Goodbye! Time for Another Dream
Host: Mathias “Spider” Schergen. For years, he’s taught art to children from one of the city’s poorest and toughest neighborhoods in the shadow of the infamous 1)Cabrini-Green housing projects. Those projects are gone and the neighborhood is changing, and after 23 years, Schergen is retiring. Elissa Nadworny (Reporter): A little before 8 a.m., Mathias Schergen pushes open the side door by the lunch room.
Woman A: Good morning.
Mathias: Oh, thank you.
Elissa: He walks down the hall towards the office. It’s the same routine he’s had for a quarter-century.
Mathias: It’s gonna be a good day.
Woman B: It’s a good day, it’s a good day.
Elissa: Today, it’s a little bit different.
Mathias: How you doing, baby girl?
Children: It’s your last day.

Mathias: Yes, this is my last day as a teacher at Jenner Academy of the Arts.
Elissa: So many stories stirring up memories. All day, parents, past students, old 2)student teachers, stop by Jenner to say goodbye. There is one hour to go. He cleans out the sink for the last time.
Mathias: Yeah, how many mixing trays have I washed in 23 years? I know, I, I…I don’t, you know, I’m not a numbers man, so…but I can imagine.
Elissa: Spider’s absorbed in the ritual.
When your kids ask why you’re retiring, what do you tell ’em?
Mathias: I just tell ’em that, you know, grown people have dreams too, and that I have other things in my life I need to do. And, and sometimes I just say, it’s time, it’s just time.
Elissa: And that time comes at about 3 o’clock. Spider packs up his oversized 3)tote, 4)embroidered with the letters ART. He heads down to the office to 5)punch out one final time. On the ride home, he shakes his head, struggling to stay in the moment.
Mathias: This is real. This is really happening. This is really life, you know? This is really real.
Elissa: We ride the rest of the way home in silence. As we drive, I can see Mr. Spider slip away as Mathias Schergen gets ready for the next chapter.

主持人:馬蒂耶斯·“蜘蛛”·謝爾根。多年來,他一直在這個城市最為貧窮惡劣的街區之一給孩子們上藝術課,這些街區曾一度籠罩在臭名昭著的卡布里尼-綠色家園住房項目的陰影之下。那些房子如今早已拆除,這個街區也在不斷發生變化,而23年后,謝爾根也要退休了。
埃莉薩·納德沃妮(記者):離八點還差幾分,馬蒂耶斯·謝爾根推開了午餐室的側門。
女士甲:早上好。
馬蒂耶斯:噢,謝謝。
埃莉薩:他穿過走廊走向辦公室。四分之一個世紀以來,這是他每日必行的路線。
馬蒂耶斯:今天會是個好日子。
女士乙:是個好日子,是個好日子。
埃莉薩:今天,略有不同。
馬蒂耶斯:你們好嗎,小寶貝?
孩子們:今天是您的最后一天。

馬蒂耶斯:對,今天是我在詹尼藝術學院當教師的最后一天。
埃莉薩:這里發生過太多的故事,激起不少回憶。這一整天,家長們、過去的學生們,以及以前的實習教師們都過來詹尼學院與他告別。只剩下一個小時了。他最后一次清理水池。
馬蒂耶斯:是啊,在這23年里,我洗了多少調色盤?我知道,我……我不……你瞧,我不是個愛記數的人,所以……不過我想象得出來。
埃莉薩:蜘蛛老師沉浸在這項儀式中。
當孩子們問你為什么要退休時,你是怎么跟他們解釋的?
馬蒂耶斯:我就告訴他們,你知道,大人也有夢想,我的人生還有其他事情需要完成。而……有時候我只是說,時候到了,時間剛好。
埃莉薩:那個最后的時刻在三點左右來臨。蜘蛛老師打包好了他那特大號的手提袋,上面繡著ART(藝術)三個字母。