the end of the de anza math teacher

early one march morning, in 2001, i boarded a plane in lansing, michigan. that afternoon, i had an interview i remember almost nothing about, for a job i don't remember applying for, in a city i'd only just learned of a few weeks earlier. that was beginning of the de anza era.

this was followed by a lot of thinking on my part, several calls from the current undersecretary of education, trying to convince me that a move to california was the right choice, then a drive from michigan to california, to start my life as the de anza math teacher.

yesterday, i submitted my letter of resignation to de anza college.

one of my first days in the south bay was on september 11, 2001. not knowing anyone in the area, i went to campus, even though classes hadn't started yet. i wanted to be somewhere near people, and so i went to the only place i knew in the area - de anza college.

when classes started a few weeks later, i was listed as 'staff' in the course catalogue and jokingly told my class my name was 'mr. staff' - they didn't laugh. my relationship with students changed over the 8+ years i was there though. many moments of laughter, both in class and out, moments of sadness, anger (usually directed at me), and every emotion in between.

the students that made fun of my daily class opening, 'are there any questions?' that was lip synched by more students than i can count, on many a class beginning. the students who told me things they probably should not tell their instructor, because they felt comfortable enough to. the students who cried in my office, pleading for a grade change, or in frustration with how things going for them in class, and out.

the somewhat crazy (and also very good) problems students made up on assignments, the student who got a calculus tattoo while in my calculus class (he now has a Ph D in mathematics). the mps ceremony that brought me to tears and the one that humbled me. the gigantic birthday cake a class got for me one year. the class that cheered when i told them i got engaged and the students who told me how much they cared about me, when i found out my mother had terminal cancer.

i thought about listing all the students i remembered and how much they meant to me, but that would be a book.

i move on now, but i'm not going to be teaching. i haven't felt an itch to teach in a long time. i'm not sure if it's because i happened to fall into teaching in the first place and always wanted to try something else, or if i don't have an itch to teach because i would not be teaching at de anza.

regardless, the ghana flag is gone from my office door, and there is no futon to take naps on in my current office. the de anza math teacher is no more. he's just a guy now; kodwo in jeffersonia.

bye bye de anza. you will be missed