Answers to Questions No One Asked

Year after year after year, teachers announce their impending retirement without a single person asking the departing teacher, "What did you learn about teaching during your tenure: what worked and what didn't?" The knowledge with which the departing teachers walk out the door of the final meeting of the year (filled with artery clogging "celebratory" cake and the acceptance of a gift of an already deflating beach ball in preparation for hours beside the Pacific squandering their remaining time on earth), evaporates like a coastal fog: ethereal and lost forever. A meaningful gift would have been recognition of the departing teacher's knowledge through fifteen minutes of rapt teacher attention listening to a requested and anticipated last lecture.

Christine Willis taught at Arroyo Grande High School, Arroyo Grande, CA, from 1983 - 2023. Her final years as a teacher she taught Expository Reading and Writing to seniors in high school. Previously, she taught British Literature, World Literature, AP Psychology, Freshman English, Sophomore English, Junior English, Honors History, Creative Writing, Technical Writing, Practical English, and other courses.