Carve An Apple Upon My Desktop.

Okay, I know that I am absolutely obsessed with metaphors. However, I came up with a rather interesting concept today. Often the clichéd idea is brought forward of a student, especially in their early years, to take an apple – or an item portraying an apple – to their present teacher as a symbol of courtesy or appreciation. However, as a teacher, it is obvious that there at times could be very little reward coming from students in the form of them directly thanking their teachers or offering them free gifts. But there are subtleties that some overlook because of their quiet appearance: the soft smile of appreciation, the student’s satisfaction at finally understanding what the teacher had wanted all along, so on and so forth.

So. . .what if the teacher created the apple for themselves? Yes, you read that correctly, what if the teacher created their own apple? I mean this quite realistically and metaphorically at the same time. A teacher cannot create an actual apple from nothing; they would at least need a tree! However, metaphorically, a teacher could create an apple. I am seriously half-tempted to carve an apple into my desk (the desk provided by myself of course); and each time I noticed a courtesy or one of those subtle thank-yous and wonderful memories that students may not even realize they are offering, I would use the stereotypical color of bright red and place one dot of marker inside that apple.

I know that probably sounds like a very strange idea, but there’s probably someone out there who thought of that before me, and who knows! maybe they put it into practice, too.

I just have to believe that so many small dots inside an apple carved permanently into the desk that a teacher would use every day would be enough to start any teacher’s day off right.

And right off the bat: Thank you to all the teachers who have taught me the things that have formed me into who I am and all the teachers that will come into my future. And thank you to all the students who will place one more red dot inside that apple carved upon my desktop.
~McKenzie Lynn Sanders