A richer semester ~ with Brian Goedde~
Goodbye to All That
Clicking “submit” on final grades is hardly closure. I wish I had some kind of ritual, something to honor and celebrate and cleanse, something to give a proper farewell to the one who impressed me from the beginning and the one who started shaky but finished strong; to the one whose confidence was well earned and the one whose overconfidence grew tiresome; to the one who surprised me as a plagiarist, and the one who didn’t; to the one who was tremendously grateful (though I had to reply, in humility, with the adage “when the student is ready the teacher will appear”—meaning, I didn’t do anything extraordinary for this student, but rather the student was extraordinarily driven); to the one whose life story made me lose sleep and the one whose writing gave me inspiration; to the one I plan to hear from—I said I’d gladly write a letter of recommendation—and the many I’ll never see again; even to the ones who dropped my class months ago. Before clicking “submit” I see their names again, along with the date of their withdrawal, and with an absurd pang of sadness realize we never really said “goodbye.”
The revolving door spins again. My students all file out, the door slows its momentum— not to a stop, but a pause. In a week, in files another roster of unknowns.
Brian Goedde
English and Writing Department
Washtenaw Community College