Anyway, move we did and in August of 1983 I stepped through the doors of Westside High School. (Spoiler alert--I learned to love it. But not that day or even that year.) I crept through the halls keeping my head down wishing I was back at Marist. And then I walked into second period--
I walked into the physics classroom and froze. Standing around the front desk were huge boys wearing letter jackets. I couldn't even see the teacher, but apparently she could see me. "Come on in! I'm Ms. Byus." she said as she moved toward me. After she introduced herself she introduced all those large people--I was scared to death. As we all took our seats I realized I was one of three girls in the class and the only sophomore among all seniors. I vowed to never say a word.
But it quickly became my favorite class and the one place I actually smiled. How could you not when you had an incredible teacher who talked football with a passion and made learning the periodic table fun. Her love for her students was so obvious and secretly I hoped that one day she would know as much about me and my life as she seemed to know about everyone else. I wanted to be one of the people who crowded around her desk before the bell rang laughing and sharing stories. Instead I always quietly walked in and moved to the back of the room.
Three weeks later that all changed.....
We got our first test back--the one where you had to recreate the periodic table. "Katherine," Ms. Byus said, "I need you to come up here with all your books please." I'm sure I was 18 shades of red as I moved to the front of the room terrified she was going to tell me I had failed and was being kicked out of the class. I got to the front and she said, "_____ you need to move to the desk next to you. Katherine you need to sit in the desk where ______just was." Then she reintroduced all those large people who were now surrounding me and said, "Katherine is going to be your new best friend because we are going to beat Evans next weekend and you're not going to get to play if you can't pass this test. She's very good at physics and I've heard she knows a little about football too."
"Great," I thought, "Now I'm going to be the total nerd who has no friends..." but as I raised my head I saw six smiling faces. And those scary large boys became some of my closest friends that year. (Y'all know who you are...) We studied together, talked football together, and I began being one of the people crowded around her desk.
One Monday as we were standing there replaying the previous weekends football games Ms. Byus turned to me and said, "When will you get to go to Atlanta and see Meredith?" (my sister) My heart burst--she knew me and she cared about me.
It wasn't a perfect year; I still dreadfully missed my sister and my friends in Atlanta; but second period every day became a haven for me. It was the one time each day I knew I belonged.
Over the years I have stayed in touch with Ms. Byus. She never failed to ask about my children. I called her once to tell her how my eldest aced a conversion test because I had taught her the Byus box--she went on to teach her teacher and the whole class. That teacher still uses it--from Augusta to Louisville the Byus box lives on.
When my own children were having to learn the periodic table I shared the way to learn gold (Au) and silver (Ag)--"Hey you! Bring me back my gold." and "Go you Ga silver britches." They've never forgotten.
I stayed in touch with Ms. Byus but not enough. As the years got busier we would comment on each others facebook pictures and occasionally send one another messages, but I haven't seen her in 10 years.
Yesterday I learned that Wednesday Ms. Byus (she kept telling me to call her Libby but I just can't..) died. I was shaken in a way I haven't been since my grandmother died. Suddenly images of times in her class or at the wedding of her son (who as adults had become friends with Chris and me). I saw her smiling face laughing and cheering her students on. I remembered that scared lonely girl I was and the teacher who reached out to me. All four of my children knew exactly who I was talking about--all four remembered the periodic table and the Byus box. "How," I wondered, "could I be this upset?"
This morning I know--because Ms. Byus changed lives. She wasn't just a teacher and yet she was everything a teacher should be--she wanted her students to succeed not to make herself look good or because of standardized tests, but because she wanted to instill in each of us that we mattered and that we were capable--that we were smart enough and good enough. She cared about her students as people--individually and a group. She didn't care who you were when you walked in her classroom; she loved you; she accepted you; she knew you--and years and distance didn't matter. Once you were one of Ms. Byus's kids you were one for life.
Now Dawgs bring home a national championship for your greatest fan ever.
2 comments:
Very nice tribute.
it's a cute dog, <3
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