Having a 44-year-old man follow me around all day was an overall fun and interesting experience. Not only did I basically get a late pass to all my classes, I got to hang out with one of the coolest teachers at our school, BJ Basinski.

The intent of the “shadow a student program” was for those involved to get a better perspective on a student’s day at school and everything that comes with it, so I was happy to show a teacher my outlook on Centennial High School.

Most of the day I got to hear him complain about how hard and confusing most of the stuff we did in class was.  In math he explained that he, “hadn’t done anything like this in over 30 years” but was very excited and even a little bit cocky when he got one of the 15 problems right.

In advanced journalism, he got the full experience of student procrastination and getting  yelled at by Jeff Stanek to get our work done.  

In Stacy Vanderpool’s Honors English class he had no idea what was going on, but I assured him that most of the time I don’t either.  We did some kind of quiz on Frida Kahlo and Vanderpool said that his grade on the quiz would count as mine and also added that, “It wouldn’t change very much.”  That’s a typical Vanderpool sarcastic joke about me slacking off, but it still stung a little bit.

In Chemistry Class, we practiced some conversion factors that Basinski didn’t get at all and to be honest with you, I still kind of don’t.

French teacher Rowena Poirier told Basinski that he wouldn’t be allowed in her classroom unless he hosted an Australian.  Somehow he weaseled his way into class without taking in an Aussie and missing out on a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make a amazing foreign friend, (If you are interested in hosting an Australian you can find more about it on The CHS Talon app and/or web site.)  The main thing about French that he took away from that class was how to say some curse words that I taught him.

In Yoga/Pilates he did much better than I’ve ever done because I’m not a very athletic person nor do I want to be.  I just don’t understand how I’m supposed to move into those awkward positions that aren’t enjoyable at all.  What benefits will a handstand ever bring to my body?

Anyways, we finished off the day with my AP US History class. Basinski was more in his element at this point. He  got to learn the excitement in looking at a primary source and pulling out the point of view and historical context.

You can  tell that every teacher put a little more effort and enthusiasm into their instructing, but I’m sure Basinski got a pretty good idea of what it’s like to be a Centennial student.