Weeks 4 and 5
The difference between the adult world and the world of a freshman is pretty scant. Adults are mostly stupid and lazy, whereas kids have the excuse of being a kid. Farting is still hilarious and pushing in a chair or bringing the right binder to class is a momentous achievement.
When I was working in the land of adults*, I had the pleasure of logging hours of mass transit a day. I witnessed near daily public urination, fighting, toe nail clipping, and other forms of humanity in all its glory. But my NY friends could always one up me. "Oh, someone threw a newspaper at your head on the train? I saw a homeless guy wacking off." Fair enough. You win.
But now that I am in the land of the kid, I win.** I can always one up YOU. Because I have the monstrous task of taking "products" of all levels (some insanely defective) and trying to make history fun for them, or, on a more fundamental level, at least get them to do something. It is not easy and sometimes I feel like I'm not doing a damn thing for them. I want to grab these kids and tell them that if they don't snap out of it, they will live on Route 1*** for the rest of their life and clip their toenails on mass transit. More than your grade in an effing history class, your attitude MATTERS.**** And I've got some kids who just have a bad one, and it floors me. I don't know how to handle it. I don't know what to do with them or for them. It weighs on my mind.
On a lighter note, at my second, rich white school where none of this is an issue, I made the kids divide into Team Phillip II of Spain and Team Louis XIV (yay, absolutism!). They told me I should change my last name to Patterstein because "its awesome" and I told them that Poland always gets the shaft in history. ***** They told me they have a bust of themselves in their bedroom like Louis, and I told them to bring it in and I'd give them extra credit. And they told me that hauling a diamond bust of one's self to school at 7AM isn't worth 5 points. Fair enough.
Last week when we talked about exploration, I showed these kids about 40 minutes of Guns, Germs, and Steel. If you live under a rock and aren't familiar with this book or the National Geographic series-inspired-by-the book, Jared Diamond, a professor at UCLA, sets out to explain why there are "haves" and "have nots" in history. The irony is I see it every week. I have a school full of haves, and one with many have-nots. Recognizing it is the easy part. Figuring out what to do about it is entirely another. I don't know the answer. But I do know that Louis XIV wore heels. Does that count for something?
* that is to say, consultants, lawyers, and executives, o my.
** ask me about the water bottle story. you can't make this crap up.
*** one of the saddest places on earth. for America.
**** "Pride is a personal commitment. It is an attitude that separates excellence from mediocrity." thank you, Dennis Brown.
***** a more high school appropriate version of Oxford professor Peter Heather's comment that "Poland is [always] fucked. Utterly."
When I was working in the land of adults*, I had the pleasure of logging hours of mass transit a day. I witnessed near daily public urination, fighting, toe nail clipping, and other forms of humanity in all its glory. But my NY friends could always one up me. "Oh, someone threw a newspaper at your head on the train? I saw a homeless guy wacking off." Fair enough. You win.
But now that I am in the land of the kid, I win.** I can always one up YOU. Because I have the monstrous task of taking "products" of all levels (some insanely defective) and trying to make history fun for them, or, on a more fundamental level, at least get them to do something. It is not easy and sometimes I feel like I'm not doing a damn thing for them. I want to grab these kids and tell them that if they don't snap out of it, they will live on Route 1*** for the rest of their life and clip their toenails on mass transit. More than your grade in an effing history class, your attitude MATTERS.**** And I've got some kids who just have a bad one, and it floors me. I don't know how to handle it. I don't know what to do with them or for them. It weighs on my mind.
On a lighter note, at my second, rich white school where none of this is an issue, I made the kids divide into Team Phillip II of Spain and Team Louis XIV (yay, absolutism!). They told me I should change my last name to Patterstein because "its awesome" and I told them that Poland always gets the shaft in history. ***** They told me they have a bust of themselves in their bedroom like Louis, and I told them to bring it in and I'd give them extra credit. And they told me that hauling a diamond bust of one's self to school at 7AM isn't worth 5 points. Fair enough.
Last week when we talked about exploration, I showed these kids about 40 minutes of Guns, Germs, and Steel. If you live under a rock and aren't familiar with this book or the National Geographic series-inspired-by-the book, Jared Diamond, a professor at UCLA, sets out to explain why there are "haves" and "have nots" in history. The irony is I see it every week. I have a school full of haves, and one with many have-nots. Recognizing it is the easy part. Figuring out what to do about it is entirely another. I don't know the answer. But I do know that Louis XIV wore heels. Does that count for something?
* that is to say, consultants, lawyers, and executives, o my.
** ask me about the water bottle story. you can't make this crap up.
*** one of the saddest places on earth. for America.
**** "Pride is a personal commitment. It is an attitude that separates excellence from mediocrity." thank you, Dennis Brown.
***** a more high school appropriate version of Oxford professor Peter Heather's comment that "Poland is [always] fucked. Utterly."
Comments