Passing Period

It is routine, in every understandable essence of the word. A Pavlovian bell rings, signaling the end of another period. It also tolls its magic spell creating an internecine era ever so briefly. Yet another parcel of time gone and this is its knell. No taps will sound. In an odd sense, just the opposite will occur.
From my vantage point the visage is illuminated by the dull glow of fluorescence glinting off the din of linoleum. Wave after wave of voices rolled in a tsunami of sound. The crashing and clanging of lockers coated in layers of institutional colors resound, echoing a faded Greek chorus claiming the truth in an incoherent tongue. This sensory experience elicits prayers for deprivation.
As if heeded by well-heeled wranglers, the desks are filled. Funneled and filed it is another expression of routine. A calculated expression taught, learned, forgotten, re-taught…ad infinitum, ad nauseum…And for the next sliced period of time, chaos is maneuvered, sometimes, rarely, controlled. Nonetheless, it will all end in a timed release. A causation for celebration rewarded with a pass.
Imagine this regular and metered time as something similar to riding on a subway. An odd but effective analogy to say the least. For me, it always feels like that. While my exposure to public transportation has been limited, it was memorable nonetheless. The dull tile, the humming lights and the chipped paint seems to being the experience all together. Yet, there is an essential component missing…Noise…Yes, noise. This is the distinctive brand of both the subway, as I remember it, and the hallway between classes, as I have experienced it. Noise, a Doppler wall of it, traveled seamlessly with the migrating herds of students.
This final aspect of the subway/hallway was the most terrifying and painful for me. This crushing wall of sound always made me want to beat a hasty retreat back into my own acoustically hostile classroom. While cinderblocks may be more cost-effective in regards to construction costs, they are prime material for reflecting and amplifying sound. But, I do have some modicum in regulating the volume and ultimately the amount of locust-like chattering noise within my own classroom.
It is this maelstrom of sound that we stand. Teachers as hall guardians. Just putting those words together evokes some latent twentieth century avant garde surrealism. I can almost imagine the painting silently standing in a museum, just like us. And this is where the metaphor of the subway returns…
Stepping out upon the jarring command, we exchange glances and sometimes words. Regardless of which it is always cryptic to any outsider. The meanings are always revealed afterwards, once the last bell had sounded. The time of day does not affect these exchanges. In the morning the caffeine has yet to take affect despite the scents of brewing and percolation wafting into the hall from numerous rooms. Then, by the afternoon, the grind is showing. This is true for all parties involved.
The tenure of noise and talking seems to rise and fall in some seemingly pre-arranged orchestrated movement. Glances, small talk and technical questions fill these few minutes. Only the vocal ranges of separate student from teacher in this milieu. In this instance, adolescence becomes the great equalizer, especially for some boys.
Like subway trains passing with regularity the day progresses. From bell to bell it is a different ride with the same destination. And similar to the subway, you quickly learn when and who to speak to and make eye contact with. Sometimes it is better to say nothing at all and look away always taking relief in knowing that soon the passing with happen again and another route will come open.
Clarity comes with time. It is evoked with each passing storm and the calm that follows. While the routes change little, it is these minor deviations that add to the adventure. And, each journey brings along different sojourners with each class. Most times it is the students. Sometimes, it is fellow teachers. Given time, the passing periods evolve from internecine eras between classes to breaks between school years as we progress through this school and life.