Pictures on the Wall

And identities, mistaken and otherwise

I had the good fortune to spend 18 years in the same classroom, in a small country school. Each year, we got a class picture - a composite of the teachers’ and students’ individual photos. I tacked up each photo on a bulletin board, adding the new picture every year.

Eventually, the teaching staff began to use the photos as a way of referencing time.

“When did the twins start in our class?” One of us would go check the class pictures on the wall to find out.

“What year did we do the rap song about the 4 seasons in the school talent show? Lucy was in kindergarten that year, and she was adorable, with flowers and butterflies on her wheelchair, representing Spring.”

“Speaking of learning from your mistakes, how long ago was the worst Valentine’s Day ever? It was the year that Aiden was in first grade, when his mother came to the party and wouldn’t leave!!!”

So the class photos became a historical timeline.

One morning as the students were lining up for recess, Frankie began repeating my name, his voice becoming increasingly louder and higher pitched. “It’s Norma!” he called out. “Norma, Norma, Norma!” Giggling and bouncing up and down, Frankie shouted, “Norma, Norma, Norma, Norma! NORMA!!! MUCHAS NORMAS!!!!”

Frankie had looked more closely at the collection of class pictures and was astonished to discover that I was in every one.

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Our Special Day Class was K-2, and most of our students transitioned from our class into the 3-5 SDC across the campus. So when our students looked at the more recent class pictures, they might be able to find themselves, their current classmates and teachers, or some of our older friends on campus. They enjoyed seeing that the big kids they now looked up to had been little not so long ago.

Ryan was a clever and imaginative kindergartner. With strawberry blond hair and freckles, he had a strong resemblance to Dennis the Menace. He could be charming and engaging, but it would be a vast understatement to say that he struggled with self-regulation. His behavior generated many Incident Reports, and a fair number of Accident Reports. His name quickly became known across our small campus, simply because it was heard so frequently.

“Ryan, hands to yourself! You need to get in line if you want a turn.”

“Ryan, take a deep breath! Make a good choice!”

“Ryan, STOP! Put the chair down!”

“Ryan Miller just pushed me down and called me a poopy head!”

“Is Ryan Miller in your class? What is going on with that kid?”

And an admiring quote from one of our students to the school librarian:

“My teachers are so brave! They’re not afraid of Ryan Miller!”

Ryan and his exploits lived on in the annals of Oak School for years after he had moved on to another campus.

Six years after Ryan’s departure, we got a new kindergartner, Aaron, who looked so much like Ryan that people did a double take. The librarian, the custodian, the school nurse, and numerous other school staff commented on the strange experience of seeing Ryan’s double.

While lining up for recess, Aaron became intrigued by the class pictures. He recognized pictures of the teaching staff and some of his current classmates, as well as older students he knew from the bus and the campus. Aaron excitedly searched for his own image, asking, “Where’s me? Where’s me?” I explained that soon we would get a new class photo that would include him and Natasha and Michelle and everyone else who is new to Oak School this year. But he was not in any of these old pictures.

Aaron accepted this explanation for a while, until the day he looked more closely at the class pictures from 6 to 8 years prior and discovered his doppelganger, Ryan Miller.

Gasping at his discovery, he pointed and shrieked, “Look, it’s me! It’s me!” Here I am! I AM in the pictures!”

I explained to Aaron that he was looking at pictures of a child named Ryan, who looked SO much like Aaron. But those are pictures of another child, from long ago, back when Aaron was a baby, or even before he was born.

And Aaron said, “No, Norma! See, that’s me! That’s my face! And there’s you, and there’s Miss C and Miss S!” Then, pointing to the other students in the old pictures with Ryan Miller, Aaron continued, “And see? There’s……um……and that’s…….I don’t know - and that’s - AAAAAHHHHH! Who are all those other people in the pictures with me?????”