This dream takes place in the three high schools of my life: mine (R), where I first taught (F), and where I teach now (N). They blend together in a lot of ways.
I am visiting R School and walk in to Mr B's room while he's giving a lecture. There are several unusual things about the scene. It's Covid time, so there are few students in the room and those there are spaced far apart. The room we're in looks nothing like his actual classroom. He's standing at a white board that is all bumpy. When he writes on it the letters are hard to read and come out wobbly because of the board's texture. The strangest thing of all is how he's adapted to writing on a whiteboard in the times of Corona. In order to avoid touching items someone else may have touched, he holds the marker between his toes and writes with his foot. He's extraordinarily nimble, thin, and flexible and it looks effortless. He does everything with his right foot and stands on his left, even gesticulating above waist level and sometimes above head level while talking.
He welcomes me back to the school and hands me an old video of me playing music. It's on a square tape about the size of a deck of cards. I have my instrument with me, I may be supposed to play for a class or assembly. I set it down in the corner of the room to do something else. I notice that I have set it down right next to a giant puddle of spit. I think it's gross, and I can't believe some kid has spit all over the floor during a pandemic.
I see a recently graduated student of mine named PH and I reach into my bag to hand him the video tape. As I grasp it, I think to myself that I really wish I had an ice cream sandwich, and lo - it is an ice cream sandwich! I am delighted! As I open it to take a big bite, I realize that it isn't a real ice cream sandwich. It's an item provided in the school lunch which is a chilled oatmeal apple muffin ball. I'm not nearly as excited.
I am in a big theater full of students in F School and I'm trying to find my way back to N School. I know my seventh period will be starting soon and I need to get up to my room. The two schools are right next to each other. I hope my principal doesn't see that I'm in F School and think I want to go back to teaching there. I also hope the staff, many of whom are new and wouldn't know me, don't see me there and become alarmed than there's an unidentified adult in the building. I'd better get out of here fast!
