The Last Teacher

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“Hello, class!”

None of the students said hello in return, the way they always seemed to do on television shows. Even after sixteen years of teaching, she never stopped hoping that just one time she would hear a chorus of “Hello, Ms. Phillips” in response to her cheeriness. Instead, there was silence.

Not only didn’t the children seem eager to greet her, most of them didn’t even bother to look up at their new English teacher. Gazing at students who had their faces pointed down toward their desks, she couldn’t help but wonder why they bothered to show up if they didn’t want to be there. The days of school officials tracking down delinquent children were long gone.

The few kids who did look up at her from behind their desks were the ones who actually wanted to be there, either because they enjoyed reading or because school offered a distraction from what was going on in the world. These were the kids who at least smiled at her politely when she spoke. Maybe one or two of them were conditioned to believe good grades still mattered, and they knew she would give them an A+ if they acted like they cared.

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