, leaned forward to receive the papers.
“Let’s begin with an overview of the curriculum,” Michelle said as she held up one of the handouts and pointed to the front top section. Referring to her roll sheet, she randomly called on students to read the paragraphs that described the academic goals of the course, as well as the materials required and the reading list.
“Great,” she said with a smile. “Now let’s look at the behavioral standards at the top of page two.”
The sound of papers flipping filled the air as the students moved to that section of the handout. While the class read through the rules, she noticed the gum chewers return to their slouched postures, attempting to hide behind the rest of the students.
“Summer’s over, but I’m sure it’s hard to leave some of the pleasures of that season behind. If you are chewing gum right now, please deposit it in the nearest trash can.”
Several students stood and followed her directive. She noticed that one of the girls in the far corner of the back continued to chew defiantly. She glanced at the name on the seat
ing chart. Amber Gamble.
Looking directly at her, Michelle said in a clear but kind voice, “Amber, would you mind getting rid of your gum, too, please?”
All eyes turned to look at the culprit. Amber rose slowly to her feet and meandered over to the wastebasket. She clutched the gum between her front teeth then pulled it with her fingers, making a long strand of the sticky substance extend from her mouth. Then she chomped the string of gum, chewed a few more times, and finally spit it out.
“Thank you,” Michelle said evenly. “While you’re up, would you mind grabbing a stack of those literature books for your row, please? And if each student at the back of the rows would do the same, we can get these books passed out to you today.”
By the end of the period, all the students had their three books – spelling, literature, and grammar – and they had their first assignment – to go over the syllabus and behavior guidelines with their parents that night, getting them to sign the bottom of the second page and provide their daytime phone numbers and email addresses.
As quickly as the period had passed, the subsequent classes also seemed to rush by in a blur. At 3:00, Michelle looked out over the empty room, smiled a weary smile and sighed. Day one. She had survived.
Michelle’s husband, Steve, arrived home that evening to find little Maddie at the kitchen table earnestly at work on a crayon drawing. “How’s my favorite girl?” he asked as he bent over and planted a kiss on the top of her head.
“Oh, Daddy,” Maddie replied without taking her eyes off of her artwork.
Michelle shut off the water in the kitchen sink and turned to face her little family. “Hi, hon.” Her eyes sparkled but her lopsided grin revealed a weary woman.
“How was your day?” Steve asked, pulling her into a hug. He felt her cling to him tightly for a moment before pulling away.
“It was great. Seems like most of my classes will be good. First period has a few kids who will be a challenge. But overall, I’d say everything went smoothly.”
“I’m proud of you, babe. Those kids are lucky to have you.”
Michelle looked up and gave him a kiss.
“Look, Mommy!” Maddie’s voice demanded. “I’m finished!” She held up her drawing of a brown triangle sitting on grass with some lollipop trees in the background.
“Wow! That is great, honey,” Michelle replied.
“What’s the picture for?” Steve asked.
“Well, Daddy, it’s my homework assignment. We had to draw a picture of something we did this summer. See? Here’s our tent in Yosemite.”
“Oh, yeah. I see it. Good job.” He patted her on the back, his heart swelling with love for their little girl.
Michelle smiled at them both and announced, “Time to wash up, guys. Dinner’s in five minutes.”
“Let’s go, pumpkin.” Steve took her little hand in his, and they headed to the restroom to wash up.
By 10:00 that night, Michelle was exhausted. Thankfully Steve had taken over the kitchen clean up while she bathed Madison and got her settled in bed. Three bedtime stories and two Eskimo kisses later, Maddie had succumbed to a deep and needed sleep.
“I’m beat,” Michelle said as she picked up a few stray toys and books in the living room.
“Me, too. Let’s call it a day.”
They walked upstairs together, their cat Max bolting ahead as if racing them to the bedroom.
“So, do you have everything ready for tomorrow?” Steve asked, as they got ready for bed.
“I think so,” Michelle replied, slipping between the sheets. “Oh, this feels so good!” she added with a smile, sinking down into her pillow. As she closed her eyes, she found herself thinking about the group in the back of first period. Somehow she had to figure out a way to reach those kids.
“What was that sigh about?” Steve asked, cuddling up against her.
“Oh, just thinking about that first period class.”
“You’ll figure them out.” He kissed her gently then turned out the light.
But Michelle couldn’t shake an unsettling feeling. Amber Gamble was going to be a real challenge.
Into Magnolia is available for immediate purchase on Amazon.
AMAZON BOOKS BY ROSEMARY HINES
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I am so very thankful for those who have come alongside me in Michelle’s journey. If it weren’t for the support and encouragement of these family members and friends, I would not have completed this project.
Among those who willingly extended their help, I am most appreciative of my editors and readers whose input made this story into the novel it has become. From content editing and suggestions, to technical advice and corrections, I want to thank my daughter, Kristin, my sister, Julie, and my friends, Nancy, Catherine, and Bonnie. Their priceless input refined Through the Tears, making it a more compelling tale.
Big thanks also go to my son and photographer, Benjamin, for the photo displayed on the cover of this book. His eye for capturing an image that communicates the longing in Michelle’s heart is truly a gift from God.
A sweet blessing to me along this journey has been the rekindling of an acquaintance with Kathy Gilbert, the “Book Lady” for Calvary Chapel ministries. I was touched and humbled that she would choose the first book in this series, Out of a Dream, as one of the fiction selections to review and recommend at the Calvary Chapel West Coast Pastors’ Wives Conference, hosting over 800 pastors’ wives from Calvary Chapels across the United States and abroad. Her endorsement, based on the ministry potential of that story, profoundly influenced several of the scenes in Through the Tears, which she later recommended at another conference.
Finally, I am thankful for my husband, Randy, who walked with me through our own journey of infertility and into the blessed role of parenting. Special thankful memories to Dr. William Bazler (aka, “the Baz”), who helped us on that path but did not live to see the story it would eventually inspire.
BOOKS BY ROSEMARY HINES
Sandy Cove Series Book 1
Out of a Dream
Sandy Cove Series Book 2
Through the Tears
Sandy Cove Series Book 3
Into Magnolia
Sandy Cove Series Book 4
Around The Bend
Sandy Cove Series Book 5
From the Heart
Through the Tears (Sandy Cove Series Book 2) Page 32