As the end of the school year quickly approaches, senior students are anxious and excited to start a new chapter in their lives. They are also forlorn to be leaving behind an institution that became a second home to them. Teachers of seniors experience the same excitement and pain every year as they watch these students graduate and go off to their respective colleges and careers. This year, the pandemic impacted the way teachers ran their classrooms and taught their students, but Brentwood teachers were still able to succeed in finding ways to connect with their students. We consulted three teachers, from the English, Math, and Health departments, respectively, to dissect the challenges and triumphs they experienced this year and to share some advice with the soon-to-be graduates.

Mr. Chamberlin, English

Q: What is one moment during this school year that you’ll always remember about your 12th grade students?

A: It’s not so much one moment, but the day-to-day bravery my students showed. Their lives had been turned upside down but they adapted and overcame so many issues. “Adapt and Overcome” is a U.S. Marine Corps motto. I teach the War and Dystopian Literature course. My students proved their bravery and adaptability over and over again. 

Q: What is something you wished you could’ve done together with your students?  

A: I have so many group activities that help students to learn the realities of war and a soldier’s life. One of my favorites is putting about 50 pounds of military gear on them and having them carry ammo cans loaded with bricks up and down the hallway. The lesson is not quite the same when you can only imagine it. 

Q: What are you going to miss the most after your seniors leave?

A: I found quarantine to be depressing and suffocating. I was worried that students would be too anxiety-ridden to do much in class or online. Instead, everybody came in pretty eager to see what was going to happen next. It was not school like we know it, but it was just so good to be out of my house and working with them. I think many of them felt that way and showed it, too.

Q: Do you have any advice for your 12th graders before they adventure out into the world?

A: This class, more than any other, perhaps since WWII, had to make many sacrifices and deal with an unstable, scary world. The good news is, as their lives return to normal, everything else will be cake. They’ve learned to appreciate so many small things that we all used to take for granted. Every hug from now on, will mean 10 times more than it did before. As long as they don’t forget these hard-learned lessons, the rest of their lives is cake. The class of 2021 set the standard for the next 100 years.

Mrs. McCormack, Math

Q: What is one moment during this school year that you’ll always remember about your 12th grade students?  

A: I will remember when my students started to get excited about prom. It happens every year, but this year it happened much later, only a few weeks before the event. I was so happy to see my students looking forward to an event!

Q: What is something you wished you wished you could’ve done together with your students?

A: I usually host an Alumni Day – where my past graduates come to speak with my seniors about the realities of college. That obviously couldn’t happen this year.

Q: What are you going to miss the most after your seniors leave?

A: I’m going to miss the camaraderie that they have developed during this school year and the connections they have formed with each other.

Q: Do you have any advice for your 12th graders before they adventure out into the world?

A: Be appreciative. Yes, there will be struggles and hurdles, but just be so appreciative of where you are, of those who are around you, and your brains and abilities!

Mrs. Dunn, Health

Q: What is one moment during this school year that you’ll always remember about your 12th grade students?

A: A memory during the school year that I will always remember about my 12th grade students is a conversation we had about Covid-19 and the challenges it had created for them. Hearing their perspectives on things, how it rocked their world and the last two years of high school socially, mentally, and certainly intellectually. The conversation allowed me to teach from a different place, change my expectations somewhat, and connect with them in a more empathetic way.   

Q: What is something you wished you could’ve done together with your students?

A: Something I wish I could have done together with my students is develop stronger relationships…the lack of interaction, loss of face-to-face communication, limits to working together in groups just lent itself to a different atmosphere, so that I felt much less connected to the students overall. We had our moments of good conversations but it was more frequent in the past. I wish there could have been more of that in the classroom. I never thought I would say that because there’s been plenty of times where I had wished for a smaller class size but not so much this year!  

Q: What are you going to miss the most after you seniors leave? 

A: Fortunately, I teach a class of both juniors and seniors, so it’s a mixed bunch. I do find that the seniors have more confidence and also experience that they can contribute to the content we discuss and cover in class. They are always the ones who are more likely to participate and get involved. I also only get seniors for half the year, so just when I get to know them, they leave. So I always miss them!

Q: Do you have any advice for your 12th graders before they adventure out into the world?

A: The best advice I have for my 12th graders before they venture out into the world is probably what I say to them almost every day – your choices matter! The big ones and the littles ones…the good ones and the bad ones. Choose wisely!!

Although this year severely limited the ways that students and teachers could interact and communicate, it still allowed them to bond in new ways. These seniors are certainly prepared to venture out into the real world, having developed the important skills of adaptability, sacrifice, empathy, and appreciation for what they have and what lies ahead. Hopefully, only good things are to come!