before she came | Teen Ink

before she came

December 31, 2008
By jerdair BRONZE, Chicago, Illinois
jerdair BRONZE, Chicago, Illinois
3 articles 0 photos 2 comments

Steve: okay I am about to tell you a story about a teacher no ordinary teacher a teacher from god a teacher that was able to take the worst kids and turn them into the best kids a teacher that could take a word and make you love it and love to learn get you out of situations that were leading you down hill and was able to turn you around and lead you in the right pass and let you know that she was there to help you that don’t give up on you or you dreams keep going how hard and she always said that the harder it got the better it will get. Principal: how may I help you mrs

Mrs. Dreams: yes. I am Mrs. dreams and they sent me here for a job
Principal: yes the teaching job for room 401
Mrs.dreams: yes
Principal: okay I have you down to teach language and writing do you think you can handle it because I have to warn you this is a very rough bunch
MRS.dreams: I have been In the business for 21 years I think I wil be okay how many are on my roster
Principal: well right now I have you down to teach the 8 stundents that failed the semester and some are just the ones who were in jail thrown out of class to but its only eight all together
Mrs.dreams: okay I thought it was going to be at least 35 kids but eight is okay just fine
Principal: good we need a teacher that is use to a very large amount of kids now that we got that out of the way let me take you to your class then here is your daily lunch and bathroom day planner I think your ready to start then lets go.
Mrs. Dreams : who is in there now
Principal: just the sub for now the other teacher quit after three months after she had that nervous break down that the kids caused. But don’t worry you can handle them


Scene2

Jamine: yeah girl wasn’t she um I heard that her mama was stealing her stuff outta. wallmart ( principle walks in)
Principal: um excuse me Mrs. me Mrs. lay um you can go now our replacement is here thanks
Sub : thank you you can have these no work doing talking about nothing gangbanging hoodlums I’m out of here
Mrs. Dreams : okay I’m ready I can do this( walks in classroom)
Steve: fresh meat y’all
Mrs. Dreams:( sits down and begins to introduce herself) um excuse me I’m Mrs. Dreams and I will be your new language slash writing slash everything teacher
Candice: girl we don’t care what yo name is ( start’s talking again)
Candice: girl we don’t care what yo name is ( start’s talking again)
Tiffany: could ya’ll let her talk please ya’ll so disrespectful
Mrs. Dreams: thank you um let me see tiffany woods
Tiffany: yes
Jasmine: since we here what school you come from
Mrs. Dreams: Northridge middle school and may I ask whats your name? ( folds hand on desk)
Jasmine: jasmine Jackson
Mrs. Dreams: like janet Jackson huh
Jasmine: yeah but I look better than her ( gives Candice a high five)
Lw: yall some lames
Mrs. Dreams: let me guess mike Wilson
Lw: sorry I don’t go by that name anymore I go by lw
Mrs. Dreams : and what do that stands for mike
LW: last word
Jasmine: that’s the perfect name for you cause you always got something to say cause something always coming out your mouth it should be myob which means mind your own business
Candice: shouldn’t it
Lw: Candice I know you aint talking you should be focused about what you put in yours
Cory: why don’t all yall shut up
Mrs. Dreams: and you are
Cory: cory states
Lashay: the convict
Cory: yeah I was locked up with yo shoplifting daddy you better shut up for I fry you
Devin: ( laughs) ay lashay you dropped something
Lashay: what I drop
Devin: that ugly face
Mrs . dreams: okay and you to must be devin and lashay
Lashay: sho nuff
Tiffany: so what do we do now
Mrs. Dreams : we learn how many of you know how identify verbs or adjectives nouns
Jasmine: we don’t know that stuff our substuite didn’t teach us nothing
Mrs. Dreams: maybe ya’ll talk so much that she couldn’t teach if I was her I wouldn’t try to teach over half yall mouth in here
Cory: man what time do we get outta here I got buniess to tend to
Mrs. Dreams: well look at the clock we get out we get out of her 15 minutes till one
Cory: I cant tell time on a clock unless I got a wrist watch
Jasmine: you stupid
Mrs. Dreams: you mean to tell me that you in 8 well ninth grade and don’t know how to tell time on a clock who was your teacher
Cory: I just started coming to school
Devin: dang that’s sad man
Mrs. Dreams: well can you meet me after school and I can teach you
Cory: I got business to tend to I can’t be staying no after to learn no time ain’t that why you here
Lw: well I know what a noun is I think
Mrs. Dreams: well we will start on that tommorw but any ways ( bell rings)
Jasmine: saved by the bell
Mrs. Dreams: before you leave I want you to write a one page assignment about what you want and plan on doing over this Christmas break it’s due tommorw!!!!!!! No exceptions
Jasmine: you aint been here 2 hours and you giving us homework
Candice: I aint got time to be doing no home work
Lw: you need to try to learn something instead of who going with who ( class begins to leave)
Mrs. Dreams: um excuse me mrs jasmine when you come into my room tommorw you need to be a little more respectful and quiet and that’s a warning
Jasmine:what ever (leaves out)
Principal: ( walks in) what happened what they do to you they make you quit yet
Mrs. Dreams : no but that substutie and all the other teachers the had just passed them them kids don’t know what nouns are can you believe that
Principal: yeah I can some teachers just get tired some get to old to be there and they have to go to the next alternative and they send them here
Mrs. Dreams: well they not walking outta my class dumb the buck stops here I tell you no lie that will pass my class with flying colors or don’t pass at all
Principal: I like that in you so ill see you tommorw then
Mrs. Dream: yes sir


Mrs. Dreams: home at last ( husband walks in)
Mr. dreams: how was your first day ?
Mrs. Dreams: well I know I got a long year ahead of me you know them kids don’t know what nouns are adjectives proper nouns nothing
Mr. dreams: wow that’s bad
Mrs. Dreams: yeah it is but when I look at them kids I see that they need me and that each and every one of them there is some light in them just dying to get out of them and im not going to give up like them other teachers …. No im going to stick it out
hey mrs dreams
Mrs. Dreams: hello tiffany
Devin: you still here( sits down)
Mrs. Dreams: yes why wouldn’t I be devin
Lw: cause we thought we got rid of you
Mrs. Dreams : well you didn’t now sit down and get prepared to do something you haven’t done along time
Jasmine: and whats that teacher
Mrs. Dream: learn mrs. Jasmine now take your seat please
Cory: you don’t give up I like that
Mrs. Dreams: well cory as long as you don’t give up I wont. Now my paper for what you want and plan on doing for the Christmas holiday
Jasmine: here you go
Cory: her you go
Lw : here you go
Tiffany: here you go I did three pages
Devin: here you go
Candice: here you go
Lashay: here
Mrs. Dreams: guess what you all should be proud cause you get a 100% percent credit for turning it in so your first A for the semester. And that proved something to me you can turn in your work and do what you have to so no exception( walks back to desk) i didn’t finish attendance and it seems the only person that’s not here is
Steve: me Steve pendrop
Mrs. Dreams: well can you please take your seat we have a lot to cover today first off im mrs. Dreams and im pretty sure you know them and you have a assignment to do on what you want and plan on doing over this Christmas break 1 pages no exceptions
Steve: where do I sit
Mrs. Dreams: anywhere you won’t talk. Okay if anyone would like to read they paper out loud just raise your hand and I would be more than happy to hear it. So
Jasmine: can I read my paper
Mrs. Dreams: oh yes go ahead sweetie
Jasmine: what I want and plan on doing for Christmas break first I want 4 new outfits if not 4 then one I prefer rockawear ,babyfat ,pelle, and a pair of rex aka new creation I plan on staying home and out of trouble my grandma says I need to I don’t plan on doing anything because my mama don’t have enough money to do anything but I wish I could get out of this place go somewhere travel the world like Paris or something but to me it only seem like the only time I’m going get a chance to go somewhere is in my dreams but one day my dream will come true and I will wake up in Paris staring at thebig tower or something that’s what I want and plan on doing for my Christmas break.
Mrs. Dreams: that was very nice, could you give me your paper back so I can grade it for spelling and other things as well please
Jasmine: here you go ( hand’s paper to her and takes seat)
Lw: good job Paris
Steve: leave her along you fagot least she tried
Mrs. Dreams: thank you Steve would you like to read mike
Lw: no
Mrs. Dreams: then shut up and sit in that chair ( Steve raises his hand) yes Steve
Steve: I think what she said made a lot of sense to me and I hope that one day that she will get a chance to go to paris if that’s where she wants to go
Cory: Mrs. Dreams I want to go to New York with all the famous people
Lw: I hope that you will cory
Cory: don’t talk to me
Candice: I want to go to England
Steve: to be honest I want to go to Paris to
Devin: no not me If I get a chance Mrs. Dreams I’m going to Egypt look at the big triangle
Candice: pyramid stupid
Mrs. Dreams: and I hope all of you get a chance to explore and go big in life
Mrs. Dreams: anybody else want to go up
Candice: no I don’t think so
Mrs. Dreams: okay on the first day of school I said does anybody know what a verb is did anybody look to see what a verb was
Cory: a verb describes a action
Mrs. Dreams: yes you looked
Cory: yea
Jasmine: and a noun describes a person place or thing
Mrs. Dreams: now we cooking with gas you see how smart you can be if you put your minds to it. Um jasmine I want to know something what was your first impression when you saw me
Jasmine: I said aw shell be easy to get rid of in no time and that she to old to teach
Mrs. Dreams: first off you aint to old to do nothing run mike what did you think
LW: I thought she is different something is different about her
Cory: I thought that I don’t know where she came from but she need to go back
Steve: I thought you might be able to handle us when I saw you
Devin: I thought you was uptight and scary
Tiffany: I thought you was sweet but not ready to teach a crowd like us
Lashay: I didn’t know what to think
Mrs. Dreams: my impression okay. Devin ,smart but try to be bad mike, loud mouth noisy jasmine, know it all Candice, disrespectful very disrespectful cory, smart but hidden tiffany, polite smart confidence pretty lashay, crazy funny energy lots of it to steve, generous thoughtful smart and I think better thoughts about every last one of you today you all are winners to me
Lashay: we think different about you today to Mrs. Dreams
Dreams: okay I want you to write about a time when you have been pressured to do something 1 page look up adjective and give me the definition and that’s all see you tommorw ( bell rings)


Scene5 they are smart but
Mr. d: whats wrong denise you okay
Mrs. Dreams: yeah it s just that I im getting to attached to them the kids rather they are doing so good now the know what a verb and a noun is now they are very progressing as we speak but they make to many writing mistakes on their papers its like I have to take off but I don’t want to cause if I don’t they will keep giving me bull papers and the board will look at those papers and I will be in trouble but I don’t want to take off though what do I do
Mr. dreams: just teach them how to do it the right way then so you want have to take off and the board will be happy case closed.
Mrs. Dreams: that’s why I married you thank you tommorw they will pratice writing in proper order now I can go to bed now


Scene 6 you follow me


Mrs. Dreams: hello class I need you to take your seats we have a lot to cover first off home work turn it in here(kids walk up and turns in homework) . now I was at home grading papers the thoughts were very good but the way you all write is horrible and today we are going to pratice writing rights and wrongs once you learn this you will be a better writer and be able to write almost anything now im gonna give this writing notebook and I want you to write down anything stories and correct it so that way when you do it again it will be perfect you follow me
Lashay: we follow you
Mrs. Dreams: lets get to work then last night I was at home and I looked over your papers and I’m going to be honest they were horrible but the thoughts we so good that’s why we are going to dig deeper today im going to teach you cursive how to indent in writing spelling not to do run on sentences and other things related to that. But in order to do so ya’ll going to have to work with me I mean study at home read look over things we do because I don’t want the board of education to hold you all back over the fact you cant write. And I’m sure you all don’t want to stay here for it
Lashay: so the board looks at the grades now
Steve: I never knew that
LW: me neither
Devin: so they can fail us for writing
Mrs. Dreams: not exactly but when I put grades down they wont let you pass if I give you an f so that’s why I say we are going to have to work together to do this maybe you can walk to her house
Candice: that’s a good idea
Mrs. Dreams: okay so I’m going to give you all a writing journal for only your eyes to see and what I want you to do is take your life and write what makes you happy what makes you said what gets you mad what you want to excuse my languages beat the hell outta somebody(kids laugh) okay enough don’t act like ya’ll don’t cuss but any ways I want you all to write about a time where you have got in serious trouble if you haven’t then write something else but otherwise that’s the topic I want you can start now
Jasmine: I like you
Mrs. Dreams: that’s nice to hear I like you to
Steve: okay Mrs. Dreams when you say indent you mean?
Mrs. Dreams: okay basically when most people write they start from the front but here we are going to start 3 inches away from the front of the line
Lashay: okay see I didn’t know that good thing you hear
Cory: yea cause otherwise we’d be like some lost puppies right now
Mrs. Dreams: and I make a promise to you when you leave my classroom you will know this stuff in your sleep now let’s get started

Scene7lets get to work

Mrs. Dreams: okay now that’s a rap. Before the bell rings how many people have been writing in there journal well spiral because if you have can see so I can give you a grade. (The kids begins to pull out there spiral).okay um let me see ( goes around to check and everyone has a entry). Okay everyone has a entry so ill check over them for any mistake. And ill give them all back( bell rings) . okay have a good day

Scene8 I’m scared for him

Mrs. Dreams: these entries are getting better and better and better. Okay who’s up next okay Steve okay I will start with the 4 entry okay let me see this entry okay (Steve’s voice tells his entry)


Steve: everyday I walk outside its something new my mother was recently sent to rehab for drugs and drinking but honestly I haven’t had a good Christmas since I wasn’t able to know what was going on and every year around this time I watch my grandma break her back day in and day out Christmas isint nothing but a another day of the year to me I cant even go down the street without getting shot so I don’t care but its okay this Christmas I’m gonna be happy cause I came across some money and I’m gonna live like I’m in Paris happy or not !!!!!!!!!!!!

Steve
p.s. have a very merry Christmas.yeah right
Mrs. Dreams: oh wow this boy has it bad
Mr. dreams: what is it
Mrs. Dreams: one of my students by the name of steve wrote that he hasn’t even had a good Christmas, he also says that his mother was sent to rehab for drugs and drinking this kid has it bad. Look that anit all he says he cant even walk down the street without getting shot and it sounds like he finna start slanging drugs and shooting to if he didn’t start already but to be honest im scared for him myself
Mr. Dreams: all you can do is prey for him denise….. that’s all you can do

Scene9 where is he

Tiffany: hey Mrs. Dreams
Mrs. Dreams: hi okay let’s get to work (looks over to find that Steve is not there). Where is Steve Because he cant afford a bad grade
Candice: oh I forgot he told me to tell you that he wouldn’t be here for a few days because he ran into some money I think.
Mrs. Dreams: so nobody except Candice heard from him except Candice heard from him
Lashay: not me
Jasmine: not me either
Devin: if I see him Ill tell him you called
Lw: mrs. Dreams you okay you don’t look to chipper
Mrs. Dreams: im okay…… im fine
Candice: it will be okay Mrs. Dreams
Mrs. Dreams: when you see him tell I said I want to see him before school starts 7:30 sharp okay
Candice: okay


Scene10 be there

Candice: ( walks over to steve ) steve come here
Steve: what do you want
Candice: I need to talk to you
Steve: hold on ( walks over to candice) what don’t you see I’m busy
Candice: Mrs. Dreams want you to be there at her desk at 7:30 sharp
Steve: what she want
Candice: I don’t know but you better be there!
Steve: what you my mama now? You don’t tell me to be nowhere I’m not going to be able to make it I think
Candice: what you mean you not going to be able to make it
Steve: what I said. Look as you can see I’m getting my money and you just rudely bumped in so like I said I’m not going to be able to make now see you later( walks back to friends)


Scene11don’t lie to me

Mrs. Dreams: where could he be( steve walks in)
Steve: hey Mrs. Dreams
Mrs. Dreams: don’t hey me where were you yesterday and don’t lie
Steve: I was home sick
Mrs. Dreams: ( gets angry and hops up) that’s bull and you know I read what you said brother steve you cant lie so this is how you want to live on the edge huh don’t know if you going to live to see the next day
Steve: no
Mrs. Dreams: yeah right. Well that’s where you heading going the rate you going steve do you know how smart why Steve why are you doing what you are
Steve: what do you know you don’t know how tough it is out there you go home and at night and get a nice meal I don’t have that. Man you don’t know what its like
Mrs. Dreams: you right I don’t but honestly you don’t
Steve: no you don’t
Mrs. Dreams: ( scream’s at Steve) look you had your turn to talk did you know I got 6 sisters 5 brothers and not adding me oh no lets not forget the three bed room apartment or the fact my daddy left us and re-married and used to beat my mama right in front of us and my mama didn’t eat nights and got out there did everything under the law to feed u got put out of our apartment slept in the shelter for a whole year ( get up and walks in Steve face) and you telling me I don’t know Steve you can change this look today’s Thursday. I want you to be here tommorw okay
Steve: Okay(gets up to leave)
Mrs. Dreams hey Steve take care of yourself okay
Steve: okay


Scene12 that’s my boy

Mrs. Dreams: okay let get started okay first off…………where is Steve
Steve: ( comes in ) right here and ready to work so I can be that lawyer I always wanted to be
Mrs.Dreams: that’s my boy. You ready to work
Steve. Born ready
Mrs. Dreams: then let’s get to work


9 years later


Steve: okay I know you are probably asking what happened next well after spring break we started doing algebra, chemistry cursive writing extended response and other things as well school started to get better and better and we started to get almost perfect at everything we did in school and in April we took the Isat and everybody got a 90% or better graduated with flying colors for my classmates first off jasmine went to Dunbar graduated with flying colors and is now in Paris on business and Candice graduated from john hope flying colors and is now going to medical school tiffany graduated from big picture and scored so high that she was asked to study whales in Calfornina and she took them up on a offer and lashay went to Simon high school and graduated and is now a case worker. Okay enough with the girls now the boys l.w aka mike Wilson went to john hope as well and is a full time chef Devin and Cory went to job crop and studied houses now they are partners In a business that is doing quite well and as far as for me I went to Kenwood graduated with high honors went to king collage and went to law school and is no one bad lawyer you don’t want to mess with. As far as Mrs. Dreams she died of breast cancer last year and when she died I took a lot out of me because if it wasn’t for her I wouldn’t be where I am today she was more than a teacher she was like my mama and everyday I wake up besides god I thank her for everything she taught us and I wish she could be here to see the benz I bought my grandma but before she came we were lost and she did what no one else could she believed in us and I thank her and I miss her I love you Mrs. Dreams


Steve

The author's comments:
the reason why i wrote this piece is because sometimes i get in those types of moods that not even my mother could help me with and my teacher taught me alot so i said im gonna make a play similar to my teacher and i sat down and thought about my charatchers and put it togther and got before she came and i hope my readers enjoy it

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on Jun. 20 2011 at 9:55 pm
NKsunshine BRONZE, Palatine, Illinois
1 article 0 photos 75 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I don't need easy, I just need possible!" ~Bethany Hamilton

Only one word can describe this....Inspiring:)