Last Daze of School

As the 2009-2010 school year sprints toward the finish line, my mind reels with the many reasons I am grateful. I never imagined how rewarding it would be to teach high school English. I work with generous, intelligent and powerful students in a dynamic population that I dare say is unique to my school. I gladly make the 70 minute (round-trip) commute and work 11-hour days for the privilege of being part of this world.

I try to teach my students what they need to know to succeed in the highly competitive country we live in. But I can't always convince them that they need to play this game to win. I cannot even convince all of them that their lives are controlled not by fate or destiny, but by their own actions, and that every one of their thoughts and actions matters.

If all of my students were stranded on an island together, they might be capable of running a successful society with their combined talents: communication skills, calculation knowledge, negotiating power, manipulative ability, mechanical aptitude, athletic strength, and basic common sense. They could all possibly survive, as long as they remembered to be nice to each other. The same could be said for humanity in general.

I sometimes learn more from my students than they learn from me. But what they need to learn is to give their best in all respects, not cheat the system (whatever system it is) and to be true and kind to themselves and others. 

Bad Words

As an English teacher, I appreciate all words. But I never know quite how to deal with the "bad" words. George Carlin had a great monologue about the "seven dirty words" that cannot be aired on T.V. But these words, and many more in their category, are used with regularity in colloquial language of Americans of all ages. And since the "bad" words have simply been replaced by euphemisms that lead audiences to know exactly the bad words intended, avoiding the bad words sometimes calls even more attention to them. In my opinion, the "seven dirty words" would not include any of the ones on George Carlin's list. They would include such words as hate, ugly, stupid and any word used for destructive purposes. 

The Wonderful World of Teaching

Introductions are difficult. I often tell my students to try skipping the introduction when writing an essay and add it after they know what they are going to say. This is an introductory blog within my first blog site. I am writing, along with my students, using a medium that I hope will become a valuable platform for communication and development and showcasing of public identity.