Okay #MyWeirdTeacher? @MHayesPT, Text & Context Matters

This is a post for Mindy, a student I cherished because she made me a better person, a stronger man, and a passionate educator. There's nothing better than working with a dedicated, sincere, honest, and spirited individual. She, and her fellow classmates in 2003, made for an unforgettable two years when I was in the classroom. They played jokes on me and, well....

You just never know when a student will remember you, the influence you had on them, the impact you made on their adult lives, and the nuggets of wisdom you instilled upon them. Well, this is the 21st century, and such a remembrance has not occurred, but scrolling through my Twitter feed the other day I notice that a Tweet was sent that read the following:

As a graduation gift #myweirdteacher gave me a jar of toenail clippings he had saved throughout my senior year. @jimmyfallon

I was not mentioned by name, but I knew she was referring to me. And Mindy was writing Jimmy Fallon. I responded, stupidly (with my Twitter account), and shouted to the world, YES, I WAS MINDY'S WEIRD TEACHER AND I GAVE HER A JAR OF TOENAIL CLIPPINGS FOR GRADUATION (I think I also bought her a coloring book and crayons).

I, too, would think it was extremely weird for a teacher to save toenails for over a year as a graduation gift (and, in case you want to know, it is even weirder that when I typed "jar of toenail clippings" into Google and searched images, there were multiple choices...including this Jiffy Peanut Butter Jar).

I shared this toenail clipping story in one of my classes the other day to explain the importance of context and text. I had my students write about what they thought of this Tweet and not only did they think this was weird, they thought it was disgusting, insane, obnoxious, inappropriate, absurd, and criminal. Eeks.

They're absolutely right.

But it was also out of a Brown School context of love and appreciation for a top-notch kid who made the mistake of sharing her absolute fear and repulsion of feet and toes. I'm not sure how this was revealed to me: class discussion, volleyball tournaments, Coe, an essay, her mother, Coe, school gossip, graffiti, Coe, but I know it had an impact on my thinking.

Teaching is stressful and a sense of humor is a tremendous coping mechanism. I was born with a brain that doesn't process what it thinks until after it acts. I do stupid things out of the laugh it gives me, but never think about how such acts will be perceived out of context. We were the Brown School. Laughing and quirkiness was an everyday phenomenon. That year, Mindy convinced me I was losing my hair. I also think she was involved in placing a swimming pool full of goldfish into my classroom on my birthday. The jar of toenails was a gift to thank her for my fish, a parting gift to celebrate the accomplishments of her high school experience.

Um, yeah. Okay, any context would make this act seem weird. Jimmy Fallon, I confess.

Coe made me do it. I swear.

I repeat: This is a post for Mindy, a student I cherished because she made me a better person, a stronger man, and a passionate educator. There's nothing better than working with a dedicated, sincere, honest, and spirited individual. She, and her fellow classmates in 2003, made for an unforgettable two years when I was in the classroom. They played jokes on me and, well....