Joe sat smiling in the front row
Pencil poised as the bell was rung
Hanging on every single word
That was to be said or sung.

Every time I made a comment
He nodded to agree.
It almost seemed like he was so smart
He was ahead of me.

What a joy to have a guy in class
Who totally understood me
I could hardly wait for the first test
Cause his would be the key.

Find x and circle the answer
The instructions on the first quiz read
He had circled the x in each problem
Until he had run out of lead.

When I returned the quiz the next day
A puzzled look clouded his face
He said, “I thought I knew this stuff
But there are red marks all over the place.”

He stayed with me till semester’s end
Though 34 percent was his highest score
He kept nodding and urging me onward
As if he was asking for more.

Of course, I had to fail poor Joe
Though it certainly gave me no glee
But the good news is that next semester
He’ll be back still affirming me.

Carl slunk in on Monday morning
Class had already begun
It was obvious that the night before
He had been having way too much fun.

He took his seat in the back row
He had always been so bright.
But now all that he lived for
Was the party tomorrow night.

We teachers tried to motivate him
But our efforts were all in vain
Doesn’t he ever realize
How drugs have affected his brain?

The rest of the class met 4 times a week
By mid-term he would show up for two
Then jail time for possession of drugs
And his college days were through.

Buffy flew into my office
And proceeded to make a fuss
You have me down for Algebra
And I should be in Calculus.

My boyfriend, Butch is a math whiz
He’ll help me out a lot
I think I’ve heard this story before
Same old, same old plot

I looked at her ACT score
She had a 12 in math
To top it off, her math-whiz friend
Smelled like he needed a bath.

He said he’d had Algebra,
Geometry and Trig
I thought I’d pose a question
And he’d better come up big.

When I asked him if he knew
The exact value of the sin of 30
He responded with a who-cares shrug
And a look that I found dirty.

Since on calculators like the 83 plus
They placed so much reliance
I suggested that they’d be better off
Heading east to Wahpeton Science.

Elroy was from the inner city
Could barely write his name
His ability to dunk a ball
Was his only claim to fame.

The greatest body you ever saw
He dreamed of going places
But when he stepped down off the bus
He was in a sea of all white faces.

The townfolk thought him a winner
He could have walked on water
But when the game is over
Don’t try to date our daughter.

You wonder about school standards
He had been on the list of the Dean
When I assigned 1-19 odd
He said, “What does this ODD mean?”

Needless to say he was not ready
To pursue a college degree
He had F’s from all his teachers
And that even included me.

He dropped out at the end of the year
Ineligibility ended his dream
How many young men have we abandon
In this recurring theme?

Peg was older than average by 3 sigma
Had no cell phone or i-pod in her ear
Came with 3 pencils neatly sharpened
And didn’t smell like last night’s beer.

The other kids are curious
And soon tongues start to wag
Is she really as old as she looks?
And is that a slide rule in her bag?

She took 6 pages of notes on the first day
Including my whole biography
I heard one guy in the back mutter
Now MY only hope is for a C.

The next day I noticed she’d rewritten
Her notes in 5 colors of ink
I couldn’t figure out her color scheme
When grandson Robbie’s bio was in pink.

I asked if there were any questions
Her right arm shot erect
“I just wanted you to know
That all the author’s answers are correct.

I know that you assigned
The odds through twenty one
But I did the evens, too
Since I was having so much fun.

I was able to do the first 60
Without so much as a glitch.”
Then someone in the back row
Murmured, “Let’s kill the son of a witch”.

Kim tried to hide in the back of the room
Convinced she didn’t belong
Back in school after 12 years
With a GED just seemed so wrong.

Her mate just up and left her
Twenty two months ago
After ten long years of constant abuse
Her self esteem was low.

Working full time at Wal-Mart
And raising 3 kids under seven
Her homework never got started
Until sometime after eleven.

Yet she somehow was surviving
And slowly came out of her shell
She started asking questions
And in class was doing quite well.

And then her son broke his arm
Playing “King of the Hill”
She had no insurance to help her
Pay the gigantic hospital bill.

She came up to see me
And told me with a sob
I have to drop out of school
To take a second job.

Watching other kids wasting their time
Was more than I could take
When she had worked so very hard
Some people never catch a break.

You tend to remember the failures
We’ve had our successes too
Not all of the top students
Start in at NDSU.

Jim stepped into the office
And greeted me with a smile
It’s been ten years since I left this place
Haven’t seen you in a while.

Remember when I wanted to quit
And you encouraged me to stay
I think of you each time I get
An increase in my pay.

Meeting students every day
And NDMATYC twice a year
Enjoying the best of colleagues
It’s been a great career!