Melissa Goodnight

Did y’all know this stupid, little Cricut machine I bought cuts leather? I didn’t either until I thought, hmm, lemme try this… I’m glad it did because if I broke it Jerimiah would be all pissy. 😂

Anyway, high school starts tomorrow so I made these for Jackson to hang on his bedroom wall, right next to his door, so it’s the last thing he sees every morning before he leaves for school.

Open House was Thursday and it turned out to be all the things I’m hoping high school becomes for Jackson. Frantic, tough, enlightening, and amazingly fun.

Jerimiah and I briefly caught up with a zillion TMS friends while we passed in the hallway, exchanging glances that said, “Holy shit.” In some instances we’d stop, stand in front of each other and all parents would just sigh, then we’d start moving again. There were hugs and there was hollering. There was me, standing at a stairwell, alone, with a map in my hand and a strong desire for a beer, wondering if my son just went up or down. And what floor is this? And is B hall connected to F Hall, and where is that bridge thing because it’s raining and I don’t want to walk outside.

We met Ms. Henderson, the meanest, most terrible math teacher at THS. She seemed really nice, until she gave Jerimiah and me homework. Then she told Jackson he was in the high achievers class, but don’t worry, they’d have a test this week to make sure that’s where he belongs. “Umm, thanks…” he said. Her response, “Get a TI-84.”

In contrast, Mr. Cooper, American Government, was a huge hit, even though it was 937 degrees in his classroom. “Listen,” he said. “It’s hot in here and unless you parents call somebody, I don’t care who, I’ve been here 20 years I don’t worry about that anymore, it’s gonna stay hot. Call and tell them your little babies need air conditioning. Call everyone. Please! Cause I need it too.”

Ms. Johnson, Jackson’s Lit/Comp teacher, is also his fifth period, which is lunch period. Their schedule is nuts, y’all. Part block schedule part, well I don’t know, but he will be in Ms. Johnson’s class every day, even though he doesn’t go to every class every day. 🤷🏻‍♀️She teaches mainly upperclassmen, but this fifth period class are gifted Freshman and she’s delighted. She said teachers really get to know their fifth period kids and they become the students they watch out for, advocate for, and connect with the most. She has a hot tea station in her classroom and they are reading, “To Kill a Mockingbird” and Trevor Noah’s “Born a Crime,” this year, two books in Jackson’s TBR stack.

Because Thursday’s fifth period is Extended Learning Time (you’ll remember it as Study Hall) she told him he can go to Band or TSA if he wants to, or hang with her. A couple years back, her fifth period class started a Spanish telenovela that one of the Spanish-speaking kids turned on as a joke. The problem was they actually got way into the show and ended up watching six seasons. 😂 I’m so glad his ride or die is his quirky English teacher.

There was Biology with Mr. Humphrey and AP Human Geography with Mr. Appling, both gave off “chill” vibes. There was Mr. Hicks for Foundations of Engineering. He’s also one of two TSA advisors at THS, so Jackson took it upon himself to let Mr. Hicks know that he was the TSA President at TMS, to which Mr. Hicks said, “Hold on, what’s your name?!” Then frantically wrote it down on a notecard and sent him down the hall to introduce himself to Ms. Williams, the other TSA advisor.

In her room, he casually mentioned that he was the back-to-back Cybersecurity State Champ. 🤣She wrote his name down and told him she would find him on Monday because they need officers. That’s also where he met Parsa, an upperclassman who drives a Lexus. “Lower your expectations,” he said when we all swooned over a kid with a Lexus, “It’s a 1999.” Ms. Williams quickly intervened to say it was nice though.

I’m just realizing that all Jackson’s teachers this year are Black, which makes sense considering THS has a 90/10 split when it comes to demographics. 90% of the student population is classified as Black, Latinx, or Asian American and Pacific Islander, while 10% accounts for white students.

This statistic is a reflection of DeKalb County as a whole, and it’s made our lives so much richer. Diversity is what we were after when we chose Tucker, as opposed to other places in Georgia, and it’s pushed us to care about issues outside of our own lives, and learn and grow in ways we didn’t expect. It’s also taught us to check our privilege, have uncomfortable conversations, and learn to stand up for our friends, especially in all-white circles.

So yeah, I’m nervous about high school, but only because it feels so totally out of my control. The school is huge. There are metal detectors. I won’t get to know his teachers like in middle school, I won’t get to help in the classroom, show up with cookies for the class just because, like in elementary school. It all feels weird and out of my control. And what is out of our control often frightens us. But this is part of life. In fact, this is life. It’s scary and chaotic at times. It’s tough. But if you’re lucky, it’s eye-opening and diverse. It challenges you and surprises you. It’s amazingly fun!

And at the end of the day, if my kid can remember to raise a little hell when he needs to, and give a damn about others and himself, he’ll do alright.

With kids like the ones at Tucker High School as our future, we will all be alright.

I hope everyone has a fantastic first day back. I’m looking forward to the pics! ❤️

M.