An Angel in Heaven

Today is the one-year anniversary of the death of two students from the school I teach at. I knew Trent, who had graduated the first year I taught at my school, but I taught Evan "Pudge" in my class. He would have celebrated his eighteenth birthday in October, and would have graduated this year. As teachers, I guess we're not supposed to have "favorites" but Pudge was definitely a favorite of mine, even though I may not have always shown him. Pudge was the kind of kid you loved to have in class, but sometimes dreaded as well. First of all he was really smart! He kept teachers on their toes and always questioned authority and what he thought was right. He refused to read Native American myths because they didn't believe in the same God as he did. Eventually he came around and wrote his own myth (as an assignment) about the Chuck-a-taw nation, where Chuck Norris was the leader. My students were also told they would get 10 bonus points if they bought a book from the book fair and read it and told the class about it...next time I will be more specific.

(Pudge's book, 3D Sharks...)

Pudge invited me to be in his one man wolf pack. The terms- I could not and would not write him up for anything, especially dress code violations...I thoughtfully declined.

Pudge had an amazing sense of humor, which I just got a glimpse of in the year that I taught him. He was well liked by EVERYONE and was a great role model (most of the time). The week before he died we were about to begin reading The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in class. My Juniors were having a discussion about the "n-word" since it is used frequently throughout the text. Pudge sat quietly on the side of the room (not where he normally sits), reading a Time magazine, when all of a sudden he busts into the conversation. Well, I'm a and everyone just looked at him. He said that the dictionary offered "lazy and economically disenfranchised" as a definition for the word and he just matter-of-factly says, "I'm lazy and I need some money."

The last Friday that I saw him particularly stands out in my mind because he approached me before class and demanded that he speak to me outside. He was very persuasive...he wanted to raise his grade from a C to an A before report cards (an A was easily attainable for him, but the previously mentioned Native American unit set him back). He wanted to know what bonus work he could do and what he could make up. I told him a few things and said I'd think more about it. He promised that he was going to turn over a new leaf and keep his grades up and do all of his work on time. Great, I thought. So, we had class, I collected homework, we read, and when the bell rang, he said, "by the way, the homework that was due today...I'll have it Monday." I saw him again after school and he was talking with his brother who had graduated the year before and his mom, a teacher at our school. It was fun to watch the brotherly teasing and joking. I went up to him and told him that I had come up with an extra credit opportunity- he could file the LARGE stack of student work in their graded-work folders. He didn't seem thrilled, but thought about it. Somehow that jogged his memory that he needed to grab his English book to complete that late assignment. That was the last time I saw him, grabbing his stupid English book out of his locker right outside my classroom door.

I really miss Pudge, he would have changed to world for sure! His mom has an amazing faith and strength to do what she does now, and I'm so proud to know her. She became the sponsor of SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) this year and has begun a Smart Choices "campaign." I have seen such a difference in many of the students, and so I'm happy that from tragedy has come something good. Over Thanksgiving break I met some students at our Prom Venue and I texted them to see if they were there yet. I met them 5 minutes later and the boy that was with the group said, "Ms. Kehs, you must have sent that text while you were driving...and you had Theo! Make Smart Choices Mrs. Kehs." They are impacted and changing the world, and they were good to call me out. So, I'm trying to make Smarter Choices and thinking of Pudge while doing so.

(Pudge is on the right in the striped shirt. This portion of the debate really shows his personality. After his group finished he came up to me and said, "Mrs. Kehs, the reason I was sittin' down was because I really had to take a shit. I'm goin' now, okay?"