Coincidence or Serendipity

If You Were Born Today, December 13
You are a very versatile person with an adventurous spirit, yet a very grounded outlook. Material success is likely in your life time, as you are hard-working and proud. As well, you are filled with ideas, and they're usually quite marketable! A true problem solver, you love to find answers and help others to do so as well. 

In what could be a coincidence or serendipity, today is the birthday of two people who have had a big impact on my life.  Heidi was my roommate and friend, and Chuck was my cooperating teacher, principal, and friend.  I met both while in my mid-20’s, a turbulent time for me.  In different ways, they guided me, made me laugh, and offered their unconditional support.    

You just never know who you’re going to meet in the dorm.  I met Heidi through Cheryl, who lived on my floor in Ashton, formerly Rogers Centre, where my parents had met 40 years before.  Ashton consisted of multiple buildings, and I chose this dorm because I wanted a single room.  There were girls on my floor who had wanted a roommate, which seemed like the weirdest thing to me.  Why would you want to share your space? The irony is that Heidi became the only roommate I ever actually enjoyed living with, when we eventually shared two different apartments. During that time, she counseled me through an epic breakup and subsequent relationship with Nels, the man I eventually married. 

I didn’t drink coffee—that is, unless it had hot chocolate mix in it--until I lived with her.  Heidi taught me about the wisdom and joy (not to mention energy) that comes with the smell and taste of strong black coffee, preferably accompanied by fried eggs and hard rolls.  As a German, she also shaped my taste for chocolate.  I would bring home what I thought was a treat—a bag of Hershey Miniatures.  Heidi disdained this offering, and introduced me to chocolate as strong and dark as her coffee.  I am forever grateful, and dark chocolate is still my favorite.    

Along with being a great roommate, Heidi was the first poet I ever met.  She loved books as much as I did, but she was into poetry.  I never appreciated poetry until she introduced me to poets who showed how everyday events and people could become meaningful and beautiful through language.   Even though I only grudgingly went to poetry readings with her (she lured me with the promise of cookies afterward), she also convinced me to take a poetry writing class, where I wrote one good poem and a lot of bad ones.  Now I have two shelves of poetry books and have written several on my own, including a slam poem. 

Heidi also shared her poetry with me.  My favorite was “Women at 40” written for her mom, Ursula.  I’d like to see that poem again now that we are both in our early 40’s.  Heidi wrote this when we were in our 20’s, and 40 couldn’t have seemed any more distant. 

Heidi, thank you for being a terrific roommate and friend.  You were, and no doubt still are, exceedingly generous with your space, food, enthusiasm, and time. 

As I pair teacher candidates with cooperating teachers, I am always reminded of my own fortuitous meeting with Chuck Holloway, who was my cooperating teacher.  When I met him, Chuck was a rollicking 7^th grade teacher at Tri-North Middle School who had previously taught at an alternative school in Colorado.  His sidekick was Suzie McCloud, who taught math next door. They co-taught an English-Math block for the “at-risk” kids.  In the early 90’s, Janet Reno was in the news as the first woman to serve as Attorney General.  Chuck and Suzie, along with special education teacher Connee Headley, thought it was hilarious that I had the same first name as Janet Reno.  As a hazing ritual, they pasted my photo over Reno’s in a newspaper article and posted it all over the school.  The middle school kids didn’t get it, but the teachers thought it was hilarious.  Eventually, I did too. 

 A couple of years later, Chuck became the principal of the new alternative school and hired me as the lone English teacher, along with a math teacher, social studies teacher, and work-study coordinator.  The experience of starting a school—which eventually was named Aurora by the students—is one of the most important of my life.  I learned every single day on the job, and Chuck’s humor and guidance were essential to my personal and professional growth during this time.

The kids who came to Aurora were there because they did not fit into the regular high schools’ social or academic worlds.  Thus, they taught me not only how to teach English, but how to be an advocate.  In the early days especially, I screwed up more than I got right, but they, along with my colleagues and Chuck, put up with me and pushed me gently (and not so gently) to continue to get better. 

I am the teacher I am today because of what I learned from Chuck.  He taught me to appreciate kids as human beings first and students second.  He taught me that schools don’t have to be dictatorial, that students and teachers could have voice in impactful school proceedings, including the gut-wrenching decision to expel students.  He taught me that this kind of pedagogy may be hard, but it’s worth it. 

Chuck, thank you for being my first mentor.  I had no idea what meeting you on that August day 20 years ago would mean, and I am forever grateful for the opportunities you provided and your belief in me. 

Happy birthday to two of my favorite Hoosiers!  Much love to you both.