Through this entire year of high school, my Spanish teacher hasn’t been such a provocative motivation to learning the language of love (or was that French?). It’s not that she’s extremely strict and stringent that makes her a ‘bad teacher.’ It’s the fact that she lacks those very qualities to be able to be take seriously by her students. In other words, she lacks a backbone - the prime target for rebellious students with angsty attitude and raging hormones. Through our entire Spanish course so far, she’s failed to address these issues in her methods of teaching and has raised - dare I say - ‘hatred’ amongst students. These rebellious students show their hatred through means of flying paper wads, stolen text books, and a physical assault of having a student slap her across her face one time. She’s done nothing about this, contributing to her pushover reputation.

Just recently, our Spanish teacher informed us of her absence in the next month or so, and a long-term substitute would soon take her place in teaching el Espanol.

The class was in a ready stance to jump up in the air and throw confetti, until she busted out the phrase that stopped us in our tracks.

“I have cancer.”

Just then, the cheers died off, the smiles drew away, and composures shook. The teacher, who was regarded as an utter magnet of disrespect day after day, who was regarded as one of the worst Spanish teachers to grace their feet upon our school campus, who was regarded as a target of wads of spitballs through this entire year, has cancer? C-A-N-C-E-R cancer?!

I find myself feeling guilty for being in a class where students disrespect her, despite the fact that I was never one of those kids that threw wads of paper across the room or yelled pompous comments to her while she turned around. I can’t help but to think that the stress that we put on her - name-calling, stolen textbooks, paper spitballs and all - somehow “triggered” this cancer. Hence the feeling of guilt.

20 minutes upon hearing this news, a student opened up a Spanish textbook, one of the few textbooks left, to accomplish her assignment, when on the front cover, it said:

“I wish for Ms. _______ to die.”

Disgusting. The student never showed this to the teacher, in hopes of the phrase “ignorance is bliss” being true.

I honestly hope her a good prognosis, a swift surgery, and a swell recovery. I wish her to be well. Please.