A Letter to My Old Teacher in Lagos

Dear Mrs. Adeyemi,

You taught me English in primary school in Lagos thirty years ago, in a hot classroom with a tin roof that rang like a drum whenever it rained. You made us read aloud with "expression," and you clapped when we did it well.

You told me once that I had "a big voice." I thought you meant loud. Now I think you meant something more.

I'm writing to tell you that I teach English now, at a community college in Houston. I make my students read aloud with expression. When they do it well, I clap. They think I'm strange. I tell them about you.

I hope you're well. I hope your classroom still has a tin roof, and I hope it still rings like a drum when it rains.