Even though I use a hands free here and there, I find this funny. I want to chortle when I see someone just walking around with those things on, not even talking to anyone, looking like a Star Wars character. You’d laugh: I’ve seen teachers wearing those during faculty meetings, or, even worse, while they are with students! I just want to flick their ears and make that gadget go sprawling across the floor: “get that thing off your ear! You ain’t that important!”
HT: 9GAG
From a recent column on Big Government:
…there is a cost to governmentalizing every responsibility of adulthood — and it is, in Lord Whitelaw’s phrase, the stirring up of apathy. If you wander round Liverpool or Antwerp, Hamburg or Lyons, the fatalism is palpable. In Britain, once the crucible of freedom, civic life is all but dead: In Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland, some three-quarters of the economy is government spending; a malign alliance between state bureaucrats and state dependents has corroded democracy, perhaps irreparably. In England, the ground ceded to the worst sociopathic pathologies advances every day — and the latest report on “the seven evils” afflicting an ever more unlovely land blames “poverty” and “individualism,” failing to understand that if you remove the burdens of individual responsibility while loosening all restraint on individual hedonism the vaporization of the public space is all but inevitable. In Ontario, Christine Elliott, a candidate for the leadership of the so-called Conservative party, is praised by the media for offering a more emollient conservatism predicated on “the need to take care of vulnerable people.”
Look, by historical standards, we’re loaded: We have TVs and iPods and machines to wash our clothes and our dishes. We’re the first society in which a symptom of poverty is obesity: Every man his own William Howard Taft. Of course we’re “vulnerable”: By definition, we always are. But to demand a government organized on the principle of preemptively “taking care” of potential “vulnerabilities” is to make all of us, in the long run, far more vulnerable. A society of children cannot survive, no matter how all-embracing the government nanny.
The whole thing is insightful.
Yesterday was my last day at my current school. It did not fail to disappoint.
Though classes were in session, 85% of the students did not attend school (I had, maybe, 3 or so students in each class), and most students that did attend were walking around outside of class (it blew my mind my first year, but I’ve stopped trying to fight that fight alone), so I had considerable leeway with what I did with the day. I used the students in my class the first few periods to help me put the finishing touches on my room cleanup.
During one period, I chatted with a fellow teacher on the ethics of waterboarding. I had just started reading up on it that day, so I had not landed on a conclusion as to its permissability. He found that incredible. He just could not see why anyone would immediately and obviously declare it to be horrible torture, and was aghast that I’d even question that (Hey, I’m not a reactionary; I need time to research and think.). For the record, he did pose several good questions to me, questions that are worth my consideration as I form my view. The conversation was fun. We’ve had several conversations about politics, religion, and philosophy over the last three years, and I’ve come to cherish both the conversations and the unlikely friendship that developed between us (We are absolute polar opposites on just about everything from our personalities to our opinions on current events and the meaning of life.). He’ll be one of the many that I will stay in contact with no matter where I go.
The last period, with no students in class, I checked out and began to say my goodbyes. As I walked around, shaking hands, hugging, and wishing well, it occured to me that I’ve fallen in love with their souls. That, according to one of my mentors in evangelism, is the key to sharing the gospel with people–fall in love with their souls. Doing so will naturally motivate you to talk about Jesus with them, and you’ll find it happening more and more and more. Moreover, because you really care about them, the conversations will feel less forced. People will be more open to talking with you, because they sense you are genuine.
I admit, this didn’t occur by my design. Due to going through all this drama with my colleagues, it just happened. I really didn’t realize how much I care about these folks, and vice versa. Would I not be sued through the floor, I could write a best selling book about this year. Despite that, I began to think, “you know, I’m gonna miss this place.”
The same goes for the students. One of the students I’m going to miss is Eduardo. A foster child, he joined the wrestling team as a freshman, and has been one of our most dedicated members. At 15 years of age, he became a father, and that, along with wrestling, has made him grow up considerably. Once he spotted me Friday, he ditched his friends and started walking around with me. He literally followed me around wherever I went–from room to room, to each principal’s office, back and forth to my car, helping me pack the last few boxes. When I found out I did part of my exit paperwork wrong, he stayed with me and helped me get it right. No complaining, no whining. He just sat right down without me even asking and started working. The fix took about an hour…would have taken three without him.
When I tore down the wrestling room, he was there helping. He spent a lot of hours in that cramped, stinky room. He had a pensive, sad look on his face as we shut the door. With myself leaving and the head coach not running the program next year, the state of the team is in limbo right now. No one knows if there will even be a team next year. Eduardo has fallen in love with the sport this year, so taking the room down was hard on him.
After he helped me so much, I offered to buy him lunch at El Pollo Loco. He timidly looked at me. “You don’t have to, coach, but I’d like that,” he said, “it will make our last moments together last longer.” I just about melted.
We had a heckuva time at EPL. He taught me how to eat with a tortilla “like a true Mexican.” Supposedly, I was using them like an imbecile. A small moment, but I’m going to cherish it.
As we parted ways back at school, my heart swelled with pride as I had the chance to speak some last words of encouragement to him. My love for this kid runs deep in my bones. I hope this isn’t the last time I see him.
As I drove away, I couldn’t stop looking back.
*Of course, all names have been changed.
**For those who commented on the last post, thank you. Your words warmed my heart. Some of you asked if I was getting out of teaching all together. Nope. I hope to be working at another school in the fall. Exactly where I’ll be is yet to be determined. I’m perfectly willing to work at another urban high school.
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