Too Cool for School

The New "S" Word

Ok, I really should be doing something right now that ISN’T this. I need to write seven lesson plans for the next week, create worksheets, or just, hey, just go to bed because I need sleep! Fridays are my worst teaching days, decidedly. I think it’s because I have to wear the same shirt as everyone else. (Teachers wear purple jerseys on Fridays.) So what am I doing here, now, typing? It’s because I don’t get to. And why is it the things we don’t get to do are so alluring? Writing is great, writing is special! If I could only get my 10th graders to realize that. Writing is proving that your life really happened, that it wasn’t a figment of somebody’s imagination. And writing is putting something out there that people might read—voluntarily! So why does writing seem like a punishment? I ache to be understood, and I think that most people do. Hey, maybe I could give that speech to my classes. Do you think it might work?
It’s true. I think of nothing but school now. I’m one of “those teachers”. This is what I do now…write for entertainment, and it’s all about SCHOOL! (Sigh)

posted by Heather at 9/15/2005