The School Trip

It was 2008, before I transferred to another elementary school the following year. My third grade class was selected to go to Manhattan for a field trip to the history museum. I was excited to go and already paid for it. It was my second time going there on a school trip. I would eventually go there a few times later along with a bowling alley in Queens and a couple of pizza joints. But I was always worried about the seating arrangement on the bus because I felt like the person sitting next to me would not like me. On the day of the trip, almost all of my classmates were next to each other. The class was an odd number and I was about to sit by myself. Then Ms. Harris asked me to sit next to her during the ride.

She was our homeroom teacher, in her early thirties and worked with all of her students weekly. No one really sat with the teacher and usually it would be two teachers sitting in front talking to each other. She was fair to all of her students and made sure no one was left out. The way she taught was beneficial to all as she encouraged us to work together and we would be rewarded at the end of the day. However since she was the only teacher on the bus that day, I sat next to her by the aisle. She was actually one of my favorite teachers at the time and considered me to be a good student. We talked about how exciting the trip was going to be, even though I went there a couple of times before. Once we had arrived at the museum, the whole class had lined up a single file and went inside. The first place we went to was to the animal halls. Next was the science halls, which was my favorite part of the museum. Ms. Harris then took us to the food court for lunch, which was paid for in advance. I had sat next to her as I was eating a turkey and cheese sandwich. We discussed how important the artifacts were in the museum and why people should learn about these things. Nowadays it's like people don't even visit museums and read history books anymore. At the time of my early school days, I never realized how different teachers were. I had to see from their perspectives and soon discovered that most of them taught differently. After we finished visiting the mammal halls, it was time to go back to the school. I had sat next to her during the ride back to school. Once we all went back to the classroom, Ms. Harris discussed the possibility of a potential school trip a month from then. That trip would be to a pizza restaurant called Uno, as we went to one place in Queens.

The next day, the whole class was given a small assignment about our experiences at the trip in our daily journal. I wrote about everything that I enjoyed seeing. But sharing the seat with my teacher changed my whole perspective. Ms. Harris was one of the best teachers I had and after all these years, I always wondered where she is and what she is doing right now. I thought to myself if she is still teaching third grade or moved up to teaching high school. Or maybe she had retired or probably gotten married and had children. She could be still living in New York or around the surrounding areas or moved to another state. Or maybe she had passed away sometime ago and I never got to say a proper goodbye. If she is still alive today, despite the circumstances we are living in now, I would like to tell her in person how much I appreciated her work and all the accomplishments I had made in my later school years.